Careing for Someone with Keshan's Disease - Health Conditions

Caring for Someone with Keshan's Disease

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Caring for someone with Keshan's disease

Partner

There are a number of strategies to help a partner deal with Keshan's disease:

Allow your partner to rest - it is really important that your partner is allowed to rest as much as possible, because their heart is not functioning as well as normal and their body needs all its energy to get healthy. In the case of mild Keshan's disease caused by a viral agent, your partner's doctor will advise complete rest (and adequate fluids) for a specific period to help their body fight the viral infection and heal. It is also important to allow your partner to rest if they have had any type of surgery, as their body needs this time to heal properly from the invasive surgical procedure that need to be performed
Avoid alcohol - it is really important that your partner avoids all alcohol during the duration of their illness, as alcohol just puts more pressure on an already malfunctioning heart (and body) and can only make your partner's symptoms worse
Foods rich in selenium - ensure that your partner is eating adequate foods rich in selenium to help their heart heal more quickly (in addition to any supplements they may also be taking). Foods rich in selenium include: Brazil nuts, eggs, onions, garlic
Healthy food - ensure the diet you and your partner consume consists of healthy fresh, unprocessed foods, with lots of vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, seeds and some fish and lean meat to provide more vitamins, minerals, amino acids and antioxidants which can all help your partner's heart (and yours). A diet lower in saturated fats and processed (junk) foods is advisable
Monitor medications - if your partner is prescribed any type of medication(s), it may be helpful if you can monitor any side effects they have (if they are present) and encourage your partner to see their doctor if the side effects are more than just the mildly common ones
Supplements - your partner will most likely be prescribed selenium supplements (in the form of selenomethionine) or have injections of this mineral, so it would be helpful if you can remind or encourage your partner to take their supplements at the same time each day, to prevent them forgetting a dose

Friends

There are a number of strategies to help a friend deal with Keshan's disease:

Avoid alcohol - ensure that your social interactions with your friend do not involve alcohol, as it could (a) adversely interact with their medications and (b) their heart cannot tolerate any alcohol if they are so sick
Healthy food - ensure any food you provide (if you provide any) to your friend is healthy, low fat and unprocessed, to help their heart (and yours)

Parents

There are a number of strategies to help a child deal with Keshan's disease:

Allow your child to rest - it is really important your child is allowed to rest as much as possible, because their heart is not functioning as well as normal and their body needs all its energy to get healthy. In the case of mild Keshan's disease caused by a viral agent, your child's doctor will advise complete rest (and adequate fluids) for a specific period to help their body fight the viral infection and heal
Foods rich in selenium - ensure that your child is eating foods rich in selenium to help their heart heal more quickly (in addition to supplements they may be taking). Foods rich in selenium include: Brazil nuts, eggs, onions, garlic
Healthy food - ensure the diet you and your family consume consists of healthy fresh, unprocessed foods, with lots of vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, seeds and some fish and lean meat to provide more vitamins, minerals, amino acids and antioxidants which can all help your child's heart (and yours). A diet lower in saturated fats and processed (junk) foods is advisable
Monitor medications - if your child is prescribed any type of medication(s), it may be helpful if you can monitor any side effects they have (if they are present) and take your child to see their doctor if the side effects are more than just the mildly common ones
Supplements - your child will most likely be prescribed selenium supplements (in the form of selenomethionine) or have injections of this mineral, so it would be helpful if you can remind or encourage your child to take their supplements at the same time each day, to prevent them forgetting a dose

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< living with Keshan's disease

Last reviewed: 29 January 2009 || Last updated: 29 December 2009

Arrhythmia (glossary)
Arrhythmia (health conditions)
Fever (conditions)
Fever (glossary)
Immune system (glossary)
Selenium (minerals)

NOTE: Mega doses of any type of vitamin, mineral, amino acid or herbal supplement cannot cure illnesses and in fact can be very dangerous and produce toxic side effects and interfere with medicine you are taking. Always ensure you consult your doctor before taking any type of complementary supplements.

Disclaimer: This guide is not intended to be used for diagnostic or prescriptive purposes. For any treatment or diagnosis of illness, please see your doctor.

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