Sickle Cell Anemia - Help for Sickle Cell Patients

To most of you who don't know or may be have not heard of sickle Cell Anemia or the Sickle Cell Disease, I think this thread may help you know more about this disease and how you can help save sickle cell patients. Sickle cell is a disease that mostly affects black Americans and Africans. Sickle cell disease is a blood disorder that is inherited by blood. Hemoglobin or the red blood cell help transport oxygen across the body. The normal hemoglobin is the type A. The type C and the type S are abnormal forms of hemoglobin that do not transport adequate oxygen or in some cases do not transport oxygen at all. Sickle cell anemia has the type S which is an abnormal form of hemoglobin and hence cannot and do not transport adequate supply of oxygen due to its abnormal sickle shape

Types of Sickle Cell Disease

There are several types of sickle cell disease. The most common are: Sickle Cell Anemia (SS), Sickle-Hemoglobin C Disease (SC)
Sickle Beta-Plus Thalassemia and Sickle Beta-Zero Thalassemia.

What is Sickle Cell Trait?

Sickle Cell trait (AS) is an inherited condition in which both hemoglobin A and S are produced in the red blood cells, always more A than S. Sickle cell trait is not a type of sickle cell disease. People with sickle cell trait are generally healthy.

Inheritance

Sickle cell conditions are inherited from parents in much the same way as blood type, hair color and texture, eye color and other physical traits. The types of hemoglobin a person makes in the red blood cells depend upon what hemoglobin genes the person inherits from his or her parents. Like most genes, hemoglobin genes are inherited in two sets…one from each parent.

Examples:

If one parent has Sickle Cell Anemia and the other is Normal, all of the children will have sickle cell trait.

If one parent has Sickle Cell Anemia and the other has Sickle Cell Trait, there is a 50% chance (or 1 out of 2) of having a baby with either sickle cell disease or sickle cell trait with each pregnancy.

When both parents have Sickle Cell Trait, they have a 25% chance (1 of 4) of having a baby with sickle cell disease with each pregnancy.

How will I know if I have the Trait?

A SIMPLE PAINLESS BLOOD TEST followed by a laboratory technique called Hemoglobin Electrophoresis will determine the type of hemoglobin you have. When you pass an electric charge through a solution of hemoglobin, distinct hemoglobins move different distances, depending on their composition. This technique differentiates between normal hemoglobin (A), Sickle hemoglobin (S), and other different kinds of hemoglobin (such as C, D, E, etc.).
Medical Problems

Sickle cells are destroyed rapidly in the body of people with the disease causing anemia, jaundice and the formation of gallstones.

The sickle cells also block the flow of blood through vessels resulting in lung tissue damage (acute chest syndrome), pain episodes (arms, legs, chest and abdomen), stroke and priapism (painful prolonged erection). It also causes damage to most organs including the spleen, kidneys and liver. Damage to the spleen makes sickle cell disease patients, especially young children, easily overwhelmed by certain bacterial infections.
Treatment

Health maintenance for patients with sickle cell disease starts with early diagnosis, preferably in the newborn period and includes penicillin prophylaxis, vaccination against pneumococcus bacteria and folic acid supplementation.

Treatment of complications often includes antibiotics, pain management, intravenous fluids, blood transfusion and surgery all backed by psychosocial support. Like all patients with chronic disease patients are best managed in a comprehensive multi-disciplinary program of care.

Blood transfusions help benefit sickle cell disease patients by reducing recurrent pain crises, risk of stroke and other complications. Because red blood cells contain iron, and there is no natural way for the body to eliminate it, patients who receive repeated blood transfusions can accumulate iron in the body until it reaches toxic levels. It is important to remove excess iron from the body, because it can gather in the heart, liver, and other organs and may lead to organ damage. Treatments are available to eliminate iron overload.

I am sickle cell anemic but the good thing is that I am fit and strong because I follow the doctor's advice. Sickle cell is very painful but it is not your fault that you have sickle cell and the only thing you can do to help yourself is to follow doctor's advice. follow the Dos and the Don'ts and forget about what people say about sickle cell. It is true that most sickle cell patients die before the age 20 but I am 26 years old and I am strong and healthy. If you are planning on getting married then I will advice to go for a check up especially if you are a black American or an African because in doing so, you are helping prevent the spreading of sickle cell anemia and you are helping your children and you are helping yourself because you will never be happy if your children are not healthy. Sickle cell is not like HIV/AIDS. You may be a carrier but that is even better than the normal form because carrier patients do not suffer from diseases such as malaria and hence carrier patients tend to survive in malaria zones such as in Africa and in India the only problem is that, you may transfer the bad form of the disease to your offspring. Remember to go for a check up before you say "I do"