What is hemolysis

Hemolytic disease mainly occurs in some newborns. It is mainly due to the incompatibility of blood types between the mother and the baby. The antigen-antibody reaction between the mother and the fetus causes the destruction of some red blood cells of the fetus. Together with some passive immune diseases, it can cause various conditions in the baby, mainly manifested as jaundice, hepatosplenomegaly, and anemia. The normal process is also relatively slow.

The impact of systemic conditions is relatively small, but the progression of severe diseases is relatively fast, and experimental values ​​may even increase or decrease and lead to bilirubin encephalopathy and death. Prevention in daily life is also critical and can be diagnosed there.

1. Jaundice: The bilirubin decomposed from the destruction of red blood cells is yellow in color. It can be distributed throughout the human body and make the body tissues turn yellow. Since the skin and sclera (commonly known as the white of the eye) are located on the surface of the body, the yellowing is most obvious, which is jaundice. Most newborns will have jaundice after birth, but when jaundice appears too early, develops too quickly, or the bilirubin level in the blood is too high, you should be aware of the possibility of hemolytic disease. Jaundice in infants with hemolytic disease usually appears within 24 hours after birth or on the second day.

2. Hepatosplenomegaly: In mild cases, there is no obvious increase in size. In severe hemolytic disease, fetal edema may occur and there may be obvious enlargement of the liver and spleen. This symptom is more common in Rh hemolytic disease.

3. Children with anemia have anemia of varying degrees of severity. Severe cases can cause heart failure and general edema.

4. Bilirubin encephalopathy When the bilirubin level in the blood is too high, it will damage brain cells and cause bilirubin encephalopathy, which is the most serious complication of hemolytic disease. It usually occurs 2-7 days after delivery, and is manifested by worsening jaundice and neurological symptoms in the child, such as drowsiness, feeding difficulties, staring, convulsions, etc. If not treated promptly, it may lead to death or sequelae such as motor dysfunction and intellectual disability.

5. Neurological symptoms include drowsiness, refusal to feed, loose limbs, followed by convulsions, manifested by staring, blinking, stiffening and straightening of limbs, or opisthotonos of the whole body, and sometimes screaming. This is called kernicterus or bilirubin encephalopathy, which often occurs when serum bilirubin reaches 20 mg/dl or above. It is caused by indirect bilirubin entering the brain tissue and damaging brain cells.

6. Children with febrile hemolytic disease often have fever. Fever may be a reaction of the body after hemolysis in children, or it may be a more serious bilirubin encephalopathy. The fever may not necessarily be very high, but if it occurs due to the latter, it means that the condition is quite serious.

The above is the treatment of hemolytic disease, so timely diagnosis and treatment must be carried out in daily life. At the same time, the treatment of neonates is also relatively critical. Some Chinese and Western medicines can be used for treatment. The neonatal hemolytic disease in daily life will not scare you. It is mainly about strict disinfection and isolation, as well as reasonable feeding and observation of the condition.