Symptoms: Tests:
People who have been diagnosed with Sickle Cell have reported the following symptoms. Anybody experiencing these things might want to take caution.
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In order to determine if a person actually has sickle cell anemia, the person must be tested. The tests include:
The Sickle Cell test is done by taking a blood sample and testing it to see if the person's blood contains abnormal hemoglobin S gene. If there is one abnormal hemoglobin S then the person merely contains the trait. If there are two abnormal hemoglobin S genes then the person has the actual disorder. Hemoglobin Electrophoresis is also done by taking a blood sample. However, this test looks to see the different amounts of each type of hemoglobin within the blood sample. More than 2% of HbS is linked to sickle cell anemia. |
Treatments
There is not currently a treatment that can completely cure Sickle Cell Anemia, but there are ways to temporarily stop some of the symptoms and affects of the disorder such as:
- Blood transfusions
- Pain medicines
- Hyrdea
- Antibiotics