Pale Child Skin? Be Careful It Can Be An Early Symptom Of Thalassemia

Illustration of thalassemia in children (Photo: Pexels)

JAKARTA - Thalassemia is a blood disorder that can be passed down from parents to children. This disorder makes the sufferer experience anemia or lack of blood. Pale faces in children can be one of the early symptoms of thalassemia that parents need to watch out for and pay attention to.

“The early signs of visible symptoms are that children experience paleness, then they feel tired easily and their activities are reduced. That must be considered, with the initial symptoms, immediately take the child to the first health facility, namely the puskesmas to take a deeper look at his condition," said Dr. Bambang Sudarmanto Sp.A(K), MARS from Kariadi Hospital Semarang, quoted from ANTARA.

If referred to the puskesmas, the puskesmas will take a sample of hemoglobin (HB) to measure the volume of the child's red blood cells.

If the amount of hemoglobin is low, or if the volume of red blood cells is different from normal, the child will most likely get a further referral to a hospital or an Oncology- Hematology specialist.

"In a follow-up examination carried out by a doctor, a definite sign that the child has thalassemia is the image of the red blood cells being cracked, which means that there is hemolysis or damage to the red blood cells," said Bambang.

The Head of the Hematology-Oncology Coordination Unit of the Indonesian Pediatrician Association (IDAI) also conveyed that the signs of thalassemia symptoms could be seen in infants aged six months.

However, it does not mean that pale symptoms are a sign of certainty that the child has thalassemia.

"Paleness can also mean that the child has anemia, which means he or she lacks iron. So if the results of the child's iron deficiency are found from the examination, it could be that the child actually has anemia. If the iron has been met, then the child must be tested again to ensure whether it is in a normal condition or is it true that he has thalassemia, "said Bambang.

Thalassemia is a blood disorder that is inherited due to the absence or reduction of one of the globin chains, either alpha or beta, which are components of hemoglobin.

Hemoglobin is part of red blood cells that is important for survival because it is also responsible for circulating oxygen in the human body.

If there is a disturbance in hemoglobin, then the red blood cells in the body do not function properly and of course have a bad impact on people who experience it.

Currently, thalassemia can be treated by means of blood transfusions, routine consumption of iron chelation, to those who are most at risk of undergoing surgery on the spinal cord.