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I have recently lived with a case of sickle cell anemia. My friend Carol, unfortunately has this autoimmune syndrome that affects 2 out of 100 black people in Brazil. This disease comes from Africa and is congenital and hereditary. Despite the name anemia, it is not similar to that which is due to lack of iron, on the contrary the presence of iron can worsen the patient’s health status. The sickle cell anemia is a change of red blood cells, modified in sickle shape.
Two people with the sickle cell anemia genes can give rise to a person who is actually born with the disease and go through all this suffering. Sickle cell anemia manifests itself in the form of blood clots and here comes the difficulty of circulation in the veins and arteries causing pain throughout the body. Another cause is also normal infections for a person without anemia that cause great pain in people with anemia who are more susceptible to infections.
Good but after all What are the symptoms of sickle cell anemia?
The symptoms of sickle cell anemia are basically pain, but there are cases where the person may have complications in the organs such as spleen, gallbladder, lung, liver and other organs. Sickle cell anemia is also characterized with yellow eyes and skin. The symptoms of sickle cell anemia can be terrible, they are very severe pains that only pass with the treatment based on intravenous morphine in the hospital.
According to Carol, pain can start suddenly and without any apparent cause. It can be even in the middle of the night, or during a walk in the park. Sickle cell anemia is a little publicized problem and there are cases in which the problem is discovered after much suffering and a long time precisely due to lack of information. The diagnosis of sickle cell anemia can be made in addition to the symptoms, with a blood test called Hemoglobin S, so the doctor can come up with the appropriate treatment. A while ago, Carol had to remove her spleen because there was a blood kidnapping that is common in people with sickle cell anemia. The spleen is filled with blood and the risk of bursting increases as time passes or causes a lack of blood to other organs in the body. The cure for sickle cell anemia can happen, but it is a complicated surgery that has the same principle of treatment for leukemia,
Currently Carol has been doing well, the crises have subsided, but when she has crises, hospitalization is necessary. In São Paulo there is a hospital specialized in sickle cell anemia, the Hospital Infantil Darci Vargas, for adults the treatment is done at the clinic hospital in SP. Sickle cell anemia can be prevented with simple pre-pregnancy tests, if there are people with anemia in the family, it is always good to have tests before becoming pregnant, treatments to prevent the disease in the baby exist and are free. The important thing to say is that people with sickle cell anemia can lead a relatively normal life , of course it has its limitations, but nothing prevents them from being like you and me!
I hope I helped, a kiss from me and Carol!
See Also: Sickle Cell Anemia Doesn’t Stop My Dream – Ana Carolina
My name is Dr. Alexis Hart I am 38 years old, I am the mother of 3 beautiful children! Different ages, different phases 16 years, 12 years and 7 years. In love with motherhood since always, I found it difficult to make my dreams come true, and also some more after I was already a mother.
Since I imagined myself as a mother, in my thoughts everything seemed to be much easier and simpler than it really was, I expected to get pregnant as soon as I wished, but it wasn’t that simple. The first pregnancy was smooth, but my daughter’s birth was very troubled. Joana was born in 2002 with a weight of 2930kg and 45cm, from a very peaceful cesarean delivery but she had already been born with congenital pneumonia due to a broken bag not treated with antibiotics even before delivery.
