Blood Disorders

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Lily, a 4-year-old Caucasian female, has she been complaining of being tired all the time. She is pale and is a picky eater. Her mother is a single mom with a small budget to feed a large family. Lily eats only pasta, breads, and hot dogs, and she drinks only artificial fruit punch. Lily has iron deficiency anemia. Infants can be infected from the time of birth from certain forms of anemia. Certain forms of anemia are hereditary. When girls are not getting the proper amount of iron in their diet then they may become iron deficiency. There are many different symptoms of iron deficiency anemia but the most common are swelling of the tongue, drying of the lips, and eating and craving ice. Lily’s mother cannot afford the proper food filled with iron so the best thing that she can buy for Lily is foods and drinks that have vitamin C in it, such as orange juice. * * Davon is a 5-year-old African American male who has just moved to Chicago, and he is visiting his new pediatrician for a kindergarten physical. His mother tells the nurse that she carries the sickle cell trait and wants Davon screened for it. Davon may have the sickle cell trait. I would say that it would be hard to determine if Devon has a blood disorder because he has no symptoms. I do think that Devon is at risk of having sickle cell. Sickle cell is a disease that is inherited. African-Americans are at greater risk for the disease than any other ethnic group. Sickle cell is caused by genetic abnormality. It is diagnosed by a blood test. The blood test measures the amount of abnormal sickle hemoglobin. Sickle cell can be treated by medications such as pain medications, anti-inflammatory medications, and antibiotics for infection. * * Spencer has noted over the past several weeks that he is having more