HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — This Wellness Wednesday focuses on a disease called “Sickle Cell Disease,” which is more common than you might think. The CDC reports that about 100,000 people in the United States have the disease, and more than 90% of them are Black. FOX54 spoke with a local doctor who shared more about the disease.
Dr. Kathy Cornelius with Central North Alabama Health Services explained that red blood cells are round, flexible and disc-shaped. “Sickle cell disease is a group of inherited blood disorders that affect the shape and function of red blood cells, allowing them to move smoothly through blood vessels and carry oxygen. People with sickle cell disease have some abnormality within the cells that causes the cells to bend into a sickle or crescent shape.”
Sickle cells become stiff and sticky, so they can’t transport oxygen as efficiently, Cornelius said. “And they can’t travel easily into the blood vessels and can’t get enough oxygen to where it’s needed. There’s no cure, and unfortunately it’s a lifelong disease that has significant health implications.”
Sickle cell disease only lasts 10 to 20 days, and it destroys most of the blood cells. “So you’re constantly anemic. So you usually feel tired and lethargic, and your growth is slowed. You tend to get chest pains, acute chest pains. In severe cases, you can have a stroke. You also get swelling in your hands and feet, and you get chronic inflammation.”
And that’s not all: “If one person has one trait and the other, there is a one in four chance that the baby will have sickle cell disease.” Avoiding unhealthy habits is another key factor. “Smoking and drinking are already hard on the body when you’re healthy, but imagine what it would be like if you had sickle cell disease. Sickle cell disease is becoming more and more common. I don’t think people realise the severity of the disease and the impact it can have on not just the individual but the whole family.”
