Sickle Cell Disease How Sickle Cell Disease May Affect Your Health

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The sickled cells that give the disease its name can lead to pain throughout the body and serious damage to organs such as the heart and kidneys. It is important to be aware of the possible complications (serious health effects) of sickle cell disease and know when to seek emergency care.

Some complications can affect many parts of your body at the same time. Other complications affect specific parts of the body.

• Pain crisis: This is also known as a sickle cell or vaso-occlusive crisis and can happen without warning when sickled red blood cells block blood flow. People describe this pain as sharp, intense, stabbing, or throbbing. Pain can strike almost anywhere in the body and in more than one spot at a time. Common areas affected by pain include the abdomen, chest, lower back, or arms and legs. A pain crisis may be triggered by high altitudes, dehydration, illness, stress, or temperature changes. Often a person does not know what triggers the crisis.
• Chronic (long-term) pain: Chronic pain is common and is defined as any pain lasting longer than 3 months. It is usually different from crisis pain or the pain that results from organ damage, and thus is treated differently.
• Vitamin deficiency: People with sickle cell disease are at higher risk for nutrient and vitamin deficiencies — especially vitamin D, omega 3, vitamin C, and zinc deficiencies — that can also cause a crisis or complications. 
• Delayed growth and puberty: Because of anemia, children who have sickle cell disease may grow and develop more slowly than their peers. Full sexual maturity may be delayed.
• Infections: The spleen is important for protection against certain types of infections. With sickle cell disease, a damaged spleen raises the risk of certain bacterial infections and additional vaccines are recommended as protections from these infections. 
• Joint problems: Sickling can occur in the hip bones and, less commonly, the shoulder joints, knees, and ankles. This can lower oxygen flow and result in a condition called avascular or aseptic necrosis, which seriously damages the joints. Symptoms include pain and problems with walking and joint movement. Over time, a person may need pain medicines, surgery, or joint replacement.
• Blood clots: Changes in how the blood travels through blood vessels can result in  blood clots in the veins (blood vessels that return blood to your heart). Swelling of the arms or legs, pain or tenderness not caused by injury, sudden shortness of breath, weakness in a specific area of the body, or changes in thinking may be symptoms of blood clots.
• Pregnancy problems: Pregnancy can raise the risk of high blood pressure and blood clots in people who have sickle cell disease. The condition also raises the risk of pregnancy loss, preterm birth, and low-birth-weight babies. Learn more about pregnancy and sickle cell disease.

• Acute chest syndrome: Sickling in blood vessels of the lungs can deprive lungs of oxygen. This can damage lung tissue and cause chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. Acute chest syndrome is a medical emergency.
• Enlarged spleen: The spleen is an organ that helps the body fight infection and remove unwanted material. It filters your blood and destroys old blood cells. In people who have sickle cell disease, red blood cells may get trapped in the spleen. This makes the spleen quickly grow larger than normal. Serious anemia can occur when red blood cells get trapped in the spleen. A large spleen may also cause pain in the left side of the belly. 
• Eye problems: Sickle cell disease can injure blood vessels in the eye, most often in the retina. This is called sickle retinopathy. Blood vessels in the retina can overgrow, get blocked, or bleed. This can cause the retina to detach, which means it is lifted or pulled from its normal position. These problems can lead to vision loss. 
• Gallstones: When red blood cells break down, in a process called  hemolysis , they release  hemoglobin . Hemoglobin then gets broken down into a substance called bilirubin. Bilirubin can form stones called gallstones that get stuck in the gallbladder. The gallbladder is a small sac-shaped organ beneath the liver that helps with digestion.
• Heart problems: Complications can include coronary heart disease and pulmonary hypertension. Frequent blood transfusions can lead to heart damage from iron overload (buildup in body organs).
• Kidney problems: Sickle cell disease may cause the kidneys to have trouble concentrating urine. This may lead to a need to urinate often and to bedwetting or uncontrolled urination during the night. These problems often start in childhood. Over time, scarring in the filters of the kidney can lead to other complications, such as kidney failure, changes to the kidney, and kidney cancers. Routine checking of urine and blood pressure is important, as there are medications that can help slow the rate of kidney damage.
• Leg ulcers: Sickle cell ulcers are sores that usually start small and then get larger and larger. Some ulcers will heal quickly, but others may not heal and may last for long periods of time. Some ulcers return even after healing. People who have sickle cell disease usually do not get ulcers until after age 10.
• Liver problems: Sickle cell intrahepatic cholestasis is an uncommon but serious type of liver damage that happens when sickled red cells block blood vessels in the liver. This blockage prevents enough oxygen from reaching liver tissue. These events are usually sudden and may happen more than once. Children often recover, but some adults may have chronic problems that lead to liver failure. Frequent blood transfusions can also lead to liver damage from iron overload.
• Priapism: Priapism is an unwanted and sometimes prolonged painful erection. This happens when blood flow out of the erect penis is blocked by sickled cells. Over time, priapism can permanently damage the penis and lead to erectile dysfunction. Priapism lasting longer than 4 hours is a medical emergency.
• Stroke: An annual transcranial  ultrasound scan (ultrasound exam of blood vessels in the head), plus blood transfusions, can help prevent stroke in children. Symptoms of a stroke include: sudden weakness, numbness on one side of the body, confusion, or trouble speaking, seeing, or walking.
• Silent brain injury: Silent brain injury, also called silent stroke, is damage to the brain without outward signs of stroke. This injury is common and can be found with magnetic resonance imaging scans. Silent brain injury can lead to difficulty in learning, making decisions, or holding down a job. Given the high prevalence of silent cerebral infarcts in children with hemoglobin S genes or thalassemia, early-school-age children should get a one-time MRI screening, without sedation, when possible.

People who have sickle cell disease usually also have mild to moderate anemia. At times, they can have severe anemia. Severe anemia can be life-threatening.

Severe anemia in a newborn or child who has sickle cell disease may be a result of one of two conditions:

• Aplastic crisis : An aplastic crisis is usually caused by a parvovirus B19 infection, also called fifth disease or slapped cheek syndrome. Parvovirus B19 is a very common infection. In sickle cell disease, it can cause the bone marrow to stop producing new red cells for a while, leading to severe anemia.
• Splenic sequestration crises : When red blood cells get trapped in the spleen, fewer are available to circulate in the blood. This can lead to severe anemia that causes a pain crisis. 

Adults who have sickle cell disease may also experience episodes of severe anemia, but these usually have other causes. Babies and newborns who have severe anemia may not want to eat and may seem very sluggish.