Erythremia

Erythremia or Vacquez disease is a myeloproliferative disease occurring in the form of chronic benign leukemia.

During the development of this disease in the blood of the person suffering from it, the amount of erythrocytes, neutrophils and platelets increases.

The source of the benign tumor in Vacquez disease is the stem cell, which is the precursor of myelopoiesis.

The disease affects both men and women in equal percentage. People aged 50 to 60 are at the greatest risk of its development.

In medical science, exact reasons for the occurrence of Wakez’s disease have not yet been established.
The disease occurs in the body in stages.

The first stage – initial, the second – actual and the third – terminal. Each of the stages has its own specific clinical picture.

What are the symptoms?

In the course of the first stage of Wakez’s disease, patients report tinnitus, heaviness in the head, frequent dizziness, and fatigue too quickly.

There is a feeling of coldness in the limbs, the level of their mental performance decreases, sleep is disturbed. External manifestations on the skin are not characteristic of this stage of the disease.

The second stage of Vacquez disease is characterized by the onset of migraine-like headaches and visual impairment.

Painful sensations appear in the area of ​​the heart, angina develops. Patients often report bone pain.

Usually, during the second stage of the disease development, patients experience a decrease in body weight.

Family members report being nervous for no reason and also report frequent mood swings. The obvious symptoms that occur during the second stage are itching on the skin and redness of certain areas of it.

Dark spots associated with the development of Wernicke’s thrombosis may appear in the area of ​​the knees. Sometimes this leads to the appearance of venous ulcers.

In most of the people with this disease, during the second stage, bleeding from the gums appears and small hematomas are formed, and the liver and spleen significantly increase in size.

During the last, terminal stage of Wakez disease, patients develop cirrhosis of the liver, the lumens of their blood vessels become blocked, and areas in the brain appear where the tissue softens.

In addition, patients with erythremia often suffer from hypertension and develop stomach and duodenal ulcers.

Diagnosis

The diagnosis of the disease is made on the basis of the results obtained as a result of the clinical blood tests.

In addition, a bone marrow biopsy is performed to determine the increase in the content of all its components.

Prevention

Adherence to a healthy lifestyle can be referred to preventive measures against the disease.

It is necessary to give up all harmful habits / use of alcohol, smoking, use of narcotics/.

Maximum protection of the body from external irritants that could harm it in such a way that pathological processes may occur in the blood.

It is also necessary to maintain immunity at a high level in order to protect the body from infectious diseases, from which complications such as Vacquez’s disease can also develop.

Erythremia treatment

An effective method of treatment in the second stage of the development of the disease is simple bloodletting.

For this purpose, up to 500 ml of blood is given every 2-3 days, and blood thinners such as aspirin and sometimes heparin are necessarily prescribed.