Symptoms of sickle cell disease may be noticed as soon as four months of age, or it may go undetected until later in the babys first year of life.
When the misshapen red blood cells of sickle cell anemia block blood vessels, oxygen deprivation results. Periods of acute oxygen deprivation cause severely painful episodes called pain crises. The location of the pain and the types of symptoms depend on what tissues or organs of the body have been deprived of oxygen.
Symptoms of sickle cell disease include:
- Fever
- Swollen hands and feet
-
Pain in:
- Chest
- Abdomen
- Arms
- Legs
- Joints
- Bones
-
Enlarged organs, including:
- Heart
- Liver
- Spleen
- Increased risk of infection, especially pneumonia
-
Symptoms of anemia, including:
- Severe fatigue
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Shortness of breath
- Heart failure
- Yellowish tone to the whites of the eyes and the skin ( jaundice )
-
Episodes of sickle cell crisis, including:
- Severe chest pain
- Shortness of breath
- Severe abdominal pain
- Severe bone pain
- Nausea
- Fever
- In males, painful, prolonged erections of the penis (called priapism), which may result in impotence
Other medical conditions that can result from sickle cell disease include:
Leg sores
Gum disease
Damage to the retina of the eye, resulting in vision loss
Enlargement of the heart due to chronic anemia
Heart attack
Heart failure
Kidney infections
Kidney damage and eventual failure
Bone infections
Gallbladder disease
Spleen damage and destruction
Without a working spleen, there is an increased risk of certain infections, including particular types of pneumonia and meningitis.
Stroke
Abnormal bone growth
Delayed puberty
Learning and behavior problems in children who have had severe, chronic oxygen deprivation of the brain
Sickle cell crisis and other symptoms can occur episodically and spontaneously, or can be provoked by certain triggers, including:
Smoking
Exercise
Travel to high altitudes
Drops in oxygen or changes in air pressure that can occur during airplane travel
Fever
Infection
Dehydration
References:
Cecil Textbook of Medicine .22nd ed. W.B. Saunders Company; 2003.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institutewebsite. Available at: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/ .
Sickle Cell Disease Association of Americawebsite. Available at: http://www.sicklecelldisease.org/ .
Last reviewed February 2007 by Mark A. Best, MD, MPH, MBA
Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
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