Sickle Cell Anemia

Get support for sickle cell anemia by focusing on your unique nutritional needs. According to research or other evidence, the following self-care steps may be helpful.

• Fight back with fish oil Reduce the frequency of severe pain episodes by taking a daily fish oil supplement providing 33 mg of EPA and 23 mg of DHA for every 2.2 pounds of body weight
  
• Think zinc Under the supervision of a doctor, take a daily supplement of 100 mg of zinc, plus 2 mg of copper, to help prevent cell damage and speed healing of leg ulcers associated with sickle cell anemia
  
• Fill up on fluids Drink plenty of water and other fluids to maintain good circulation
  
• Take a test Have your blood homocysteine levels checked to find out if daily folic acid supplements of 1 to 4 mg are right for you, or to discover if you have a vitamin B12 deficiency that requires treatment

About This Condition

Anemia is a deficiency of the oxygen-carrying capacity of red blood cells. Sickle cell anemia is an inherited chronic anemia in which the red blood cells become sickle or crescent-shaped. The symptoms of sickle cell anemia are caused by the clogging of small blood vessels by the sickle cells or by poor delivery of oxygen to the tissues due to the anemia itself.
A sickle cell crisis is a painful episode that occurs when the body becomes severely deprived of oxygen. The disease and the trait occur in people of African descent, as well as in people from Mediterranean countries, India, and the Middle East, but rarely in people of European descent.

Symptoms

Symptoms include fatigue, joint and abdominal pain, irritability, yellow discoloration of the skin and eyes, leg sores, gum disease, frequent respiratory infections, blindness later in life, and periods of prolonged, sometimes painful erections in males. People with sickle cell anemia can have episodes of severe pain in the arms, legs, chest, and abdomen that may be accompanied by fever, nausea, and difficulty breathing. These symptoms occur only in people who inherit copies of the sickle cell gene from both parents. People who inherit a sickle cell gene from only one parent have what is known as sickle cell trait and are without symptoms.

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