Toxicosis this condition is called only because it is associated with pregnancy and after it passes. And correctly call it gestosis. About what is late toxicosis during pregnancy, what is accompanied and how to cope with it, and will be discussed below.
What is gestosis?
Not necessarily late toxicosis will be accompanied by nausea and vomiting. Let's say even more, his - toxicosis - a woman generally can not feel and feel perfectly healthy. That's the cunning! Its main signs: protein in the urine, high blood pressure and swelling. And one of them is enough to suspect something is amiss.
For example, swelling. They arise as a result of seepage of the liquid part of the blood (plasma) from the blood vessels into the tissue. Edema itself is common for women in an "interesting" position. But one thing is when the legs swell only towards evening, and by morning everything passes. And quite another thing, when swellings become permanent, shoes do not get naked, the face, hands, and the wedding ring are tight around the ring finger. If the swelling is hidden, then their presence can produce too rapid increase in weight, an ankle increase more than 1 cm during the week and a decrease in the amount of 24-hour urine. The protein in the urine appears for the same reason as the swelling - a blood protein seeps through the vascular wall, and the kidneys begin to remove it from the body.
Elevated blood pressure in the second half of pregnancy is dangerous in that it is accompanied by spasms of the blood vessels of the placenta. And this means that a little man will not get enough oxygen and nutrients from the mother's body. Hence intrauterine hypoxia (oxygen starvation), reduced height and weight of the baby, and in the most severe cases the child may die. Dangerous is the pressure above 140/90, in foreign literature - 160/110. Such changes in a pregnant woman can lead to headaches, dizziness, weakness, noise in the ears, nausea, vomiting, "flashing of flies before your eyes."
Stages of late toxicosis
Dropsy. Or simply - swelling. The pressure is not yet off scale and the analysis of urine does not cause suspicion. Doctors usually recommend less drinking and giving up salt food. But the attitude to the liquid has now been revised. It turns out that in a pregnant woman with edema in the body, paradoxically enough, there is not enough fluid, she leaves the vessels all the way into the tissues. Therefore, we must drink. But salt is really an enemy that detains fluid in the body. And you need not only not to salt food, but also to avoid foods that contain a lot of salt. If swellings are not treated, they can go to nephropathy.
Nephropathy. This is not only edema, but also high blood pressure, and changes in the analysis of urine. However, these symptoms can be present either by themselves, or in any combination. It is important to measure the amount of urine released, and if it constantly decreases, it indicates the development of the disease. The risk of developing nephropathy is higher in those who, without pregnancy, had problems with kidneys, pressure. After all, pregnancy is the catalyst for many ailments. Nephropathy of varying severity is dangerous for both the fetus and the mother. Therefore, do not think of refusing to be hospitalized. Especially since nephropathy can go to pre-eclampsia.
Preeclampsia. In addition to all of the above, at this stage there is a severe headache, a visual disturbance or pain in the stomach. There is nausea, vomiting, irritability, indifference, lethargy, insomnia develops or, conversely, drowsiness, memory can be broken. In the analysis of blood, the number of platelets decreases, that is, blood coagulability decreases, in addition, liver function is impaired.
Eclampsia. Convulsions, loss of consciousness, high blood pressure, disruption of all major systems and organs. The appearance of seizures can provoke pain or a stressful situation, even such "harmless" stimuli as noise and bright light. The woman loses consciousness, breathing stops, and the muscles of the whole body begin to decrease tetanically (ie, for a long time). The attack lasts 1-2 minutes, after which the woman slowly regains consciousness, but does not remember what happened. Her head hurts, and she feels broken. Sometimes seizures may follow one after another.
The most dangerous thing is that eclampsia can lead to a hemorrhage into the brain, lung edema and fetal death. It often occurs at the time of delivery, less often after and during pregnancy. In extreme cases, for the sake of saving the life of the mother and child, early delivery or a cesarean section is performed. Still late toxicosis during pregnancy is dangerous due to its consequences. Women can develop chronic kidney pathology and hypertension.
Why is it so?
A single and final opinion of doctors about the causes of the emergence and development of gestosis is not yet available. More than 20 years ago, an American medical journal publicly promised to put a monument at the colonnade of the University of Chicago to someone who would discover the nature of late pregnancy toxicity. There is still no monument. There are only known factors that increase the risk of gestosis:
- age over 40 and younger than 20 years;
- heredity: gestosis is more common in women whose mothers during pregnancy had this complication;
- concomitant diseases of internal organs (kidneys, heart, liver), hypertension, diabetes mellitus;
- obesity;
- Multiple pregnancy and polyhydramnios;
- late toxicosis was during the previous pregnancy;
- previous abortions;
- stress.
But, unfortunately, even a relatively healthy woman is not insured against late toxicosis. Quite unexpectedly, he can develop to the very end of pregnancy, at 34-36 weeks. Physicians explain this by the failure of the adaptive mechanisms of the body due to increased stress, stress, malnutrition or a transferred cold.
What do we do?
Avoid hospitalization with the appearance of signs of late toxicosis during pregnancy, than accompanied by a pathological condition, will not succeed. After all, only in hospital conditions can a complete diagnosis of the condition of the mother and fetus. In addition, such patients generally show complete peace. Therefore, they are often prescribed valerian and motherwort. If you need to reduce blood pressure, antispasmodics are used. Loss of protein is supplemented with protein preparations, and dehydration with a dropper. Pregnant must necessarily inspect the optometrist, so that the status of the fundus can judge the degree of narrowing of the vessels. In severe cases, when treatment does not help, the pregnant woman is sent for urgent delivery to avoid eclampsia.
How to defend yourself?
Gestosis is affected by 16% to 20% of pregnant women. To avoid getting into this statistics, start to observe the simplest preventive measures. In the women's consultation, all pregnant women are regularly prescribed urine and blood tests. Women do it grinding their teeth: who will want to compete in the clinic in the morning. Especially when you feel fine. Next time, when such thoughts visit you, remember that late toxicosis can not show itself. And timely analysis can help start treatment at an early stage.
Regular weighing helps to detect hidden swelling. Starting at about 32 weeks, the weight of the pregnant woman should increase by an average of 50 grams per day, or 350-400 grams per week, or 1.6-2 kilograms per month. For the entire pregnancy, a woman, preferably, should gain 12-15 kilograms. Of course, that each organism is individual, and the excess of these indicators does not always indicate any pathology. But it must be taken into account that the risk of its development with such indicators nevertheless increases.
Regularly measure the circumference of the shin - this will allow to detect swelling in time. And do not forget to control the third dangerous symptom - blood pressure. It is advisable to do this at home, regularly and on both hands. The doctor in the women's consultation, of course, will also carry out control measurements. But, firstly, in some people, with the excitement or fear of a doctor, the pressure can jump just during the measurement. Secondly, it's easier to control rare pressure spikes yourself. Just do not forget to inform your doctor about your measurements.
In general, those who are at risk of developing late toxicosis, it is necessary to discuss this with the doctor at the very beginning of pregnancy, and even better, before conception. First of all, this applies to patients with cardiovascular diseases, nephritis and pyelonephritis, hypertension, inflammatory processes in the genital area, myoma, obesity, various disorders in the endocrine system. If your mother or sister suffered a gestosis of pregnant women, then this cup can not fail you. And even more so if the gestosis was in your previous pregnancy.
However, since late toxicosis is a completely unpredictable disease, you need to protect yourself, even the healthiest woman. First of all, protect yourself from stress and worry. To achieve complete peace, it is not forbidden to resort to the motherwort and valerian. Sleep at least 9 hours a day, live according to the regime, eat by the hour, and in the evenings - always walk in the fresh air.