Sickle Cell Disease

1. Sickle Cell Disease Maggie Marsh

2. Causes • It is an inherited disease • Sickle hemoglobin causes the cell to become crescent shaped • A person inherits two genes, one from each parent and if both have sickle cell gene then you will get it

3. Signs • Shortness of breath • Dizziness • Headaches • Coldness in the hands and feet • Paler than normal skin or mucous membranes (the tissue that lines your nose, mouth, and other organs and body cavities) • Jaundice (a yellowish color of the skin or whites of the eyes)

4. Complications • Hand-foot syndrome • Splenic crisis • Infection • Acute chest syndrome • Pulmonary hypertension • Stroke • Priapism • Eye problems • Gall stones • Ulcers on legs • Organ failure

5. Treatments • Can be treated with strict oxygen therapy • It can also be treated with a medicine called Hydroxyurea

6. Prognosis • Sickle cell disease can cause problems down the road • It can cause all of the following if not treated • Hand-foot syndrome • Spleniccrisis • Infection • Acute chest syndrome • Pulmonary hypertension • Stroke • Priapism • Eye problems • Gall stones • Ulcers on legs • Organ failure