Huntington Disease - How to live with Huntington’s Chorea
Huntington disease is a disorder that is passed from parent to child in a gene. It can be passed along from either parent to a child. Each child of a parent with the disorder has a 50% chance of getting Huntington disease. A child who does not inherit the disorder can still pass the trait along to their children. This medical fact was just discovered in 1993, after decades of research.
Couples who have Huntington disease should start genetic counseling before trying to have a child to determine the risks of passing the disorder along to another generation. This is very important.
Society does not have a lot of knowledge pertaining to Huntington disease. This is an inherited disease that can not be passed along to another person by contact. The person who has Huntington disease will usually experience a decline in their health for 10-15 years before they die from it. They will have dance like movements due to degeneration in their cerebral cortex.
Another one of the symptoms of Huntington disease is emotional disturbances. When the brain starts to deteriorate, so does the person’s mental well-being.
Huntington disease usually has its onset between ages 25 to 55. The affected individual usually experiences declining health for 10-15 years before death occurs. The disorder does not kill the individual, but rather they will develop an infection such as pneumonia or heart failure, and that will kill the individual.
There is much information on Huntington disease on page after page of medical journals. This hereditary disorder affects almost a million people every year.
Education is the key to dealing with Huntington disease since there is no cure. Generally affected individuals and their caregivers go to counseling so they know what to expect from the disorder down the road.
The ability to live with this disorder is extremely hard on everyone involved. The disorder alters the thinking process and abilities of the affected individual. It can be a very hard disorder to live with.
Caregivers need to be aware of potential complications in the later stages of the disorder. The affected individual can have issues such as choking, aspiration, infections, and aphasia, which is when communication is not possible verbally for whatever reason.
There are a lot of issues that someone with this disorder needs to be made aware of. The most important is the risk for infection. In the latter stages of progression, infection is most likely going to be the cause of death. Make sure to keep the individual with the disorder away from anyone who is showing signs of being sick. Also, try to boost their immune system by adding additional vitamin C and Zinc to their diet. These tips may just add additional time to the person affected with this genetic disorder.