This disease is inherited from parents who both have the sickle cell trait. This is the only way that a child can be born with this malady. Sickle cell anemia prevention must begin at the birth of the prospective parents. Blood tests at birth checking for this disease are mandated by virtually every state legal system in America.
You cannot catch this disease it can only be contracted if both the mother and father of a child carries the recessive gene trait and both pass the gene to their unborn child. There is a 25% chance of both parents passing the gene to their children and that proves to be too much of a risk to many people. They see the potential consequences to any unborn child as something they choose not to burden a baby with and consequently seek alternative options that may be available.
Some choose in-vitro fertilization as a safer way of conception. After the eggs are harvested and fertilized they can be tested to see if they contain the disease. Only the eggs that are free of it are kept and implanted into the uterus. This preimplantation genetic testing is very expensive and unfortunately not a sure thing.
Another method of detecting the gene prior to birth is by testing the baby in the second month of pregnancy. This process does not harm the fetus and will detect the disease prior to birth. A positive result from this test may influence the decision to continue the pregnancy for parents.
A small sample of blood taken by your doctor will tell you if there is a danger of passing the disease to your off spring. Genetic counseling is a very good option for anyone who may be a carrier of the hemoglobin S trait. It is good to remember that the trait must be passed to the baby by both parents for the disease to be created.
If your child is born with this malady you will be informed before you leave the hospital. Treatment should start by the time they are two months old and will continue throughout their entire lives. The treatments available today greatly reduce the symptoms suffered by victims. Starting with penicillin shots as a baby to protect them from infections and diseases. The mutated hemoglobin lowers their ability to fight off illness because the red blood cells are affected.
Transfusions are often given as a means of replacing the unaffected red cells in the blood. Supplemental oxygen is also recommended as treatment. As an adult the drug hydroxyurea can be helpful for increasing hemoglobin in red blood cells and decrease the more painful episodes. This disease affects every organ of the body and can result in multiple strokes and episodes of excruciating pain. The symptomatic episodes can last for extended periods up to thirty days.
Bone marrow transplants is the only known cure at this time. This cure is not very effective and can risk the life of the patient. There are studies and trials for other treatments being done on a regular basis and some medications have proven themselves to be helpful to many sufferers. Prevention of this disease is possible for many people and treatment for others has come a long way in the past few years.
You cannot catch this disease it can only be contracted if both the mother and father of a child carries the recessive gene trait and both pass the gene to their unborn child. There is a 25% chance of both parents passing the gene to their children and that proves to be too much of a risk to many people. They see the potential consequences to any unborn child as something they choose not to burden a baby with and consequently seek alternative options that may be available.
Some choose in-vitro fertilization as a safer way of conception. After the eggs are harvested and fertilized they can be tested to see if they contain the disease. Only the eggs that are free of it are kept and implanted into the uterus. This preimplantation genetic testing is very expensive and unfortunately not a sure thing.
Another method of detecting the gene prior to birth is by testing the baby in the second month of pregnancy. This process does not harm the fetus and will detect the disease prior to birth. A positive result from this test may influence the decision to continue the pregnancy for parents.
A small sample of blood taken by your doctor will tell you if there is a danger of passing the disease to your off spring. Genetic counseling is a very good option for anyone who may be a carrier of the hemoglobin S trait. It is good to remember that the trait must be passed to the baby by both parents for the disease to be created.
If your child is born with this malady you will be informed before you leave the hospital. Treatment should start by the time they are two months old and will continue throughout their entire lives. The treatments available today greatly reduce the symptoms suffered by victims. Starting with penicillin shots as a baby to protect them from infections and diseases. The mutated hemoglobin lowers their ability to fight off illness because the red blood cells are affected.
Transfusions are often given as a means of replacing the unaffected red cells in the blood. Supplemental oxygen is also recommended as treatment. As an adult the drug hydroxyurea can be helpful for increasing hemoglobin in red blood cells and decrease the more painful episodes. This disease affects every organ of the body and can result in multiple strokes and episodes of excruciating pain. The symptomatic episodes can last for extended periods up to thirty days.
Bone marrow transplants is the only known cure at this time. This cure is not very effective and can risk the life of the patient. There are studies and trials for other treatments being done on a regular basis and some medications have proven themselves to be helpful to many sufferers. Prevention of this disease is possible for many people and treatment for others has come a long way in the past few years.
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