Everyone may experience some medical issue at some point. Medical issues may have different causes, symptoms, and treatments. It is important to address the medical or health-related issue that one may experience in a suitable and timely manner, with proper professional supervision from a person trained in that area of medicine. To sustain one’s health, it is crucial that we take the necessary steps so that we do not suffer from any kinds of health problems any longer than we need to and can properly overcome persisting conditions. Birth defects are a common issue in India. About 1-3 babies out of 100 in the country are born with some birth defect. In total, about 27 million babies in India. Spina Bifida is a birth defect and is prevalent all over the world. One must try and understand this birth defect, its causes, symptoms, diagnoses, treatments, and prevention, among other factors, to deal with it better and be more generally informed about different types of birth defects.

How Does Spina Bifida Occur?

What causes spina bifida? One may be curious to know how Spina Bifida occurs. One may suffer from spina bifida since birth, and its primary causes occur even before the child’s birth, during fetal development. When fetal development occurs, and the spinal column does not close appropriately, spina bifida may arise. The spina bifida condition is hence considered a birth defect and affects the people that suffer from it from birth. Spina Bifida is a birth defect related to the neural tube and maybe a complicated medical issue. The complications increase with the severity of spina bifida. This neural tube defect involves the spinal cord and nerves herniating out of the back of the baby as they have not formed properly, forming a kind of swelling in the region of the back of the newborn or infant. One must note that while Spina bifida causes are largely unknown, it is assumed that the birth defect could be caused as a result of environmental or genetic issues. Spina bifida in adults or spina bifida symptoms in adults may usually occur for the same reasons. The spina bifida may have been a birth defect they have lived with all their lives.

Types Of Spina Bifida

Spina Bifida - Spina Bifida Types

There are three main types of spina bifida:

Spina bifida occulta: This is the mildest form and often goes unnoticed, as it doesn’t cause any visible symptoms. In this type, there is a small defect or gap in one or more of the vertebrae of the spine, but the spinal cord and nerves remain unaffected. Many people with spina bifida occulta may never know they have it, as it typically doesn’t cause problems.

Meningocele: This is a rarer and more moderate form of spina bifida, in which the protective membranes around the spinal cord (meninges) protrude through the open part of the spine. The spinal cord itself remains unaffected. Symptoms can vary, but in some cases, there may be few or no symptoms at all. In others, individuals may experience issues with bladder and bowel function or have a visible lump on their back.

Myelomeningocele: This is the most severe form of spina bifida, also known as open spina bifida. In this type, the spinal cord and nerves protrude through the open part of the spine, resulting in a sac-like structure that is exposed on the newborn’s back. This can cause significant nerve damage and lead to various complications, such as paralysis, loss of sensation, and issues with bladder and bowel control. In many cases, individuals with myelomeningocele also develop hydrocephalus, a condition where excess fluid accumulates in the brain.

Symptoms Of Spina Bifida

Spina bifida signs and symptoms may sometimes appear, depending on the severity of the defect. Different symptoms may arise when one is suffering from different issues related to a person’s health. It may be helpful to learn about and understand these symptoms as they may assist the person or the medical professional that they are visiting to conclude what they may be suffering from, just like spina bifida symptoms. One may be curious as to what symptoms appear when someone has spina bifida. It is important to keep these Spina Bifida symptoms in mind to identify them. One may also note that different kinds of issues may persist when spina bifida is present in children and when there is spina bifida in adults. Spina bifida signs and symptoms must be addressed to understand what kind of treatments and medical assistance a person may require.

Diagnosis Of Spina Bifida

To commence treatment for a particular medical condition, one may first have to be appropriately diagnosed with that condition. Different types of health-related or medical conditions may have different ways in which they are diagnosed. There may be different ways before spina bifida diagnosis to conclude that a person is experiencing some spina bifida symptoms, which may be then addressed. It is important to pay attention to these spina bifida signs and symptoms in order to address issues related to it early. This may help avoid complications. There may also be unique ways to diagnose the birth defect in order to undergo spina bifida treatment. One may employ a multitude of methods to diagnose spina bifida types. A common way to diagnose spina bifida would be to take a blood sample from the mother. This process is called AFP or alpha-fetoprotein. Another way of checking for spina bifida would be to do an ultrasound. An ultrasound will be done of the baby.

It should be noted that the spina bifida generally shows up in the second trimester of the pregnancy, so this is when the ultrasound to check for spina bifida shall be done. Another process called Amniocentesis may be done to check for spina bifida. The process of Amniocentesis will be based on the amniotic fluid that is inside the womb and surrounding the baby. A sample of this amniotic fluid will be procured from inside the womb for this procedure and to diagnose spina bifida. Imaging processes such as X-rays, CT scans, or MRIs may be performed in order to diagnose the baby with spina bifida after they have already been born. After being correctly diagnosed, one may be able to move ahead toward receiving spina bifida treatment.

Treatment For Spina Bifida

When suffering from some medical treatment, the person must be aware of what treatments may be available for different medical conditions. It is also a good idea to know how one may tackle and treat the condition or the birth defect of Spina Bifida. This is important because health-related or medical conditions may hinder and reduce the quality of a person’s life, especially if they suffer it for an extended period of time in the formative years of their life. The spina bifida treatment depends on the spina bifida types one suffers from. Babies who may be suffering from the myelomeningocele and meningocele forms of spina bifida may need more medical assistance than the babies who are suffering from spina bifida occulta as spina bifida occulta is considered to be a less severe situation. When the baby is suffering from myelomeningocele, spina bifida surgery may be performed on them, aiming to fix the defect they are suffering from. This spina bifida surgery will be performed after the birth of the baby.

In the case of the spina bifida type hydrocephalus, where fluid or water may fill the brain, in this situation, a shunt, which looks like a hollow tube, may be inserted into the head of a child to remove this fluid or water by employing a kind of draining process. In some spina bifida cases, babies may have a tethered spinal cord. The tethered spinal cord involves the spinal cord being attached to the spinal canal. Spina bifida surgery will be needed to fix this situation.
By looking at the different spina bifida types and spina bifida treatment, we may observe different types of treatment for different types of spina bifida. One must duly note that the kind of treatment needed to treat spina bifida will depend on the severity of the type of spina bifida.

What Kind Of Medical Professionals Are Suitable To Treat Spina Bifida?

Different medical professionals may have different medical expertise when it comes to different kinds of health conditions. There are conditions such as spina bifida, which are usually detected right after the birth of a baby. This may not require the medical assistance of someone like a gynecologist, but those medical professionals who are trained to deal with such an issue specifically may focus on training their medical skills more on children. It may, however, be confusing for someone who is not from a medical background to be able to understand what kind of medical professional they must approach to get the necessary treatment for spina bifida. To treat a baby or a child for spina bifida, there must be proper medical supervision from a qualified person to deal with it. Parents, family members, or guardians might be keen to understand who they should acquire medical services from to properly treat their baby or child currently suffering from spina bifida. There are different spina bifida types, so one may need different treatments based on the intensity of the spina bifida. In order to successfully carry out spina bifida diagnosis and spina bifida treatment, one must visit a pediatric neurosurgeon, orthopedist, and urologist who will be able to guide the treatments related to spina bifida.

Complications That May Occur Due To Spina Bifida

Whenever a person is suffering from or has some kind of medical issue or a birth defect such as spina bifida, there is always some chance of complication due to the medical condition at hand. This may cause additional issues for the patient past the general symptoms of the health-related complexity and one must be aware of what kind of complications may generally happen when a person has that medical issue. Complications are the effects that may occur as a result of the medical condition but are not direct symptoms of the condition. These things may further complicate a person’s health situation when they have already experienced a particular health issue. One may experience varying spina bifida symptoms and complications based on the different spina bifida types. Firstly. One may experience physical and neurological problems as a result of spina bifida. One may also experience the filling of fluid or water in the brain. Babies born with myelomeningocele will most likely experience this and need a shunt placed in their body, moving the fluid from their brain to their abdomen as required. This shunt is called a ventricular shunt and may be put into the body of the person or baby suffering from spina bifida, usually myelomeningocele, right after they are born.

One may also experience the compilation of meningitis. People suffering from spina bifida, specifically myelomeningocele, will be at risk of this. Meningitis is an infection caused by the protective coverings of the brain and spinal cord. A bacterial or viral infection generally causes meningitis but can also be a complication of spina bifida. Meningitis usually causes some kind of swelling. There is generally no treatment for meningitis. A person may recover from it in a couple of days, ranging from one week to ten days. In the case of meningitis caused due to some viral fever, antiviral medicine may be used to treat the same.

How Can One Prevent Spina Bifida?

As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure, and with spina bifida, prevention certainly is better than cure. One may be knowledgeable about spina bifida treatment, but it may help to know how it can be avoided. By preventing spina bifida, one will ensure that the quality of life of a child does not fall even before they are out of the womb. It is not worth taking risks before the birth of a child and having the child struggle as soon as they are born. Children of the present form our future citizens. We must try and afford them the best quality of life, including the best quality of health. As the medical of spina bifida arises when the fetus is still inside the womb, or the mother is still carrying the fetus in her womb, the mother may be the person who would be able to take adequate steps to ensure that spina bifida may be prevented. The woman may take a suitable amount of folic acid regularly to make sure that there are no neural tube defects that occur.

Is It A Life-Threatening Issue?

Many diseases and medical issues may severely affect the condition of the person. On being diagnosed, the person may immediately become aware of what the outlook relating to the treatment for the disease looks like and what the statistics and chances of survival for the person, child, or baby are. There are numerous spina bifida types. In the case of spina bifida, this is not generally considered a life-threatening disease. Most children who have e spina bifida do not even face any problems because of it and will most likely be able to live a normal life. However, there are different types of spina bifida which may range from mild to much more severe in nature. The mildest form of spina bifida is called ‘Occulta’. ‘Occulta’ means ‘hidden’, which refers to the birth defect of the person that may be hidden in nature. The defect is not open. Children who may have this condition will most likely never suffer health-wise. They will also not have any complications or issues related to their spinal cord. People who suffer in this condition will only suffer if the hidden cause is severe enough. More severe cases when it comes to spina bifida types, such as Meningocele, which is more severe, and myelomeningocele, cause the child to suffer more, with more complications and issues.

The ‘Hidden Disorder’ Of Spina Bifida

Spina bifida means ‘split spine’. The mildest form of the spina bifida type is called ‘occulta’, which means ‘hidden’. In this situation, there is no swelling on the back of the person suffering from spina bifida, and only the outer part of some of the vertebrae may not be entirely closed. The splits in vertebrae are so small that there is no projection from the back of the person suffering from this condition. The person with spina bifida occulta may not even need to undergo spina bifida treatment. The reason that the spina bifida, specifically the spina bigfida occulta, is called ‘hidden’ is because many people do not even get to know many times that the person or the child is suffering from it. It is estimated that around 10 to 20 percent of the population could have spina bifida occulta, but it goes undiagnosed many times. Around 15 percent of all people may have spina bifida and know that they do.

Additionally, the cause of this medical condition is also not known. Some experts deduce that spina bifida causes may be a combination of genetic factors and environmental factors that affect the development of the fetus. Many people who do not realize that they suffer from spina bifida at a younger age turn into the situation of spina bifida in adults, where it may go largely undetected if there have been no complications till such an age.

Impacts Of This Condition On Lifestyle

Effects of spina bifida in adults and children may manifest in different ways. People that suffer from spina bifida may experience different kinds of issues than those who are not suffering from spina bifida. It has been observed that those suffering from spina bifida often suffer from mental and social problems, which may socially impair them, causing them to feel unwelcome in many situations. The people that suffer from spina bifida may also have issues related to movement, using the toilet, might suffer from allergies like latex allergy, may put on weight as a result of not being able to move around too much, may have skin issues, suffer from gastrointestinal disorders, learning disabilities, emotional issues such as depression, and tendonitis. Spina bifida in adults has also manifested in sexual issues.

Famous People With Spina Bifida

Several people have the medical condition of spina bifida. Some of these people may also be famous. Some famous people with spina bifida are

  • Frida Kahlo, an artist,
  • Jean Driscoll, a wheelchair racer & Olympian,
  • Jay Bradford Fowler, a poet,
  • Jim LeBrecht, a sound designer,
  • Rene Kirby an actor and
  • Robert Hensel, a poet

Why Is It Important To Be Educated About Medical Conditions?

On a personal level, medical conditions may be something that an individual suffers from. In this case, it is a good idea to understand the intricacies, the ins, and outs of the medical issue so that one may be able to grasp more of the issue they are facing, the symptoms that are generally observed in relation to it, the best ways to tackle the diseases in relation to the medical supervision the person may require, the kinds of medicines or treatments they would need, the best way to cover costs related to that particular disease among several other important things that one may have to know about the disease or health conditions, especially as a patient of it, just as in the case of spina bifida. One may not even have spina bifida, but knowing about spina bifida treatment could assist them personally or even someone they know if they are suffering from the defect or even as general knowledge if they may be talking to someone about birth defects or making a donation towards the cause of spina bifida.

Conclusion

As per WHO and MOD meeting reports, when the issue of neonatal mortality is observed, birth defects comprise 7 percent of all neonatal deaths. Neonatal deaths are the death of newborn babies within 28 days of birth. Birth defects are health issues everyone wants to avoid. Spina bifida, a birth defect, is worrisome when detected or diagnosed. Still, with adequate professional assistance and the right medical treatments, one may surpass this and lead a much better quality of life. It is always advisable to first try and understand how to tackle such situations rather than just being alarmed and shocked about them. Calmly trying to resolve and navigate the issue would be a much better idea, and the same goes for Spina Bifida. The occurrence of spina bifida in India is about 1.9 people per thousand births.

The total treatment cost for spina bifida can get very expensive, and one might find it difficult to pay the medical bills with just their own funds. To tackle this issue, crowdfunding in India is gaining popularity as a choice for getting medical funds. You can use a trusted platform like Impact Guru to crowdfund for medical needs.