What Is Primary Immunodeficiency Disease?
Published July 30th, 2007 in Disease.Primary Immunodeficiency is a relatively unknown disease. It is genetically based and can affect any one from any culture, at any time.
The immune system guards our body from invading infections. When a defect in the immune system is inherited (carried through the genes), it is called Primary Immune Deficiency. Because of the genetic nature of PID, some patients may be the first in their families to be afflicted and would, therefore, have no known family history.
There are over 100 form of Primary Immune Deficiency (PID), which range widely in severity. Together, they affect more people than leukemia and lymphoma combined. In Canada, approximately 50,000 people (1 in 2,500), mostly children, suffer from PID.
Patients with PID often have what seem to be “ordinary” infections. As a result, physicians sometimes treat the infections not realizing that there is an underlying cause, which is allowing the illnesses to recur, and can leave the patient vulnerable to vital organ damage, physical disability and even death.
10 Warning Signs of Primary Immune Deficiency
1. Eight or more new ear infections with in 1 year.
2. Two or more serious sinus infections within 1 year.
3. Two or more months on antibiotics with little effect.
4. Two or more pneumonias with in 1 year.
5. Failure of an infanct to gain weight or grow normally.
6. Recurrent, deep skin or organ abcesses.
7. Persistent thrush in mouth or elsewhere on skin, after age 1.
8. Need for intravenous antibiotics to clear infections.
9. Two or more deep-seated infections.
10. A family history of Primary Immunodeficiency.
These warning signs were developed by The Jeffrey Modell Foundation Medical Advisory Board. © 2003 The Jeffrey Modell Foundation. Used with permission from the Jeffery Modell Foundation.
If you or someone you know is affected by two or more of the following warning signs, speak to a physician about the possible presence of an underlying Primary Immune Deficiency.
For more information visit the Canadian Immunodeficiency Society (CISociety) at www.cisociety.com
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