Sickle Cell Anemia According to the U.S. Essay

Sickle cell anemia according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine/National Institutes of Health - NLM/NIH (2013), "is a disease in which your body produces abnormally shaped red blood cells." As the NLM/NIH further point out, the cells produced in this case ordinarily have a crescent-like shape. The red blood cells of an individual usually have a disk-like shape. It is this disk like shape that enhances and eases their movement through the blood vessels of an individual. According to NLM/NIH (2013), sickle cells routinely get stuck in an individual's blood vessels thereby causing blood flow blockage. In addition to causing pain, such blockage could also lead to organ damage (NLM/NIH, 2013).

When it comes to the causes of the disease, it is important to note that genetics play a critical role on this front. In that regard, therefore, a parent can pass the sickle cell disease to their child. It should, however, be noted that to get the disease, a child must inherit a sickle cell gene, not from either parent, but from both parents. In this case, if the said child inherits the gene from only one parent, such a child will have what is referred to as a sickle cell trait.Those with the said trait are essentially carriers of the disease, i.e. they do not have the disease (NLM/NIH).

Sickle Cell Anemia in Adulthood

This condition does not have a known cure. Those diagnosed with the same therefore have to live into adulthood with the condition. It is therefore important to note that those diagnosed with the sickle cell disease have to prepare for a life-long battle most particularly against a myriad of health conditions which could either be triggered by the disease or aggravated by the same. It should, however, be noted that the disease is largely manageable with most of those diagnosed with the same being able to carry on with their lives normally. Indeed, in the words of NLM/NIH (2013), "because of improved treatments and care, people who have sickle cell anemia are now living into their forties or fifties, or longer." From the onset, nursing intervention when it comes to sickle cell anemia aims at educating not only the family but also the individual affected by the condition on how the negative effects of the disease can be minimized.

Proposed Care Plan

Diagnosis

Intervention

Expected Outcome

Vaso-Occlusive Crisis Management

- Utilization of….....