Sickle Cell Anemia Research Paper

Sickle cell anemia is a hereditary disease, it’s a disorder of the blood caused by an inherited abnormal hemoglobin. The subject of this essay is about symptoms, causes, preventions, cures, treatment, and prognosis. The symptoms of sickle cell anemia are:
· Fatigue and anemia
· Pain crises
· Ductility which is the swelling of the hands or feet
· Bacterial
· Infections
· Splenic sequestration which is the sudden pooling of blood in the spleen, lung and heart injury
· Leg ulcers that take more than six weeks to heal
· Eye damage.
These can occur at any age. Younger children get fevers, bacterial infections, and swelling of hands and feet. Young adults get leg ulcers, eye damage, injuries of the …show more content…
It’s more important for children because their infections can be severe. Some of the vaccinations are Pneumococcal vaccine and the annual flu shot which are also important for adults with sickle cell anemia. Currently the own known cure for sickle cell anemia is A bone marrow transplant which is also called a stem cell transplant, it is replacing the bone marrow which is affected by sickle cell anemia with healthy bone marrow from a donor. If donors aren’t available, they use a match from a family member like a sibling who doesn’t have the disease, this is usually reserved for people younger than the age of 16 because the risks increase within age. [3] There are a few treatments for Sickle Cell Anemia such as blood transfusions and medications which include Antibiotics, Children from about two months old to five years old take it to prevent infections like pneumonia which can be life threatening to a child with sickle cell anemia, Pain relieving medications which are to relieve pain during a sickle cell crisis. Hydroxyurea is taken daily to reduce the pain and may reduce the need for blood transfusions and hospitalization. Hydroxyurea might cause problems later in life for people who take it for many years.

Show More