There is a low level of healthy red blood cells in children who have sickle cell anemia. They are ill because these blood cells are not providing the necessary function of carrying oxygen to all body parts. Coping with this disease is difficult. Sickle cell charities for children help the victims and their families.
Although there is no cure, in most cases pain can be alleviated. The signs appear after the age of four months. They include, but, are not limited to fatigue, a painful crisis, swelling in the hands and feet and damage to the retinas, causing vision problems.
Sometimes these symptoms are not diagnosed until later in childhood. When a child has severe abdominal pain or swelling, yellowish skin or eye color or symptoms of a stroke, it indicates an emergency situation. Look for paralysis on one side of the body or face because those are indications of a stroke.
When only the mother or father has this gene, the child will not have it. A baby who shows the symptoms will have two parents who carry the gene. When both parents have it, if the baby does not show evidence of the disease, he or she may still be a carrier, capable of transmitting it if she or he grows up and becomes a parent.
This is true because not all the children with two parents who have the gene will show the symptoms although they do have the gene. In the case of two parents with the defect, there is a fifty-percent possibility of their baby being a carrier. Not all who are carriers become ill.
This is a disease that affects people who are of Hispanic or African-American origin. They are most often from South and Central America, the Mediterranean, India and Africa. The effects of the disorder are numerous and seriously damaging.
An infant or child can suffer a stroke due to the malfunction of the oxygen-carrying red blood cells. In the child with sickle cell, these cells are abnormally-shaped and few in number. There may be a sudden speech disorder, weak arms and legs and loss of consciousness.
If oxygen flow is obstructed, major problems in organ function can result. Excessive bilirubin can build up in the liver in some children. These organ functions are necessary for life to continue.
When the sickle cells block the flow of oxygen, organ damage can result. It affects the kidneys, spleen and liver. It can prove fatal.
Blindness is another possibility. The tiny blood vessels that take oxygen to the eyes can be obstructed leading to loss of vision over time. Gallstones can develop due to the high level of a substance called bilirubin.
There are charitable organizations that serve the needs of children with sickle cell anemia. Medical doctors specializing in hematology, blood disorders, treat them. Specially trained nurses provide care. Stem cell transplanting surgery is now an emerging development that is used.
One such charity has been involved in research into sickle cell for over fifty years. Research grants and donations from other sources are used to fund it. The parents and children are not charged for any of the care.
The only way to prevent this disease is to test potential parents for the gene before they plan a family. Armed with knowledge, they can decide whether or not to have a baby who is likely to suffer from the genetic disorder. Obviously, the risk is high when both carry the abnormal gene.
Although there is no cure, in most cases pain can be alleviated. The signs appear after the age of four months. They include, but, are not limited to fatigue, a painful crisis, swelling in the hands and feet and damage to the retinas, causing vision problems.
Sometimes these symptoms are not diagnosed until later in childhood. When a child has severe abdominal pain or swelling, yellowish skin or eye color or symptoms of a stroke, it indicates an emergency situation. Look for paralysis on one side of the body or face because those are indications of a stroke.
When only the mother or father has this gene, the child will not have it. A baby who shows the symptoms will have two parents who carry the gene. When both parents have it, if the baby does not show evidence of the disease, he or she may still be a carrier, capable of transmitting it if she or he grows up and becomes a parent.
This is true because not all the children with two parents who have the gene will show the symptoms although they do have the gene. In the case of two parents with the defect, there is a fifty-percent possibility of their baby being a carrier. Not all who are carriers become ill.
This is a disease that affects people who are of Hispanic or African-American origin. They are most often from South and Central America, the Mediterranean, India and Africa. The effects of the disorder are numerous and seriously damaging.
An infant or child can suffer a stroke due to the malfunction of the oxygen-carrying red blood cells. In the child with sickle cell, these cells are abnormally-shaped and few in number. There may be a sudden speech disorder, weak arms and legs and loss of consciousness.
If oxygen flow is obstructed, major problems in organ function can result. Excessive bilirubin can build up in the liver in some children. These organ functions are necessary for life to continue.
When the sickle cells block the flow of oxygen, organ damage can result. It affects the kidneys, spleen and liver. It can prove fatal.
Blindness is another possibility. The tiny blood vessels that take oxygen to the eyes can be obstructed leading to loss of vision over time. Gallstones can develop due to the high level of a substance called bilirubin.
There are charitable organizations that serve the needs of children with sickle cell anemia. Medical doctors specializing in hematology, blood disorders, treat them. Specially trained nurses provide care. Stem cell transplanting surgery is now an emerging development that is used.
One such charity has been involved in research into sickle cell for over fifty years. Research grants and donations from other sources are used to fund it. The parents and children are not charged for any of the care.
The only way to prevent this disease is to test potential parents for the gene before they plan a family. Armed with knowledge, they can decide whether or not to have a baby who is likely to suffer from the genetic disorder. Obviously, the risk is high when both carry the abnormal gene.
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