Prevent Sickle-Cell Anemia
Sickle-cell anemia is a blood condition that causes red blood cells to form irregular shapes. These sickle cells can cause a variety of problems in the body, including pain, fatigue, illness and possible organ damage. The condition is hereditary, so there is little you can do to prevent sickle-cell anemia, although you can take steps to minimize flareups.
Instructions
Prevent Sickle-Cell Anemia
1. Have a blood test done to see if you are a sickle-cell carrier. A small blood sample will be taken and analyzed for hemoglobin S. If you have sickle cells in your blood but do not experience any symptoms, then you have the sickle-cell trait, which can put your children at risk for having the full condition.
2. Speak with your doctor or genetic counselor if you and your spouse have a history of sickle-cell anemia in your families or if you have the sickle-cell trait. This condition is a recessive trait, meaning that both parents must pass it on for the child to have it. Each child has a 25 percent chance of having sickle-cell anemia if both parents have the trait.
3. Start your child on penicillin when he is 2 to 4 months old if blood tests determined he has sickle-cell anemia. Antibiotics are essential to prevent infections and diseases that can occur due to the child's weakened immune system. He may need to take penicillin regularly until he's 5 to 6 years old to prevent pneumonia.
4. Continue to visit the doctor regularly to prevent sickle-cell anemia flareups in your child. The doctor will monitor her blood cell levels and may want to give her a blood transfusion or supplemental oxygen.
5. Stay up to date on the developing ways to cure and prevent sickle-cell anemia. Bone marrow transfusions are showing promise for permanently treating sickle cell, although the transplant and donor selection process still need to be refined for it to become a widely used treatment. New medical technology may even allow doctors to modify the genes that cause sickle-cell anemia and prevent the condition entirely.
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