Nine year old with Thal minor & chronic dehydration

Hi, I'm new here and really glad I found you!!

My nine year old son has always had trouble with dehydration. I knew my husband and father-in-law had thal minor but never really thought about it while I was pregnant with any of my children. (I don't have thal minor.)

My son began having 'white outs' - my term to describe what happens to him if he gets too hot. He says he can't see, everything goes white. I took him to the doctor and he had blood tests. When we went back for the results he said Deacon had thal minor - it wasn't a shock because father-in-law often spoke of it. My husband has no symptoms but father-in-law has had to have blood taken out due to dangerously high iron levels.

A DNA test was done to make sure it was thal minor and nothing else.

Problem is everywhere I look everything says thal minor has no symptoms.... As the mother of a nine year old child who misses school or has to be picked up early because he is so dehydrated  I know this is not true...

I have made an appointment for him with a naturopath but it isn't until Jan 7 2012.  It's summer here - the worst time for him. He spent the last two days home from school, dehydated. 

I found some rehydration formula in the supermarket and it has a dosage to prevent dehydration. Ingredients are sodium, citrate, potassium, glucose and chloride. It's lemon flavoured - haven't tried it yet, I know it'll be a struggle!! I am hoping this will do until the naturopath appointment. I read somewhere that folate supplements can help too.

Any other suggestions to get us through Christmas and the New Year when it's between 30 - 40 degrees?

Thanks,  Lara.

Hi Lara,

We do often hear reports of thal minors experiencing dehydration so there may be a connection to thal. I'm not thal but have suffered from dehydration in hot weather and I am quite experienced with it. One of the worst things is that when you are dehydrated, it clouds the mind and you don't quickly recognize the problem. I tend to feel vague and can't even figure out what is wrong at first, which is completely out of character for me. Once I learned to recognize this while experiencing it, I found it much easier to deal with. The formula you found is a basic electrolyte formula and should help. It is similar to what is in Gatorade. In my own case, making sure I take some salt or salty foods with water is all that is needed, but adding the other minerals may help, so I would say definitely try it for awhile, since water alone cannot replace the minerals lost due to the heat. He should never go long periods without water. Even in school, a water bottle may be necessary, but this should be cleared with the teachers in advance and they should be made to realize it is a medical issue, so the exception to bring a water bottle to school should be made. And yes, you will constantly read that thal minor has no symptoms, but that is just wrong and it is no longer excusable for doctors to brush it off as nothing. An employee of mine who is thal minor was made to spend a year in bed at age 5 because of thalassemia and at one point the recommendation to remove his spleen was made, although not carried out. This was back in the 1950's so I have a problem with the medical profession continuing to ignore thal minor. Many thal minors do have significant symptoms. proper nutrition is essential to help combat the effects of thal minor. Please familiarize yourself with the recommendations in the Diet, Nutrition and Supplements board of this site.