GET INFORMED! Sickle Cell Disease: Symptoms and Complications

GET INFORMED!

Sickle Cell Disease: Symptoms and Complications

 by Maya Bryant

Sickle Cell Disease is a serious disease that has very serious symptoms.  Symptoms of the disease start at the early age of 4 months, and can occur entirely throughout one’s lifespan.  This segment is to inform about the various symptoms of Sickle Cell Disease. In the next segment, we will then discuss the treatments for these symptoms.  

Early Symptoms 

The earliest symptom for a patient with sickle cell can be found within the first 4 months of life.  This symptom is known as hand-foot syndrome.  Because babies have very small hands and feet, sickle cells can easily get clogged in the tiny blood vessels of these areas and cause the hands and feet to swell.  

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Other Complications
The majority of problems that come with sickle cell come from block blood vessel due to the clogging of sickle cells.  Patients with sickle cells often get organ damage, especially in the spleen.  Since the spleen is a prominent part of the immune system, patients with sickle cell disease have a high risk of infections. 

Other symptoms include 

• delayed growth
• jaundice
• vision problems
• coldness in the hands and feet
• fatigue
• dizziness
• shortness of breath

It is important for patients with sickle cell to adopt and maintain a healthy diet that that is low in salt, added sugars, and solid fats to prevent symptoms as much as possible.  The patient should also drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration.  Most doctors recommend for patients to take folic acid to help the body make more red blood cells.  

Sickle Cell Crisis 

The main complication that comes with sickle cells disease is sickle cell crisis.  This can be found anywhere in the body where blood flows, but mainly occurs in the joints.  People with this disease describe the feeling of the crisis as repeatedly being stabbed with a butcher knife in the same spot.  All patients with sickle cell have crises, but some have them more often than others.  If the pain is unbearable, the patient needs to go to the hospital as soon as possible.  Some crises last for a couple hours, while others can occur for weeks at a time.