Sickle Cell Anemia Symptoms: What You Need to Know

Sickle cell 贫血, also called sickle cell disease, affects roughly 4,500 people in South Carolina. It’s a disease that doesn’t always get much attention — and that’s a serious problem. Sickle cell 贫血 symptoms often appear during infancy. Identifying the disease early allows children to manage the disease and grow into healthy adults.

解释镰状细胞病

“健康y blood cells are round and flat, like a disc,” says ann marie Gault, NP-C, who provides acute and comprehensive, routine care to sickle cell patients at the 博福特纪念镰状细胞诊所. “有镰状细胞病, the cells are curved and shaped more like a banana or a sickle, which is how the condition got its name. Sickle cells are more rigid than healthy cells, and they don’t travel through blood vessels as easily. This can hinder blood flow to organs and tissues throughout the body, leading to fatigue and other health problems.”

Sickle cell disease is an inherited condition, which means that it’s present at birth. 它不能在以后的生活中发展.

“Most babies show symptoms at some point during the first year of life, 通常在5或6个月大的时候,高尔特说。. “But we test for sickle cell disease as part of routine 产前护理 筛查，让家长做好准备.”

Common Early Signs of Sickle Cell Disease

Some of the most common symptoms children with sickle cell disease have include jaundice, 手脚疲劳、肿胀. Most symptoms, however, are actually those related to the disease’s complications. 例如, 贫血, a condition in which blood doesn’t carry enough oxygen throughout the body, is often a complication for babies and children, 成年人也一样.

“The average lifespan of a healthy red blood cell is 90 to 120 days,高尔特说。. “镰状细胞只能存活10到20天. 病人 develop 贫血 because their bodies can’t replace red blood cells as fast as they need to.”

Anemia may cause someone to feel tired, cold, dizzy and/or irritable. In severe cases, patients with 贫血 may need 输血.

Pain is another common symptom of sickle cell disease — sickle cells stick to blood vessel walls, slowing or stopping blood flow and oxygen to the organs and tissues. 这可能会导致严重的疼痛.

“We call this a pain crisis, and it’s serious,高尔特说。. “A pain crisis can happen anywhere on the body and last hours or even days. In some cases, patients require hospitalization.”

Other complications of sickle cell disease include:

• 急性胸综合征; in which the lungs are deprived of oxygen, leading to chest pain, fever and trouble breathing. Acute chest syndrome is a medical emergency that requires immediate care.
• 慢性疼痛, 这和疼痛危机有什么不同
• 眼睛的问题, as a result of damage to the eye’s blood vessels, 尤其是在视网膜上, 什么会导致视力丧失
• 心脏问题, including pulmonary hypertension and coronary artery disease. If a patient needs frequent 输血, they may also have heart damage from iron overload.
• 脾隔离危机; 或者脾脏肿大. 最常见于新生儿和儿童, the condition occurs when red blood cells get trapped in the spleen, increasing the size of the spleen and preventing enough red blood cells from circulating. As a result, people can develop severe 贫血.
• 中风

Why It’s Important to Manage Sickle Cell Disease

Sickle cell disease can be cured with stem cell transplants, but finding a matching donor can be difficult and there are risks involved with the procedure. There is hope on the horizon for another cure – CRISPR technology, which modifies the DNA of patients’ blood cells, 目前正在研究中.

Certain medications can help people with sickle cell disease 控制他们的症状 过健康的生活. The FDA recently approved a new medication which helps reduce vasocclusive crisis in sickle cell patients. Our sickle cell clinic has several patients on the new medication and has seen positive results.

澳门永利在线赌场移动官网 established the sickle cell clinic in 2018 to provide ongoing health maintenance and pain management for area residents suffering from the disease. In addition to disease-modifying therapy, many sickle cell patients visit the clinic for regular 输血. 美国.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved a new medication that helps reduce vasocclusive crisis in sickle cell patients. Our sickle cell clinic has several patients on the new medication and has seen positive results.

阅读更多: Danielle Jaimison’s Story of Living With Sickle Cell Disease

“One of the best things patients with sickle cell disease can do is maintain a relationship with their primary care provider,高尔特说。. “Keeping in touch will help manage sickle cell 贫血 symptoms and prevent problems later in life.”

Help members of your community who have sickle cell disease by 今天献血 在我们当地的血库“一血.