Sickle Cell Anemia
Sickle cell anemia or sickle cell disease is mostly common amongst the African-American cultures. This doesn't mean that other races can have the disease as well, but it has always been with the people of color moreso. The disease is a genetic problem and is the reason why the higher percentage of people get the affliction this way. What happens is that red blood cells change shape into crescent-shaped cells. The red blood cells then break down very quickly. Oxygen is unable to therefore, get where it needs to in the body's organs. The result is sickle cell. The blood vessels which are very small cannot process these red cells, and this also causes the person to have pain. Symptomatology of Sickle Cell Anemia or Disease The symptomatology a person has with this blood disorder can vary from person to person. The common symptoms in general though, are of the following: Feeling dizzy Becoming short of breath Having frequent headaches Feeling a coldness in the extremeties Paleness Feeling chest pains
A crisis with sickle cell anemia occurs when the red blood cells that become in a state of "sickled." When this state happens, the body is greatly affected throughout the lungs, bones, abdominal area and joints. What happens during a crisis is that the red blood cells all bunch up together as one in the bloodstream. The result is that blood flow is unable to get through properly. Acute forms and chronic forms can happen in crises. Pain of an acute nature comes on suddenly going from barely present, to intolerable. This acute phase can last for many days. Chronic forms of the crisis can last for weeks or months, and is very painful. Drinking plenty of liquids can help you to prevent a more painful crisis. Having a lot of pain in a crisis can be an emergency and send a person to the hospital. The complications of this blood disorder are many. Some of them can be the following: Since blood has trouble flowing due to the abnormal structure of cells, pain is often experienced in the extremeties. You may have pain in just one foot or hand, or pain in all of them. The spleen can be affected as well. Your spleen if you don't already know, processes red blood cells that are not normal. Since this form of anemia causes clogging, it stops the spleen from filtering out bad cells. Infections The immune system is weaker in sickle cell anemia. This is because of what I just mentioned about the spleen being unable to function properly. With spleen damages, more infection is likely. The Chest and Lungs This happens due to infections with the sickled cells getting clumped and therefore hurts the lungs, causing a respiratory infection. Hypertension Hypertension of the pulmonary arterial type is common since the blood vessels that are small are damaged. This causes pressure to rise and puts pressure upon the heart to try and pump blood correctly. Another problem is that kids also have a growth problem. Since the blood cells are always struggling, this causes children to have growth problems. Puberty is also affected. Males have sexual problems in this disease. The abnormal blood cells will block the blood from flowing into the genitalia. This problem often leads to males becoming impotent. Gallstones The liver of course, makes a compound known as bilirubin. Your body should normally break down this compound. When you product too much of bilirubin, stones can just as easily form in the gallbladder. Leg ulcers Sores can appear on the legs from the sickle cell anemia type. Why it happens is unknown, but is a problem that is more pronounced in males than in females with this disease. There may be just one ulcer that forms or many. Please watch the video below for a promising treatment.
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New Therapy Studied For Sickle Cell Anemia
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