Causes, Symptoms and Treatments of Toxemia

One of the rarer pregnancy related conditions, Toxemia, sometimes called Preclamsia can be a dangerous health risk during pregnancy. Toxemia is what physicians refer to as pregnancy induced hyper tension. It occurs in approximately 5% of all pregnancies. Some of the characteristics of typical toxemia include high blood pressure, fluid retention especially in the later half of pregnancy and protein present in the urine. Toxemia is more likely to occur in first pregnancies and after the 20th week of fetal gestation. Complications from Toxemia can include jaundice or yellowing of the eyes and skin, severe headaches, excessive weight gain associated with fluid retention especially in the face and hands or ankles, blurred vision and easy bleeding or bruising. Severe cases can cause restriction of blood flow to the placenta causing harm to the unborn fetus, seizures in the mother, coma or even death of either the mother or the fetus.

The exact causes of Toxemia are not known at the present. Possible causes and risk factors for devolving Toxemia include women experiencing their first pregnancy, women carrying multiple fetus, women already diagnosed with high blood pressure, women over 40, teenage mothers, a maternal history of toxemia and women with eating disorders. African American women have a higher risk of developing toxemia during pregnancy. Some research indicates that Toxemia can also be linked to the fetus's paternal mother or siblings as well. Other conditions that can contribute to the development of toxemia include autoimmune disorders, blood vessel problems, genes, diet, a preexisting diagnosis of diabetes and prior kidney disease. Since any pregnant woman can develop toxemia even without these risk factors, health care providers will screen for toxemia symptoms during regular prenatal checkups by testing urine and blood serum samples.

Some research has indicated that certain conditions may cause the development of Toxemia as a symptom. Conditions reporting Toxemia as a byproduct include: Septicemia which is a systematic inflammatory response to an infection in the body, Bactermia which is an infection of the bloodstream, Shigellosis which is a bacterial infection caused by a group of bacteria called Shigelloses and various local diseases related to climate and environment such as Diphtheria and Tetanus. Toxic Shock Syndrome has also been known to produce Toxemia as a secondary condition. Other experts believe that Toxemia is caused by a problem with the placenta which causes the mother to have spasms in the blood vessels that feed the placenta and raises her blood pressure.

Signs and symptoms of Toxemia can vary from patient to patient, depending on the severity of the condition. Some patients relate common symptoms such as headaches, swelling and weight gain over a short period of time. Other commonly known symptoms include abdominal pain, shortness of breath, the patient becoming easily agitated, a decrease in urine output, excessive nausea or vomiting and noticeable changes in vision. Some patients report experiencing tunnel vision, temporary short periods of blackness of eyesight or seeing spots of white light. Less common symptoms of Toxemia include unexplained consistent headaches or fever, esophageal or stomach pain or itching, excessive persistent acid reflux, rash, diarrhea, myalgia, conjunctivitis and mental disorientation or confusion.

If diagnosed early enough, Toxemia can be successfully managed through the end of the pregnancy. Some forms of management include changes in diet, additional rest, routine exercise, the use of stress reduction techniques and medications prescribed as needed. If the fetus is considered far enough developed to survive outside the womb, physicians usually recommend induced delivery. This is usually done if the pregnancy has gone past 34 weeks of gestation. Most physicians will attempt to delay deliver until the 37th week of pregnancy to ensure the fetus has the optimum chance of survival since after 37 weeks is considered full term. Patients diagnosed with Toxemia require constant monitoring. With the proper monitoring of symptoms and management regime, most pregnancies with Toxemia complications will end in delivery of a mature healthy fetus. The only known effective way to cure Toxemia is to deliver the fetus.