hirschsprung's disease and disability benefits

Hirschsprung's Disease and Disability Benefits

In this article, we will unpack the definition of Hirschsprung's Disease and what potential disability benefits can possibly be obtained due to this disease. There are many common disabilites that have the capacity to change the quality of life you experience, as well as alter (however big or small) your daily routine as you now know it. Hirschsprungs Disease is also called by three other names:

  • Congenital Aganglionic Megacolon
  • Aganglionosis
  • Congenital Aganglionosis

Let's begin by the defining what this common disability is. By definition, Hirschsprung's Disease is a disease of the large intestine. To be clear, the large intestine is also referred at times as your "colon", and "bowl" equally refers to both the large and small intestine. With this disease, your colon will become enlarged due directly to your bowl having an obstruction which is created from an aganglionic section of your bowl. Simply stated, the normal enteric nerves are absent within your bowl and therefore creating the domino affect of your bowl being obstructed, beginning at your anus and progressing upwards. Due to the uniqueness of the human body, the length of the bowl affected will vary, however it rarely stretches beyond the measure of a foot. In children suffering from Hirschsprung's Disease, it cannot feel like a common disease, as they suffer greatly from constipation. Their bowl movements are difficult, at best, and many children are unable to have a bowl movement at all. The unpassed bial creates a blockage in their intentine, and effectively causes extreme discomfort. 

Because this common disease affects children, the side effects created by Hirschsprung's Disease will be different from person to person, along with the severity and condition of this particular disease. Sometimes these symptoms will surface as soon as a baby is born, while at other times the same symptoms may not even come to the surface until the baby becomes a teenager or even as an adult. Below we will identify the symptoms used to identify this common disease in newborns:

  • Diarrhea
  • Constipation or gas that can make a newborn fussy
  • Failure to pass stool within the first or second day of life
  • Vomiting that includes vomiting a green liquid called bile. This is a digestive fluid that is produced from the liver.

Moving on, let's identify the symptoms within older children:

  • Lack of gaining weight
  • A swollen abdomen
  • Infections in the colon, especially in the newborns or extremely young children that could potentially include enterocolitis. This is a serious infection that includes vomiting, diarrhea, fever, and sometimes a dangerous expanding (meaning dialation) of the colon. 
  • Problems absorbing nutrients that lead to diarrhea, weight loss or both, and slowed or delayed growth.

Now, let's address older children and adults:

  • A low number of red blood cells, also known as anemia, because blood is lost in the stool
  • Chronic constipation

During this process of discovering your child has been diagnosed with Hirschsprung's Disease, you may have sought to gain financial assistance for your child with a common disability through applying for either Social Security disability benefits or disability benefits from the Social Security Administration because of the disability caused by Hirschsprung's Disease in additon to/or some other disabling conditions along with it. Perhaps you have been denied the assistance, and if so, are you thinking of appealing the denial? It would be in your very best interest to retain the services of an experienced, knowledgeable, and professional disability attorney who are capable of assisitng you in your specific case. As always, this is merely general information. Please contact us to find details about receiving disability. 

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