2019-06-19: WORLD SICKLE CELL DAY

World Sickle Cell Awareness Day is celebrated on June 19th of each year to raise the public awareness about the sickle cell disease and its treatment methods. Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited genetic abnormality of hemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying protein found in red blood cells). This abnormality causes stuck in small blood vessels, which can slow blood flow and oxygen to parts of the body. Normally, red blood cells are flexible and round, moving easily through your blood vessels. In sickle cell anemia, the red blood cells become rigid and sticky. Early signs and symptoms of sickle cell disease include swelling of the hands and feet; symptoms of anemia, including fatigue, or extreme tiredness; and jaundice. Over time, sickle cell disease can lead to complications such as infections, delayed growth, and episodes of pain, called pain crises. Most children who have sickle cell disease are pain-free between crises, but adolescents and adults may also suffer with chronic, ongoing pain. Over a lifetime, sickle cell disease can harm a patient’s spleen, brain, eyes, lungs, liver, heart, kidneys, penis, joints, bones, or skin.

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