Free
E-newsletter
Subscribe to Housecall
Our weekly general interest
e-newsletter keeps you up to date
on a wide variety of health topics.
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Coping and support
By Mayo Clinic staff
Support for you and your family
The challenges for parents, families and caregivers of children with severe disabilities are great. Joining a support group for parents of children with Hunter syndrome or other MPS syndromes can be a great way to obtain practical information and daily living strategies from other parents in similar situations to your own. Many families often find friendship and encouragement in support groups, as well. Ask your doctor if there's a group in your area.
The intense supervision that may be needed for your child can cause you and other caregivers to become physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted. It's important to get help from other family members and to find other kinds of support. If respite care is available, take advantage of it so that you can have a break and be more effective in the long run to meet the day-to-day challenges of caring for a child with special needs.
Check with your county and state for resources that may be available to you as a parent of a child with special needs.
Letting others know
Due to a narrow airway, people with Hunter syndrome often have difficulty receiving a breathing tube (being intubated) during general anesthesia. You may wish to note this on child care or school forms so that emergency personnel can be alerted to this fact, in case your child has an emergency and you're not there. An experienced anesthesia specialist (anesthesiologist) should perform the intubation of a person with Hunter syndrome.
- Scarpa, et al. Mucopolysaccharidosis type II: European recommendations for the diagnosis and multidisciplinary management of a rare disease. Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases. 2011;6:1.
- Martin R, et al. Recognition and diagnosis of mucopolysaccharidosis II (Hunter syndrome). Pediatrics. 2008;121:e377.
- Mucopolysaccharidoses fact sheet. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/mucopolysaccharidoses/detail_mucopolysaccharidoses.htm. Accessed Oct. 11, 2012.
- Kakkis E, et al. Complications and management of the mucopolysaccharidoses. http://www.uptodate.com/ index. Accessed Sept. 21, 2012.
- Muenzer J, et al. Multidisciplinary management of Hunter syndrome. Pediatrics. 2009;124:e1228.
- Da Silva EMK, et al. Enzyme replacement therapy with idursulfase for mucopolysaccharidosis type II (Hunter syndrome). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2011; 9:CD008185. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD008185.pub2/abstract. Accessed Oct. 1, 2012.
- Valayannopoulos V, et al. Therapy for the mucopolysaccharidoses. Rheumatology. 2011;50:v49.
Find Mayo Clinic on