Symptoms of downs syndrome consist of 50 distinct characteristics. Children
and adults living with downs syndrome may show all, or most of these general
body features.
Shorter height
Low muscle tone
Hyper flexibility
Broad feet with short
toes
Short, broad, arms
and legs
Small head
Abnormal shaped skull
Short ears
Shorts hands and
fingers
A single crease along
the palms of hands
Unusually shaped rib
cage
Slanting eyes
Protruding nose
Protruding stomach
Prevention and Cures
When a baby is born with a birth defect, often times the parents begin to
wonder whether they were responsible. However, downs syndrome is a birth defect
that cannot be prevented. No amount of prenatal care or vitamins can control or
influence the number of chromosomes a baby inherits. Thus, parents should not
blame themselves.
Because children born with downs syndrome were prone to infections and heart
problems, many babies died prematurely. Today, most health problems associated
with downs syndrome are treatable, which contributes too many children living
very long lives. For example, advances in medicines have contributed to
successfully treating severe recurrent infections. Surgery is extremely
effective with correcting heart defects and gastrointestinal defects. If
diagnosed early, leukemia victims may undergo treatment (surgery, radiation
therapy, or chemotherapy) to treat this form of cancer. Although there is no
cure for downs syndrome, many doctors, and researchers across the globe are
diligently searching for ways to prevent this birth defect.