Is aplastic anemia hereditary?

Aplastic anemia is a type of disease caused by damage to hematopoietic stem cells. Generally, patients will experience general fatigue and fever when they suffer from this disease. Some patients are also prone to dizziness. Therefore, this disease has a great impact on patients. Many patients worry that this disease will be passed on to their children. Let’s take a look!

Aplastic anemia is a blood disease caused by damage to myeloid hematopoietic stem cells and/or the hematopoietic microenvironment. The exact cause of the disease is still unclear. Most of the time, it is caused by acquired factors and has little to do with genetics.

Things to note about aplastic anemia include:

1. Pay attention to the regularity of life, keep a good mood, combine work and rest, strengthen exercise, develop good hygiene habits, brush your teeth in the morning and evening, go to public places less or not at all to avoid infection; avoid strenuous exercise to prevent bleeding caused by accidents.

2. Acute and severe cases require absolute bed rest. For chronic aplastic anemia patients who do not have spontaneous bleeding and whose hemoglobin has risen to a level where they can tolerate general activities, they can participate in certain physical activities without excessive restrictions, such as light physical labor at home. At the same time, they can appropriately participate in general sports activities such as walking, Tai Chi, and health massage to strengthen their bodies and restore hematopoietic function.

3. Eat according to the doctor's instructions: avoid spicy and irritating foods (raw onions, ginger, raw garlic, chili peppers, etc.), hot foods such as seafood, mutton, dog meat, etc., avoid smoking and drinking, and avoid raw, cold and greasy foods; give high-protein, high-vitamin, easily digestible foods, such as lean meat, eggs, milk, chicken, pork rib soup, animal liver, fresh vegetables and fruits, eat more dates, osmanthus, peanuts, walnuts, lotus roots, etc. to produce blood and stop bleeding; for those with bleeding tendency, give a residue-free semi-liquid diet, and eat less food with thorns and bones to prevent bleeding and infection due to puncture wounds.

4. Pay attention to the patient's bleeding tendency, such as skin and mucous membrane bleeding, epistaxis, gingival bleeding, fundus bleeding, etc., and provide symptomatic and hemostatic treatment; when massive gastrointestinal bleeding occurs or there is a risk of intracranial hemorrhage, report to the doctor immediately, and prepare various rescue drugs and supplies to assist in the rescue.

5. Keep the ward clean and disinfect the air every day. Patients with decreased leukocytosis should be placed under protective isolation to reduce infection.

6. Pay attention to oral and anal hygiene. Insist on gargling after meals and before going to bed to prevent oropharyngeal ulcers. Commonly used mouthwashes include normal saline, compound boric acid solution, 1% hydrogen peroxide, sodium bicarbonate solution, etc.; insist on taking a sitz bath with 1/5000 potassium permanganate solution after defecation to prevent necrotic ulcers around the anus and the resulting sepsis.

7. Those with extensive bleeding on the skin and mucous membranes should pay attention to maintaining the integrity of the skin and mucous membranes to prevent infection. Those with high fever and sweating should change clothes in time to avoid catching a cold.

Patients with aplastic anemia also need to pay more attention to their diet. Do not eat too much spicy and greasy food, and do not eat too salty food. It is better to eat a lighter diet. Eating light food regularly can prevent the recurrence of aplastic anemia, so you should pay more attention to it.