If you suffer from chronic and recurring infections, your health complications may be associated with a disorder known as a primary immunodeficiency. This may be the complication, especially if you have been considered a “sickly” type of person since you were a child.
In many adults, especially those in their 20s and 30s, as you take ahold of your own health, often you find that your chronic and recurring infections are associated with varying aspects of your diet and nutrition. For some adults, however, a primary immunodeficiency complication, missed during childhood, may be to blame.
There are many types of primary immunodeficiency complications. Some involve the production of your antibodies while, for others, the complication may be associated with abnormal B-cell and T-cell functions. Without proper diagnosis and intervention, however, your chronic and recurring infections as a child may soon lead to the development of more severe complications into adulthood.
What are the signs of primary immunodeficiency complications? In most patients, the prolonged misdiagnosis results in chronic conditions of adulthood. Such complications of primary immunodeficiency may present as oral infections, such as thrush and the presence of cavities, complications of the GI tract, including diarrhea and ulcer development, and even the development of disorders such as scleroderma, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
Surprisingly enough, many of the primary immunodeficiency complications you experience are brought about by genetic factors, with a family member often suffering from the same complication. How you face, deal and cope with the primary immunodeficiency complications, however, is what sets you apart from other individuals.
The only true method for treating primary immunodeficiency is through proper diet and exercise, maintaining health to the best of your ability, and then utilizing IV administration of IVIG. In some cases, you may want to consider bone marrow transplant. What you want to avoid, however, is the recurring use of antibiotics as, often, this will further depress your immune system. In some patients with primary immunodeficiency, however, the use of daily Bactrim may be effective at alleviating as many as 50 percent of the associated infections.
If you suffer from chronic and recurring infections, it is important to know that it may not be “all in your head” as some would have you think. Because primary immunodeficiency is hereditary, and can be diagnosed into adulthood, it is important to ask your physician to run the appropriate laboratory testing to rule out this complication as a factor in your health. If confirmed, regular treatment with a daily antibiotic therapy, coupled with periodic IV administration of IVIG, may work to resolve the many recurring infections you have experienced since childhood.
