Having sickle cell disease means a lifelong battle against the health problems it can cause, such as pain, infections, anemia, and stroke. But many people are able to have a very good quality of life by learning to manage the disease.
Beside this, are there any benefits to sickle cell anemia?
Sickle cell trait provides a survival advantage, against malaria fatality, over people with normal hemoglobin in regions where malaria is endemic. The trait is known to cause significantly fewer deaths due to malaria, especially when Plasmodium falciparum is the causative organism.
Also, how long can you live with sickle cell anemia? Longevity Linked to Care Maintenance and Family Involvement. (WASHINGTON, October 4, 2016) — With a national median life expectancy of 42–47 years, people with sickle cell disease (SCD) face many challenges, including severe pain episodes, stroke, and organ damage.
Likewise, people ask, why is sickle cell anemia bad?
Organ damage. Sickle cells that block blood flow to organs deprive the affected organs of blood and oxygen. In sickle cell anemia, blood is also chronically low in oxygen. This lack of oxygen-rich blood can damage nerves and organs, including your kidneys, liver and spleen, and can be fatal.
Can you die from sickle cell anemia?
CONCLUSIONS: Fifty percent of patients with sickle cell anemia survived beyond the fifth decade. A large proportion of those who died had no overt chronic organ failure but died during an acute episode of pain, chest syndrome, or stroke. Early mortality was highest among patients whose disease was symptomatic.
14 Related Question Answers Found
Does sickle cell get worse with age?
People with sickle cell disease (SCD) start to have signs of the disease during the first year of life, usually around 5 months of age. Symptoms and complications of SCD are different for each person and can range from mild to severe. SCD is a disease that worsens over time.
What sickle cell patients should avoid?
What should be avoided by patients with sickle cell disease (SCD)? Alcohol. Nonprescribed prescription drugs. Cigarettes, marijuana, and cocaine. Seeking care in multiple institutions.
Is Sickle Cell curable?
Currently, the only known cure for sickle cell disease is bone marrow or stem cell transplant. Bone marrow is the soft tissue inside the bones that makes blood cells.
What body systems are affected by sickle cell anemia?
Any and all major organs are affected by sickle cell disease. The liver, heart, kidneys, gallbladder, eyes, bones, and joints can suffer damage from the abnormal function of the sickle cells and their inability to flow through the small blood vessels correctly.
Can a person with sickle cell trait have a crisis?
Unlike sickle cell disease, sickle cell trait patients do not have crises. They are for the most part asymptomatic. Their presentation is similar to patients with normal hemoglobin. They could have a family history positive for HbSS.
What are good foods for those suffering from sickle cell?
Eat from a rainbow of fruits and vegetables paired with grains, proteins (such as eggs, fish, chicken, lean meat, beans or tofu) and nuts. Get plenty of calcium-rich foods such as low-fat or fat-free milk, yogurt, and cheese, leafy green vegetables and calcium-fortified foods such as soymilk, orange juice and tofu.
What is the quality of life for someone with sickle cell anemia?
Compared to dialysis patients, sickle cell disease patients scored similarly on physical role and emotional role function, social functioning and mental health, worse on bodily pain, general health and vitality and better on physical functioning. However, scores significantly decreased as pain levels increased.
What is AC in sickle cell?
It is most common in individuals of African American of West African descent. You may have heard of sickle cell trait before, while not exactly the same, sickle cell trait and hemoglobin C trait are similar. Hemoglobin C trait (AC) is an inherited condition which affects the hemoglobin in your red blood cells.
What is the main cause of sickle cell disease?
Sickle cell anemia (sickle cell disease) is a disorder of the blood caused by an inherited abnormal hemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying protein within the red blood cells). The abnormal hemoglobin causes distorted (sickled appearing under a microscope) red blood cells.
At what age is sickle cell anemia detected?
Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder usually diagnosed at birth. Most people with the disease begin to show symptoms by 4 months of age or shortly thereafter. Adult sickle cell disease can cause the same signs and symptoms as in children.
Can a man with sickle cell get a woman pregnant?
Infertility seems to be a greater problem among males than females with sickle cell disease, because such men rarely have fathered children, whereas many women with sickle cell disease have had sucessful pregnancies.
Can anemia cause joint pain?
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disorder that causes chronic inflammation of the joints, as well as joint pain. Because anemia-related fatigue contributes to the debilitating nature of the condition, it’s especially important to recognize and address RA-related anemia early.
Which race is most affected by sickle cell anemia?
Sickle cell disease is more common in certain ethnic groups, including: People of African descent, including African-Americans (among whom 1 in 12 carries a sickle cell gene) Hispanic-Americans from Central and South America. People of Middle Eastern, Asian, Indian, and Mediterranean descent.
What blood type carries sickle cell?
On blood group and sickle cell disease, the study showed that blood group O is most commonly associated with genotype SS (SCD), followed by blood group B, then A group and the least prevalence is AB.