Precautions
- Sickle cell trait and sickle cell dig occur most often in those of African descent. Children of black parent other parents with a family history sickle cell disease should be tested before the age of one year.
- A child with sickle cell disease may get frequent infections and illness Treat all infections immediately.
- If a child with sickle cell disease r a high fever, call the doctor.
- A child with the disease should ha frequent checkups.
- A child with the disease may need special treatment before surgery î dental work.
- No special treatment is needed if the child has sickle cell trait.
Sickle cell anaemia, also called sickle cell disease, is an inherited blood disease. It is caused by an abnormality in the hemoglobin, which is a form of protein that helps the red blood cells to carry oxygen through the bloodstream. The abnormal hemoglobin makes the red blood cells become rigid and sickle-shaped (hence the name hemoglobin S). The deformed blood cells have difficulty passing through the blood vessels. In addition, normal blood cells are constantly destroyed and replaced by the body, but these abnormal cells are destroyed more quickly than normal ones. The replacement process cannot keep up with the destruction of the sickled cells, and this causes recurrent anaemia.
Sickle cell trait and sickle cell disease are most common among people of African descent. The disease is also found in people from certain areas of India, Greece, Italy, and the Middle East.
A child may be born with sickle cell trait or sickle cell disease. A child with the trait has about 40 percent hemoglobin S and 60 percent normal hemoglobin. The child will function normally and will show no signs of the disease. However, the child carries the trait in his or her genes and either the trait or the disease may appear in the next generation. If the child marries someone who also has the trait, the chances of their child having the disease are greatly increased.
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