Preeclampsia is a disease during pregnancy that causes malfunctions in the normal functioning of organs and systems responsible for the life support of not only the mother, but also the unborn child. Unfortunately, medicine has not yet found an exact answer to the question of why this most serious disease occurs, but nevertheless we will try to find out what symptoms indicate preeclampsia, what it is and how to treat it. According to medical statistics, this disease is the third cause of death in women carrying a child under the heart.
Preeclampsia: what is it?
To date, it has been found out that preeclampsia is a genetically determined disease, expressed in the inability of the mother's body to adapt to the changes taking place in it. As a rule, complications occur in pregnant women who have problems with the kidneys, heart, liver and lungs, in people from socially disadvantaged families, primiparas, and also in those who already had women with this disease in their family.
Preeclampsia: causes
One can only guess about the reasons for the development of such severe complications. To date, there are about 30 theories of their origin, including hormonal failure, infections,intoxication of the body, etc.
Preeclampsia: stages
When diagnosing gestosis, several of its clinical forms are distinguished, which, if left untreated, flow into one another, causing irreparable harm to the body.
Dropsy. Edema is its only symptom. Sometimes recognize them
practically impossible, because they can be not only external (arms, legs, eyes), but also internal, the presence of which can only be detected by tracking weight gain. As a rule, it manifests itself by 5-6 months of pregnancy.
Preeclampsia, the symptoms of which are associated with impaired functioning of the kidneys (nephropathy), is manifested by an increase or decrease in the amount of urine excreted, which leads to an increase in blood pressure. In the event that this stage of the disease flows into a more complex form, there are also such symptoms as a severe headache, dark circles under the eyes, constant nausea and vomiting.
Preeclampsia is a stage leading to cerebral edema, loss of vision, decreased response to external stimuli, and drowsiness. The listed signs can appear from several minutes to several days.
The most severe form of preeclampsia is eclampsia (late preeclampsia). May appear in the last trimester of pregnancy, but only if the previous stages of the disease were not treated. The pressure of a pregnant woman can rise to a critical level, which can lead to a stroke or loss of consciousness, premature maturation of the placenta or its abruption, and in the worst case, death of the mother is possible,child or both.
Preeclampsia: diagnosis
When answering the question: "Preeclampsia: what is it?" - special attention should be paid to diagnostics, which will help to identify the presence of severe complications at an early stage.
- Identification of the risk group of pregnant women.
- Control weight gain.
- Puffiness of the eyes, arms and legs.
- Increased blood pressure.
- Deterioration of all tests.
In order to avoid this disease, you should know what symptoms gestosis has. What it is is still unknown, there is no specific drug group of drugs prescribed for prevention. Nevertheless, doctors recommend sleeping well, dieting, avoiding stressful situations and always being in a good mood.