New to the site

Hi, I am new to the site. I am the mom of two beautiful girls adopted from China. My oldest is 6 1/2 and my youngest is 41/2 and they have susupected she has Thal since she was adopted at 1. It has taken us a long time to get here, but today she finally had tests done to dertermine the type of Thal she has. They suspect she has Alpha Thal, most likely trait. Her bood count seems to run at a steady 11, never higher or lower, but she has a lot of other issues. At 1 she was diagnosied with Asthma, and a number of food allergies. She was also dianosed with what they call undianosed intermiten hives. Which means she get hives on an almost daily basis, numerous time a day, but we have no idea of the cause. She also has geographic tounge, and regualr leg pain. One of her quirks is that she hates to walk. She will start to cry and say her legs are tired after only a very short walk. I really began pushing for some answers this last spring when she appered to have some bruises that would not go away. She sitll has the buises on her shins, they tell me it is nothing, they tell me her leg aches and not wanting to walk any distance are not related. I was just wondering if any other parents of young children have seen this in thier children. THanks Carolyn

Hi Carolyn and welcome to the group,

 Proper testing is essential at this stage. Hopefully the tests being done include a Complete Blood Count and a hemoglobin electrophoresis test. I think you are right to push for more answers and further testing may be required. Do you know if her platelet level has been tested previously? The bruising could indicate low platelets. The allergies and hives may have some underlying cause in the immune system and this may or may not be related to thalassemia. At this point all I can say is please let us know the results of the tests.

Hello Carolyn,

I think as Andy has mentioned Hemoglobin Electrophoresis will shed some light, but as you have mentioned if they suspect Alpha Thal Trait, you might want to get a DNA test done as I have heard from the doctor's that Alpha Thal Trait cannot be diagonised with just Hemaglobin Electrophoresis

Ask questions and do update us on what you find out with your daughter's testing.

I have a son and a husband with Thal Minor, but answers for my adopted daughter from China led me here...another mother who adopted from the same orphanage referred this sight.  My daughter is allergic to all foods...even bottled and tap water.  Every night, no matter how carefull we are (we can have about 6 foods right now) , she claws at her legs and arms and they turn bright red.  She has open sores and scabs and oozes fluids all over her extremities.  Her sheets and pajamas stay blood stained. 

We were going for NAET treatments for about a year, and was making great progress with her food allergies, but we have found out that she has lost a lot of her treatments (her NAET doctor has only had one person who lost treatments in 15 years)

Your daughters unexplained hives caught my attention.  I am getting ready to have blood work done for her....what all should we test for besides Thal?  Any advice would be helpful.

It would be so strange if she were positive....since my son and husband have it as well. 

I sent a copy of this post to Dr Chris Reynolds, who we know as Dr Wheatgrass, as he is a dermatologist (in fact, it was his interest in help for skin disorders that led him to wheatgrass research) who has great experience with Asian patients. He gave me the following response.

As for the child with the skin condition. This sounds as though it could be simple eczema. The child is adopted and has itchy lesions so there may well be a genetic basis for her condition. Eczema is common in Asia as it is in most countries. Probably a visit to the local family doctor will provide a correct diagnosis which could make quite a difference to the way the child is treated.

 

As for NAET, with which I am unfamiliar except for what I learned from the website, saying that allergies are at the seat of all illnesses and can be treated as such is like saying wheatgrass is a panacea for all ills – which it clearly is not. As they say, if a hammer is your only tool, after a while, everything begins to look like a nail. The broad therapeutic spectrum of wheatgrass keeps this saying firmly fixed in my mind.

 

I hope this is of some use, but it is rather difficult to reach an accurate diagnosis based on the information provided.

We must keep in touch.

Kind regards,

Chris Reynolds.

Managing Director.
Wheatgrass Pty. Ltd.
299 Toorak Rd.
South Yarra
Victoria. 3141
Australia.
info@drwheatgrass.com.au
www.drwheatgrass.com
Dr Wheatgrass
Helping every BODY