If you have sickle cell disease, it is important to keep as healthy as possible on a daily basis. This means doing regular exercise, eating healthily, drinking plenty of water, staying warm and avoiding chills, and getting plenty of rest. It’s also important to have regular check-ups with your doctor and hospital team. They’ll keep a close eye on you and make sure your medicines are doing their jobs properly.
Sickle Cell Disease
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of inherited disorders in which hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen, becomes hard and sticky and looks like a sickle. The symptoms of sickle cell disease include abdominal pain, bone pain, shortness of breath, delayed growth, fatigue, fever and chest pain. A bone marrow transplant may cure the disease; otherwise, treatment focuses on symptom management.
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Jumo Health answeredSee All 2 Answers
Sickle cell disease treatments include the following:
- Medicines such as hydroxyurea.
- Painkillers to help get rid of the pain. They mostly come as pills or liquids. If people have a lot of pain, they might need to go to the hospital to get stronger painkillers intravenously (through an IV).
- Heat, like taking a warm bath or putting a warm towel on the painful area.
- Antibiotics and vaccinations to stop people from getting serious bacterial infections. Antibiotics come as pills or liquids. Vaccinations are injections that people get once a year. They help prevent infections happening in the first place.
- Blood transfusions, which give people extra hemoglobin. Transfusions are given as a slow infusion by IV into the bloodstream.
- Vitamin pills called folic acid, which help the body make new red blood cells (RBCs) to replace the ones that have been broken down.
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A simple blood test can be done to find out if someone has sickle cell trait (SCT). Testing is available at most hospitals or medical centers, from SCD community-based organizations, or at local health departments. A small sample of blood is taken from the finger (a “needle prick”) and evaluated in a laboratory.
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RealAge answeredBlood transfusions are a type of treatment for sickle cell disease. The blood of someone who has sickle cell disease contains an abnormal form of hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that transports oxygen throughout the body. In some people with sickle cell disease, that hemoglobin takes on a sickle or crescent shape, making it difficult for the cells to move normally through blood vessels and raising the person's risk for blood vessel blockage and stroke.
Transfusions of red blood cells can increase the proportion of normal hemoglobin to abnormal hemoglobin and may reduce the risk of stroke and other complications in someone who has sickle cell disease. -
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People with sickle cell trait don't have sickle cell disease and don't usually show any signs of the disease. However—in rare cases—people with sickle cell trait might experience complications and, in extreme circumstances, sudden death. More research is needed to find out why some people with sickle cell trait have complications and others do not.
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People with sickle cell trait can play sports and do other intense activities (e.g., military training). However, they should take steps to help prevent problems, like drinking plenty of water and resting often. In their extreme form and in rare cases, the following conditions could be harmful for people with sickle cell trait:
- Increased pressure in the atmosphere (e.g., while scuba diving)
- Low oxygen levels in the air (e.g., when mountain climbing, exercising extremely hard in military boot camp or training for an athletic competition)
- Dehydration (e.g., too little water in the body)
- High altitudes (e.g., flying, mountain climbing or visiting a city at a high altitude)
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The pediatric intensivist cares for patients with sickle cell anemia. Some patients have pain crises that require intravenous fluids and pain medications. Also, some are prone to bacterial infections that require intravenous antibiotics and monitoring. In addition, a patient with sickle cell disease is at increased risk for stroke and if this occurs would require treatment in the intensive care unit. -
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SCD is a genetic condition that is present at birth. In SCD, the red blood cells become hard and sticky and look like a C-shaped farm tool called a “sickle.” The sickle cells die early, which causes a constant shortage of red blood cells. Also, when they travel through small blood vessels, they get stuck and clog the blood flow. This can cause pain and other serious problems. It is inherited when a child receives two sickle cell genes—one from each parent. A person with SCD can pass the disease or SCT on to his or her children.