Sickle Cell Anemia Essay

Sickle cell anemia is one of the many kinds of anemia that you can have. This specific type of anemia affects more than 72,000 people in the U.S alone. Sickle cell anemia is a type of red blood disorder that causes the body to make hemoglobin S it can also cause a person to feel less energized. When a person has this type of anemia they tend to have a lower red blood cell count because the SCD cells do not live for very long and the body might have trouble keeping up with making new red blood cells. People that have this disorder usually have parents that have abnormal hemoglobin genes; so there for this disease is inherited . Sickle hemoglobin also can form stiff rods within the red blood cells which causes the cell to take a sickle (crescent) shape. The cells shape does not change easy so they tend to burst. If the cells have a lack of oxygen it can lead to attacks on the cell which cause severe pain that might require hospitalization. The lack of oxygen can also cause serious damage to the organs such as the heart, brain, eyes, skin etcetera. Sickle cell anemia can also cause the body’s immune system to become weak which makes the body more susceptible to infections and fever. Sickle cell anemia is a lifelong disease and the severity of this disease depends on the person. There are many types of treatments for this disorder but there is only one of cure for this disease which is a transplant to

If an infant has swollen hands, feet and abdominals they might have anemia the swelling is due to the sickle shaped cells blocking blood flow. The lack of blood flow can also slow down the body’s process of growing this is most common amongst children and teenagers. This disease can also affect the formation to the retina of the eye which is the part of the eye that processes images; this might also cause a yellow tint to the