Sickle Cell Anemia
Brooke Wojciechowski and Caleigh Achim
Definition
Sickle Cell Anemia is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder that causes red blood cells to form a sickle, crescent, shape that causes to block blood flow in the blood vessels of the limbs and organs. The average age of onset of this disorder is 4 months or older. It is not gender specific but is common in people of African decent.
Symptoms/Characteristics
- Chest Pain
- Headaches
- Shortness of breath
- Sudden pain throughout the body
- Pale Skin
- Stressful/fearful
- Lots of Anxiety
- Depression
Treatments
- Daily dose of Penicillin and Folic Acid.
- Hydroxyurea
- Bone marrow transplants (Extreme Cases)
- Stay hydrated
- Avoid physical activity
- Blood transfusions
Affects on Life
- Lower life expectancy
- Healthy lifestyle
- Perserverance
- Pain tolerance
- Multiple doctor visits
- Temperature sensitive
- No airplane rides
Works Cited
"Living With Sickle Cell Anemia." National lung and Heart Institute. U.S
Department of Health and Human Services, 28 Sept. 2012. Web. 20 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sca/livingwith>.
"Sickle Cell Disease." Learn.Genetics. University of Utah, n.d. Web. 20 Mar.
2015. <http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/disorders/singlegene/
sicklecell/>.