In recent years, the incidence of leukemia in children has continued to increase, and it is not uncommon for children to seek help from the society because of leukemia. Children and families are suffering greatly, and more and more children are even dying of leukemia. Only by understanding the root cause of the child's illness can leukemia be effectively prevented.

Leukemia is what we usually call "blood cancer". It is a malignant tumor of the human hematopoietic system. Hematopoietic stem cells and primitive cells in bone marrow or lymphoid tissue proliferate uncontrollably, destroying the body's normal hematopoietic function and causing heterogeneous lesions in peripheral blood leukocytes, which is the main manifestation of leukemia.

According to different cell sources, leukemia is divided into two subtypes: myeloid leukemia and lymphocytic leukemia. These two subtypes can be divided into acute and chronic types. No matter what type of leukemia it is, it will seriously damage the patient's health.

Acute leukemia has an acute onset and rapid progression. The natural course of the disease is usually only a few months. Patients usually have symptoms such as anemia, bleeding, infection, liver, spleen or lymph node enlargement, and bone pain; while chronic leukemia The onset is slow and the disease progresses slowly. Patients usually experience symptoms such as fatigue, fatigue, loss of appetite, sweating, low fever, weight loss, splenomegaly, and upper abdominal discomfort.

As the disease progresses, the patient's abnormal white blood cells will infiltrate into organs and tissues throughout the body, causing corresponding symptoms and even posing a fatal threat to the patient. Among them, nervous system infiltration, respiratory system infiltration, bone infiltration, and gastrointestinal tract infiltration are particularly common.

Nervous system infiltration may occur at any stage of the leukemia course and can be found in the arachnoid mater, dura mater, brain parenchyma, choroid plexus, and cranial nerves. People with mild illness are usually asymptomatic or only have mild headaches and increased cerebrospinal fluid pressure. People with severe illness may have typical symptoms of meningitis. Such as fever, headache, vomiting, irritability, drowsiness, convulsions, etc.

Respiratory system infiltration is more common in acute leukemia, especially acute myeloid leukemia. The site of infiltration is generally in the alveolar space, especially around blood vessels and small bronchi. As a result, patients will develop exudative pleurisy, bloody pleural effusion, pulmonary embolism, hilar and mediastinal lymph node enlargement and other diseases, as well as symptoms of dyspnea. In severe cases, it may even be complicated by respiratory distress syndrome, which has a high fatality rate.

After leukemia cells infiltrate into the bones, they will affect the periosteum, causing joint redness and swelling, bone pain, bone infarction or bone marrow necrosis and other diseases. Nearly a quarter of patients have gastrointestinal infiltration when they are diagnosed with leukemia, which is manifested by symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, mucosal inflammation, gastrointestinal bleeding, and intestinal obstruction.

In addition, the probability of leukemia cells infiltrating into the kidneys, gonads, thyroid, pancreas, hypothalamus, posterior pituitary gland, etc. is also quite high. Patients are likely to develop a series of complications such as glycosuria, hypoglycemia, diabetes insipidus, hyperuricemia, and even acute renal failure, and the mortality rate is very high.

After reading about the serious situation of leukemia, I can’t help but wonder, why does leukemia always “haunt children”?

Leukemia affects a wide range of groups, and everyone is at certain risk of the disease, with the highest incidence among children aged 2-8 years old. There is still no clear cause of leukemia, but it is generally believed to be the result of a combination of genetic factors and a variety of environmental factors.

The onset of leukemia goes through multiple stages and the process is very complex. It depends not only on the individual's genetic susceptibility to a certain tumor, but also on the exposure to suspicious environmental factors. As far as the environmental factors that cause leukemia are concerned, children and adults are different. Adults will be affected by the occupational environment, while children are generally only affected by the living environment.

Harmful substances such as formaldehyde and benzene are the main culprits responsible for the increasing incidence of childhood leukemia in recent years. Formaldehyde is a colorless gas with a strong pungent odor that can bind to proteins in the human body and cause severe irritation to the respiratory tract and other parts of the body. Formaldehyde has long been identified as a carcinogen by the World Health Organization and is closely related to the onset of myeloid leukemia.

Benzene is an easily volatile liquid with an aromatic odor that is not unpleasant, so people often ignore its hazards. In fact, benzene that volatilizes in the air and enters the human body through the respiratory tract can damage the human nervous system and hematopoietic bone marrow, thereby causing leukemia and other malignant diseases.

Most of the harmful substances such as formaldehyde and benzene that children are exposed to in their lives come from indoor decoration materials, such as paint, floor leather, plastic veneers, boards, coatings, etc. Clothing, stationery and toys of substandard quality can also release a large amount of harmful substances, which can easily induce leukemia in children. Therefore, whether it is stationery, toys, or daily necessities, try to choose regular products for your children.

Drug abuse can also induce leukemia. The abuse of antibiotics and analgesics is very likely to cause leukemia. When their children are sick, many parents do not take their children to regular hospitals for medical treatment in time. Instead, they give their children medicine indiscriminately. Even some children who are not sick will be blindly given medicine by their parents. This kind of indiscriminate use of drugs and medical treatment can easily cause lesions in children's white blood cells, which can lead to leukemia.

Improper diet is also one of the main causes of leukemia. Puffed foods such as potato chips and shrimp crackers have a crisp texture and sweet taste that most children cannot resist. Puffed food is a snack food made from raw materials such as grains, beans or potatoes, and processed through puffing processes such as frying, baking or microwaves.

Because the snacks produced by some small workshops need to use additives containing heavy metals such as aluminum and lead during the processing, and they also come into contact with some metal containers, puffed foods often contain heavy metals. After heavy metals enter the child's body with puffed food, all of them cannot be excreted out of the body, and some of them will accumulate in the blood. The more children eat, the more serious the accumulation of heavy metals will be, which may induce leukemia in the long run.

In addition to puffed food, spicy noodles and vermicelli are also one of the causes of childhood leukemia. Spicy strips, especially "three-no spicy strips", contain many additives during processing, such as formaldehyde (preservative and sterilization), which can seriously harm your health. Long-term consumption of large amounts may cause leukemia. For the sake of taste and freshness, many unscrupulous merchants will add substances such as alum or formaldehyde to vermicelli, which greatly increases the risk of children suffering from leukemia.

There are also some children who don’t like to drink water, but just like to drink drinks. Although these drinks taste very good, many of them are blended with a large amount of additives and sugar. They are difficult to digest and metabolize after entering the human body. In the long run, they will affect the body's hematopoietic function and even cause leukemia.

Radiation is almost everywhere in our daily lives. The ionizing radiation released by inferior marble, CT machines, security inspection machines, etc. has short wavelength and high energy. When its dose exceeds a certain level, it will cause harm to the human body. It is very harmful, and it is also a major culprit leading to the increase in the incidence of childhood leukemia.

Sometimes, low-quality jade and stone may also bring a certain amount of radiation. Although the radiation is very small, if worn on the body for a long time, there will be some bad changes.

When the human body is exposed to large doses of ionizing radiation for a long time, the functions of the hematopoietic system and immune system will be severely suppressed. After reaching a certain stage, chromosome breakage or gene rearrangement will occur, which will lead to leukemia. The incidence rate of leukemia caused by ionizing radiation is usually related to the intensity, range and duration of ionizing radiation the human body is exposed to.

In addition to harmful substances, drugs, diet and ionizing radiation, the incidence of leukemia is also related to genetic factors. Children with congenital chromosomal abnormalities are much more likely to develop leukemia than normal children. If someone in the family has leukemia, the incidence of leukemia in the offspring will be higher than that of other children.

Although my country's medical technology has reached a certain level and leukemia is not incurable, the pain and the cost and energy required for treatment are a disaster for sick children and their families. Moreover, leukemia is preventable. Only by taking effective preventive measures in a timely manner can this disaster be avoided as much as possible.

To prevent leukemia, we must first stay away from several major environmental factors that can induce leukemia.

When decorating your home, you must choose materials that meet environmental standards. After the decoration, the house must be left for a period of time before you can move in. When parents usually buy clothes, stationery and toys for their children, they should also buy products produced by regular manufacturers and meet relevant standards. They should not choose three-no products just for the sake of cheapness.

Parents need to take any medicines to their children under the guidance of a professional doctor. At the same time, they should pay more attention to their children to prevent them from taking medicines by mistake. Pay attention to cultivating healthy eating habits in children, try not to feed them junk food, and do not expose them to places with excessive ionizing radiation.

Heredity is very complex and cannot be controlled by humans. However, if pregnant women can stay away from leukemia-risk environmental factors such as toxic substances, certain drugs, and radiation during pregnancy, they can still reduce the risk of leukemia in their children to a certain extent. risk.

Children are relatively young and feel very fresh about everything around them. Many times they do not know which things are harmful. Therefore, parents must guide their children well and tell them what things can harm their bodies, what they can and cannot do. Children who know how to protect themselves can better protect themselves from leukemia.

Parents should also learn more about leukemia and pay close attention to their children's physical condition. When a child repeatedly experiences abnormal symptoms such as unexplained fever, dizziness and fatigue, bleeding of skin, mucous membranes or gums, or bone pain, take the child to the doctor promptly to achieve early detection and early treatment to avoid turning minor illnesses into serious illnesses.

Because children are still in the growth and development stage and their immune functions are not as strong as adults, their bodies are very fragile and are easily attacked by diseases. Among them, leukemia is particularly popular among children. Leukemia is a malignant tumor that destroys the body's hematopoietic function. It has two subtypes: myeloid and lymphocyte. Each of these two subtypes can be divided into acute and chronic.

No matter what type of leukemia it is, it may affect the normal functions of the nervous system, respiratory system, bones, gastrointestinal tract and other organs or tissues of the human body, thereby seriously endangering the patient's health. It can even pose a fatal threat to patients.

Leukemia is likely to be the result of a combination of environmental factors and genetic factors. Harmful substances such as formaldehyde and benzene, drugs, improper diet, and ionizing radiation are all dangerous environmental factors that cause childhood leukemia. Heredity is also a related factor in childhood leukemia. Only by staying away from risk factors can we effectively prevent leukemia and reduce its incidence.