According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics, children with cerebral palsy and other neurological conditions may be at a greater risk of complications from influenza than other people.
The study was spurred by the high percentage of children with neurological disorders who died during the outbreak of the H1N1 flu during 2009. A full 64 percent of those children had a neurological disorder, according to the study.
A member of the CDC said in a release that the agency had long been aware of the fact that people with neurological conditions of certain types can be at a higher risk for complications of influenza. It was the high percentage, however, that, in part, spurred this study.
Cerebral Palsy Realities
There are some fantastic treatments for cerebral palsy available. Sometimes, this can make it seem like cerebral palsy is a condition with predictable symptoms. In reality, aside from the symptoms of the disorder itself, it comes with complications in other areas. As the study demonstrates, people with neurological conditions have health issues that stem from their conditions but that are not obviously related to them.
Finding out that your child has cerebral palsy oftentimes means that you’ll start thinking about assistive devices for walking, therapies to help them get better control over their muscles and so forth. It’s important to keep in mind that, in many regards, cerebral palsy means that parents will have to deal with issues that may not be apparent at first. The fact that children with this condition are vulnerable to other medical problems is among them.
Brain Injuries
The brain injuries that result in cerebral palsy caused at birth never actually heal. They do not, however, get worse without some sort of outside influence. The brain injuries and the symptoms that they cause are oftentimes hard enough to deal with, but this group of conditions goes still further in its effects.
Remember that filing a lawsuit over cerebral palsy is an option in some cases. These lawsuits will sometimes end up paying out enough in jury awards or settlements to allow you to pay for the most advanced medical treatments and to have the kind of resources you need in the event that a complication arises. In severe cases of cerebral palsy, complications are common and you have to be prepared to deal with unexpected consequences of this disorder.