Sickle Cell Themes
To understand the complexities of Sickle cell anaemia and Sickle cell disease a basic understanding of haemoglobin is essential. (See appendix 2) Appendix 3 shows a normal red blood cell and a sickled red blood cell, you can see the difference is more than noticeable.
This essay will look at three themes and look at areas of research found by the author, an analysis and evaluation of the research found will be given. A conclusion will then be given of the information found during the research process. The themes will look at the physiological side of the illness, including treatment received during a painful episode known as a sickle crisis, social factors, a brief look at the lack of awareness the disease receives by both the public and health …show more content…
Fat cells make up yellow bone marrow that do not generate blood cells however in most long bones red bone marrow is replaced by this yellow bone marrow. Red blood cells are the most abundant cells in the blood which inhabit fewer than 50% of the blood volume in men and women (Huether and McCance, 2008). Huether and McCance (2008) discusses that red blood cells are composed of two molecules Haem which holds iron at its centre and Globin. Erythrocytes main responsibility is tissue oxygenation, they enclose haemoglobin and carry gases and electrolytes that regulate diffusion through the cells plasma membrane. The most common type of haemoglobin is (Hb A) the majority of people inherit Hb A from both parents (Hb AA). However, in sickle cell anaemia a person inherits two genes, Hb S a gene from each parent (Hb SS) as explained earlier (Porth, …show more content…
The erythrocytes sickling and blocking the vessels can cause a number of serious complications and a vaso-occlusive crisis may occur, this can result in a person being admitted to hospital due to severe pain (Midence and Elander, 1994). A sickle cell crisis can be life threatening due to the physiological problems such as sudden onset of acute pain, anaemia, vascular occlusion, organ infarction and haemolysis in the spleen causing pooling of the blood. There are four types of crisis’s all in all with vaso-occlusive being the most common, see appendix 4 for description of other three. Signs and symptoms of a crises are different for every sufferer and can vary hugely depending on the person, however, the most common symptoms a person may experience in an accident and emergency setting are chronic pain, tachycardia, hypotension, hypoxia and apraxia (Huether and McCance,
This essay will look at three themes and look at areas of research found by the author, an analysis and evaluation of the research found will be given. A conclusion will then be given of the information found during the research process. The themes will look at the physiological side of the illness, including treatment received during a painful episode known as a sickle crisis, social factors, a brief look at the lack of awareness the disease receives by both the public and health …show more content…
Fat cells make up yellow bone marrow that do not generate blood cells however in most long bones red bone marrow is replaced by this yellow bone marrow. Red blood cells are the most abundant cells in the blood which inhabit fewer than 50% of the blood volume in men and women (Huether and McCance, 2008). Huether and McCance (2008) discusses that red blood cells are composed of two molecules Haem which holds iron at its centre and Globin. Erythrocytes main responsibility is tissue oxygenation, they enclose haemoglobin and carry gases and electrolytes that regulate diffusion through the cells plasma membrane. The most common type of haemoglobin is (Hb A) the majority of people inherit Hb A from both parents (Hb AA). However, in sickle cell anaemia a person inherits two genes, Hb S a gene from each parent (Hb SS) as explained earlier (Porth, …show more content…
The erythrocytes sickling and blocking the vessels can cause a number of serious complications and a vaso-occlusive crisis may occur, this can result in a person being admitted to hospital due to severe pain (Midence and Elander, 1994). A sickle cell crisis can be life threatening due to the physiological problems such as sudden onset of acute pain, anaemia, vascular occlusion, organ infarction and haemolysis in the spleen causing pooling of the blood. There are four types of crisis’s all in all with vaso-occlusive being the most common, see appendix 4 for description of other three. Signs and symptoms of a crises are different for every sufferer and can vary hugely depending on the person, however, the most common symptoms a person may experience in an accident and emergency setting are chronic pain, tachycardia, hypotension, hypoxia and apraxia (Huether and McCance,