Sickle cell Disease BY = Yash Lala

The Sickle cell Disease is about Normally, your red blood cells are flexible and round, it moves easily through your blood vessels. In sickle cell anemia, the red blood cells become rigid and sticky and are shaped like crescent moons. These irregularly shaped cells can get stuck in small blood vessels, which can slow or block blood flow and oxygen to parts of the body.

https://kidshealth.org/EN/images/illustrations/sickleCell-400×214-rd1-enIL.jpg

The Impact of these Diseases are =

  • Anemia =  Sickle cells break apart easily and die, leaving you without enough red blood cells. Red blood cells usually live for about 120 days before they need to be replaced but sickle cells usually die in 10 to 20 days, leaving a shortage of red blood cells (anemia). Without enough red blood cells, your body can’t get the oxygen it needs to feel energized, causing fatigue.
  • Time of pain = Periodic time of pain, called crises, is a major impact of sickle cell anemia. Pain develops when sickle-shaped RBC block blood flows through small blood vessels to your chest, abdomen, and joints. Pain can also occur in your bones. Some adolescents and adults with sickle cell anemia also have chronic pain, which can result from bone and joint damage, ulcers and other causes.
  • Painful swelling of hands and feet = The swelling is caused by sickle-shaped RBC by blocking blood flow to the hands and legs.
  • Frequent infections = Sickle cells can damage an organ that fights infection (spleen), leaving you more vulnerable to infections. Doctors commonly give infants and children with sickle cell anemia vaccinations and antibiotics to prevent potentially life-threatening infections, such as pneumonia.
  • Delayed growth = Red blood cells give your body with the oxygen and nutrients you need for your own growth. A shortage of healthy red blood cells can slow growth in infants and children and delay puberty in teenagers.
  • Vision problems = Tiny blood vessels that supply your eyes may become plugged with sickle cells. This can damage the retina — the portion of the eye that processes visual images, leading to vision problems.

Sickle cell anemia can lead to a host of complications, including:

  • Stroke = A stroke can occur if sickle cells block blood flow to an area of your brain. Signs of stroke include seizures, weakness or numbness of your arms and legs, sudden speech difficulties, and loss of consciousness. If your baby or child has any of these signs and symptoms, seek medical treatment immediately.
  • Chest syndrome = This life-threatening complication causes chest pain, fever, and difficulty in breathing. Acute chest syndrome can be caused by a lung infection or by sickle cells blocking blood vessels in your lungs. It might require emergency medical treatment with antibiotics and other treatments.
  • Pulmonary hypertension =  People with sickle cell anemia can develop high blood pressure in their lungs (pulmonary hypertension). This complication usually affects adults more than children. Shortness of breath and fatigue are common symptoms of this condition.
  • Organ damage = Sickle cells that block blood flow through blood vessels immediately deprive the affected organ of blood and oxygen. In sickle cell anemia, blood is also chronically low on oxygen. Chronic deprivation of oxygen-rich blood can damage nerves and organs in your body, including your kidneys, liver, and spleen.
  • Blindness = Sickle cells can block tiny blood vessels that supply your eyes. Over time, this can damage the portion of the eye that processes visual images (retina) and lead to blindness.

Diagnose this disease = A blood test can check for hemoglobin S — the flawed type of hemoglobin that underlies sickle cell iron deficiency. In the United States, this blood test is a piece of routine infant screening done at the emergency clinic. Be that as it may, more seasoned kids and grown-ups can be tried, as well. In grown-ups, a blood test is drawn from a vein in the arm. In youthful youngsters and infants, the blood test is typically gathered from a finger or heel. The example is then sent to a research facility, where it’s screened for hemoglobin S. On the off chance that the screening test is negative, there is no sickle cell quality present. On the off chance that the screening test is sure, further tests will be done to decide if a couple of sickle cell qualities are available.

Treatment = Bone marrow transplant, otherwise called immature microorganism transplant, offers the main potential solution for sickle cell frailty. It’s generally saved for individuals more youthful than age 16 on the grounds that the dangers increment for individuals more seasoned than 16. Finding a giver is troublesome, and the strategy has genuine dangers related with it, including passing. Subsequently, treatment for sickle cell pallor is generally gone for staying away from emergencies, soothing side effects and forestalling difficulties. Infants and youngsters age 2 and more youthful with sickle cell pallor should make visit visits to a specialist. Kids more seasoned than 2 and grown-ups with sickle cell pallor should see a specialist in any event once per year, as per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Medicines may incorporate prescriptions to diminish torment and anticipate inconveniences, and blood transfusions, just as a bone marrow transplant.

Implication = This impacts economically and politically. economical as in today’s time the cost of bone marrow transplant is around $ 800000 (USD) if you convert it in Indian currency it around Rupees = 55052000 this is a large amount plus it’s not guaranteed that the person will survive so you need gamble in this. Politically as in bone marrow transplant, the donor’s list are manipulated as the person who has a connection and gives money there transplants happens first even if someone else needs it first.

Thank You !!!

 

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