Sickle Cell Anemia Research Paper

Sickle cell anemia is a genetic disorder of the hemoglobin in our blood. What happens is the red blood cells are abnormally shaped (like a crescent), and they become blocked in the blood vessels, blocking blood flow and oxygen to all the parts of the body. Our blood cells are normally round and flexible which allows for a smooth flow of blood through our bodies, but with sickle cell anemia, this isn’t the case. In this paper we will be looking at a history of sickle cell anemia, who it effects, the symptoms, and how to treat this disorder. In 1910 the first official description in published literature was made by Dr. James Herrick (Winter 2015). This was not the first discovery of this disease though. SCA has been around for five thousand years in Africa (Winter 2015). Dr. Herrick was the one to discover the abnormal shape of the SCA cells. It wasn’t until the 1920’s when Hahn and Gillespie discovered the deoxygenation of the SCA red …show more content…
A few of the milder symptoms include pain, frequent infections, vision problems, stunted/delayed growth, and hand-foot syndrome. Pain is the most common symptom of SCA. Some people will experience pain episodes that last a few weeks or even a few hours, while others will experience pain episodes so intense that they will have to be hospitalized. People experience pain because the lack of blood flow and oxygen throughout the body. Pretty much anywhere in your body that has blood vessels is effected, which is everywhere. More serious symptoms of SCA are, abdominal swelling, yellow tint to the skin, pale skin, fever, and any signs of having a stroke. If a person is experiencing any of those symptoms, they need to seek medical attention right away. Before I knew what SCA was, I honestly thought it wasn’t that serious of a disease. But after looking into it and the symptoms and what people go through, it hit me that this disease is very serious and