This document discusses several lifelong conditions experienced by different children: Carrie has epilepsy, Hannah has an unspecified condition, Nimmy has sickle cell anemia, Sophie has Crohn's disease, and Sarah has diabetes. It provides details on the symptoms, treatments, and management of epilepsy, sickle cell anemia, Crohn's disease, and diabetes. The document also shares two short stories of children who live with epilepsy and sickle cell anemia.

1. Life-Long Conditions
Carrie - Epilepsy
Hannah -
Nimmy – Sickle Cell Anaemia
Sophie – Crohn’s Disease
Sarah - Diabetes

2. Epilepsy
• No uniform definition of Epilepsy but is used to describe a range of
a condition by recurrent, unprovoked seizures
• Is a neurological condition which affects the brain and nervous
system
• Electrical signals in the brain control the body’s function and if
these signals are disrupted it can lead to an epileptic seizures
• Epilepsy can be caused by damage to the brain or a child’s genetic
make-up

3. Types of Seizures
• The two main types are;
• Partial (Focal) – where only one side of the
brain is affected
• Generalised – where both sides of the brain
are affected

4. Treatment
• Balanced diet,
• Sleep
• Low levels of stress or anxiety
• Medication
– first line of treatment AED – lots to chose from
• Sodium Valproate - generalised seizures
• Carbamazepine - partial seizures

5. Treat the child not the illness
It is important when treating a child with
epilepsy, to try and gain an insight into how the
illness affects them individually rather than
textbook treatment (The Epilepsy Society 2011)

6. Christopher’s Story

7. Sickle Cell Anaemia
Sickle cell anaemia is inherited by
a recessive gene, which makes
red blood cells form into an
unusual crescent
shape, compared the normal
concave shape most red blood
cells have

8. Normal cell Vs Sickle cell

9. Who can get SCA?
• Much more common in people of African and
Mediterranean descent
• Also seen in people from South and Central
America, the Caribbean, and the Middle East
• Genetic counselling is available to known
carriers

10. Chances of being affected

11. Sickle Cell Crisis
• Many types but more common is
vaso-occlusive crisis
• When the sickle cells become blocked within
the person’s body causing pain
• No real explanation as to why this happens

12. Pain Relief
• PCA
• NSAIDs - diclofenac or naproxen

13. Treatment
• A bone marrow transplant
• Penicillin to help lower the risk of infection
• 1 mg dose of folic acid daily for life
• Blood transfusions
• Hydroxyurea – but lots of side effects

14. Pamela’s Story

15. Crohn’s Disease

16. • Condition which causes inflammation of parts
of the gut leading to :
– diarrhoea
– abdominal pain
– tiredness

17. Treatment
• Strong medication
• Operation
– part of the intestine removed,
– Leaving a colostomy- an opening from the large
bowel, to allow faeces to leave your body without
passing through the anus
– Stoma bag

18. Michael- Good Days
• Strict diet
• School
• Supplements and
minerals
• Job
• Hospital weekly
• Empty stoma bag x 3
• Socialising
times every day

19. Michael – bad days
• Severe pain – weeks on end
• Lack of sleep
• No school
• No job
• No socialising
• Frequent toilet visits
• House-bound

20. Type 1 Diabetes
• 25,000 people under age of 25 in UK
• Serious life-threatening condition
• Incidence increasing especially in under 5s
• Occurs because of a lack of insulin
• Leads to high blood glucose levels
(hyperglycaemia)
• The Science Bit!

21. Julie’s Story
• How she found out she had it
• Normal life
• When things go wrong

22. Questions
1. What are the 2 main types of seizure?
2. What is a colostomy?
3. What is the difference between hypoglycaemia and
hyperglycaemia?
4. Children with sickle cell anemia can stay well without
being in hospital by taking penicillin every day to help
risk of infection - can you think of any other way sickle
cell patients can help themselves?
5. If a child came onto the ward with symptoms of tissue
hypoxia what would be the nursing interventions?

23. Answers
1. Partial & generalised
2. An opening from the large bowel to allow
faeces to leave the body without passing
through the anus
3. Hypo = low
hyper = high

24. 4. • 5.
• Give oxygen – high • Eating a healthy diet –
concentration on oxygen high calorie and high
within alveoli increases protein
diffusion of gas across • Immunizations all up to
membranes date
• Avoid letting the child • Isolate child from
physically out do infection that is known
themselves – less oxygen
need when not exercising • Getting enough sleep
• Make sure their not • Controlling body
under any emotion stress temperature (not being
too hot or too cold)
• Possible blood transfusion
– increased amount of • Folic acid – helps the
RBCs, which carry oxygen body form RBCs
to tissue cells, transfusion
promotes circulation

25. Many thanks

26. References – Epilepsy
• Marson, Williamson and Hutton 2003
• Glasper and Richardson 2010
• Panayiotopolous 2005

27. References – Diabetes
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OOWhuC_9Lw - Accessed 23.11.11
• http://www.internurse.com/cgi-
bin/go.pl/library/article.cgi?uid=40590;article=BJHA_3_3_121_124
Caring for a child with diabetes Accessed 13.11.11
• http://www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/pdf/CG015NICEguideline.pdf
NICE article accessed 14.11.11