What Is Sickle Cell Disease

Some Facts About Sickle Cell Disease:

The first description of sickle cell disease was by a Chicago physician, James B. Herrick, who noted in 1910 that a patient of his from the West Indies had an anemia characterized by unusual red cells that were "sickle-shaped".

In 1935, William Warrick Cardozo was a young pediatrician working at Children's Memorial and Provident hospitals in Chicago under a General Education Board fellowship when, with the aid of a grant from Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, he began one of the first studies of sickle-cell anemia, a condition in which the majority of red blood cells are crescent-shaped. He discovered that sickle-cell anemia is an inherited condition. He also established that the disease strikes Negros Americans almost exclusively, does not cause death among all of the victims of the disease, and that not all persons whose blood contains the sickle cells actually suffer from anemia. These findings arose thirteen years before the nature and characterization of the hemoglobin abnormality that causes sickle-cell anemia was discovered and before the disease became a subject of considerable intensive research.

For many years Sickle Cell Disease was not publicly known, it was considered just bad blood. Years of research and studies,

Sickle Cell Disease in the United States affected mainly Americans of Negros and surprisingly Americans of Hispanics. One in every ten Negro-Americans has sickle cell trait, and one in five-hundred has sickle cell disease. One in every 100 Hispanic-Americans has sickle cell trait, and 1 in 1,000-1,400 has sickle cell disease.

In the United States, approximately 100,000 people have sickle cell disease, and 2 million people have sickle cell trait. Sickle cell disease is thought to have developed in areas of the world where malaria is present, because sickle cell trait provides some protection from malaria. Sickle cell affects people of many ethnicity, including those of African, Middle Eastern, Latino, Asian, Indian, and Mediterranean decent. However, it disproportionately affects Negro-Americans.

Okay, despite who it affects, Sickle Cell Disease is a severe chronic painful disease and pain doesn't have an ethnic class. We must work harder to get beyond classifying diseases affecting ethnic due to it stereotypes its Survivors which is emotional hurtful and stressful.

SOME FACTS

Sickle Cell Teen Survivor

Will Become A...

Sickle Cell Adult Survivor

Sickle Cell Infant Survivor

Will Become A...

Sickle Cell Toddler Survivor

THE SOONER YOU KNOW
THE BETTER YOU GROW

Sickle Cell Youth Survivor

Will Become A...

Sickle Cell Teen Survivor

Sickle Cell Toddler Survivor

Will Become A...

Sickle Cell Youth Survivor

More Facts About Sickle Cell Disease: Normal red blood cells are flexible and round, moving easily through the blood vessels. In sickle cell, the red blood cells become rigid, sticky and form into shaped like sickles. (Which is how Sickle Cell originated its name). 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.

Severe Chronic Pain: Pain develops when sickle-shaped red blood cells block blood flow through tiny blood vessels to their chest, abdomen, joints and bones.

THE DEMONSTRATION

THE PAIN

How to Describe THE PAIN: The Best Way to describe a Sickle Cell Adult Survivor "SCAS" PAIN is Through an easy Demonstration.

Do not try this alone. Make sure adult supervision is present during the test called The Demonstration.

The Sickle Cell Adult Survivor "SCAS" demonstrated a technique by using a Tourniquet to tie around the arm. After the Tourniquet is tied, pulling gently until you feel discomfort to almost feeling painful. When the pain chimes in to the point you cannot continue taking the pain and say please untied the Tourniquet, this is a just GLIMPSE of the Starting Pain for Sickle Cell Survivors. Now, imagine keeping the Tourniquet tied tightly around your arm for hours, days, weeks or even months. Yes, exactly... We couldn't imagine the pain either after having tightly tied for less than 60 seconds. Sickle Cell Disease is a serious an unimaginable painful disease not to mention other complications they endure.

Join and Support Your Heart Sickle Cell Foundation

to help Keep The Silence Broken...

NOW YOU KNOW
NOW YOU GROW
THIS IS A SERIOUS DISEASE THAT SHOULD NOT BE IN SILENCE
IT MUST BE LOUDLY SHARED, DISCUSSED, MARKETED,
PROMOTED, and EDUCATED
TO HELP THE INFANTS BECOME TODDLERS
TODDLES BECOME YOUTHS
YOUTHS BECOME TEENS
TEENS BECOME ADULTS
ADULTS BECOME
SICKLE CELL SURVIVORS

Sickle Cell Adult Survivors are a part of

society and proudly stand knowing the

Silence is Broken...

THE COMPLICATIONS

The Complications: Sickle Cell Disease can lead to a host of complications, including:

Stroke. A stroke can occur if sickle cells block blood flow to an area of the brain. Signs of stroke include seizures, weakness or numbness of arms and legs, sudden speech difficulties, and loss of consciousness. A stroke can be fatal.
Acute chest syndrome. This life-threatening complication causes chest pain, fever and difficulty breathing. Acute chest syndrome can be caused by a lung infection such as pneumonia or by sickle cells blocking blood vessels in the 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 rather than children. Shortness of breath and fatigue are common symptoms of this condition, which can be fatal.
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. Organ damage can be fatal. Blood transfusions are helpful, multiple blood transfusions, however, might cause health problems because of the iron content from the multiple transfused blood causing iron overload. Iron overload, can damage and enlarge the liver, heart, pancreas and other organs, leading to diseases such as diabetes mellitus.
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.
Leg ulcers. Sickle cell anemia can cause open sores, called ulcers, on the legs.
Gallstones. The breakdown of red blood cells produces a substance called bilirubin. A high level of bilirubin in the body can lead to gallstones.
Priapism. Men with sickle cell anemia can have painful, long-lasting erections, a condition called priapism. As occurs in other parts of the body, sickle cells can block the blood vessels in the penis. This can damage the penis and lead to impotence.
Immobility. Pain crisis affects their immobility and unable to walk for days, weeks or even months due to lack of blood flow attacking in the lower extremities of the body.
Respiratory failure. Too much pain medicine during the process of helping to control and offset the severe pain crisis administrated by doctors has caused respiratory failure and organs fail internally causing death.