Sickle cell anemia is a genetically predisposed disease that occurs as a consequence of the lack of red blood cells. This disease is accompanied by the formation of abnormal hemoglobin which has a tendency to get stuck in blood vessels which results in low blood flow and insufficient amount of oxygen. The most common symptoms of sickle cell anemia are fatigue, paleness, shortness of breath, jaundice, delayed growth in children, thinness and low growth in adults, the formation of stones in bile, vaso-occlusive crisis that is accompanied by pain in the bones, joints and soft tissues, ischemia, and even damage organs.
Cure for sickle cell anemia doesn’t exist, although certain drugs may be used to alleviate symptoms. People who suffer from this disease usually more often uses antibiotics during their growth due to reduced body resistance. Also, they can use pain killers to relieve chronic pain. Hydroxyurea is sometimes used, but only with prior permission from the doctor. The treatment involving bone marrow transplantation and gene therapy is still the subject of researches.
As already mentioned, the remedy for sickle cell anemia disease doesn’t exist, which means that a holistic approach is of great importance for patients. This method approaches to each individual as a special case, offering to the patients the opportunity to better understand their disease and learn how to live with it. A holistic approach requires an adjustment of lifestyle to disease through higher quality nutrition, increased physical activity and the establishment of mental stability. This method may include the use of herbs that can prevent crisis and relieve chronic pain and. It is proved that use of prickly ash bark and ginkgo bilboa reduces the risk of crisis up to 75%. This kind of treatment encountered at a good acceptance in America. Given that people who suffer from this disease is quite limited in terms of socialization, as well as doing certain jobs, adherents of this method at the University of Cincinnati make efforts to get patients out of the isolation and facilitate their employment in order to engage them in normal life flows. In this way, they feel less restricted and inefficient.
Although a holistic approach can help in preventing the occurrence vaso-occlusive crisis, in the treatment of this disease it is better to rely on traditional medical methods. Because, if a crisis occurs or as a consequence of the crisis appears acute chest syndrome, then it is necessary hospital treatment. Acute chest syndrome occurs as a result of lack of oxygen in the lungs. Despite the fact that all the necessary medical measures have been taken, this syndrome still causes a certain percentage of mortality in children and adults.
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