Sickle Cell Anaemia Essay

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TO FIND THE PREVELENCE OFSICKLE CELL ANEMIA IN SWAT VALLEY (adil baig) INTRODUCTION Sickle cell anemia is a disease caused by an autosomal recessive genetic mutation in the formation of hemoglobin. Individuals who are affected with sickle cell anemia have two copies of the mutation Hb SS and the primary hemoglobin present in their erythrocytes is sickle hemoglobin (Koch et al., 2000). The symptoms of sickle cell anemia do not follow a general pattern and can vary in each individual. All the different conditions and symptoms documented stem from the central fact that the sickle-shaped erythrocytes tend to get stuck in narrow blood vessels, blocking the flow of blood (Bownas, 2002). Symptoms of sickle cell anemia are wide-ranging, affecting many different organs of the body. One of the first diagnoses of the disease among small children is swelling of the hands or feet. This common symptom occurs when blood vessels in hands or feet are8 blocked; pain and swelling can…show more content…
In general, both children and adults with sickle cell anemia are more vulnerable to infections. This vulnerability is the result of spleen, the organ that filters blood, damage from sickled erythrocytes. Spleen damage prevents the organ from destroying bacteria in the blood. All individuals with the disease, especially young children, are susceptible to bacterial infections such as sepsis, pneumonia and meningitis (Bindon, 2004). Pneumococcal infections was the principal cause of death in children with sickle cell anemia until physicians began routinely giving penicillin on a preventive basis to those who are diagnosed at birth or in early infancy (Bownas, 2000). Damaged walls in erythrocytes due to sickling can cause them to stick to blood vessel walls, resulting in narrowed or blocked small blood vessels in the brain which can lead to serious, life-threatening strokes; (Bownas 2000, Bindon,

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