WEBVTT 00:00:02.740 --> 00:00:33.000 Thank you. Welcome back, everybody. This is Food 00:00:33.000 --> 00:00:35.320 for Thought Thoughts If It Were You by Neogentrics. 00:00:35.859 --> 00:00:39.140 Now, I'm just going to continue this whole thing 00:00:39.140 --> 00:00:40.880 that I'm talking about with the sickle cell anemia. 00:00:41.000 --> 00:00:43.500 It is very important. It's a very volatile topic. 00:00:43.899 --> 00:00:45.640 A lot of people don't know about it, or if they 00:00:45.640 --> 00:00:47.359 know it's there, they don't know anything about 00:00:47.359 --> 00:00:50.090 it. Now, last time we covered a couple of the 00:00:50.090 --> 00:00:53.130 different types of sickle cell that exist. There 00:00:53.130 --> 00:00:55.390 is still two remaining. They're much like the 00:00:55.390 --> 00:00:57.789 last couple, if you've listened to the last podcast. 00:00:57.990 --> 00:01:01.429 Those would be sickle cell SS and sickle cell 00:01:01.429 --> 00:01:07.790 SE hemoglobin types. In the SE format, they have 00:01:07.790 --> 00:01:11.030 one that has the S trait and one that has the 00:01:11.030 --> 00:01:15.599 E trait. In the SS format... Both parents have 00:01:15.599 --> 00:01:20.219 the sickle cell trait type S and the child inherits 00:01:20.219 --> 00:01:23.340 both. This being one of the more severe cases, 00:01:23.560 --> 00:01:27.280 not as bad as beta zero and beta plus, but of 00:01:27.280 --> 00:01:30.579 the same anomaly. The conditions for this though 00:01:30.579 --> 00:01:34.079 is an abnormal protein mutation in the genes. 00:01:34.400 --> 00:01:36.560 Now I'm not going to go into these two too in 00:01:36.560 --> 00:01:40.230 depth. But just know that they do a lot of screening 00:01:40.230 --> 00:01:43.989 and checking for these specific ones as well. 00:01:45.750 --> 00:01:50.090 Pushing on these factors. Now, like I mentioned 00:01:50.090 --> 00:01:51.930 before, there are a lot of risk factors involved 00:01:51.930 --> 00:01:55.230 with this. And in the United States, most people 00:01:55.230 --> 00:01:57.769 with this disease are African American of ancestry. 00:01:58.450 --> 00:02:00.609 And they identify themselves as black more or 00:02:00.609 --> 00:02:04.129 less. About 1 in 13 black Americans are born 00:02:04.129 --> 00:02:07.670 with this trait. And one out of every 365 black 00:02:07.670 --> 00:02:09.990 American babies are born with a sickle cell disease 00:02:09.990 --> 00:02:12.810 in the first place. But there are some people 00:02:12.810 --> 00:02:14.770 who come from the Hispanic, Southern, European, 00:02:15.009 --> 00:02:17.590 Middle Eastern, or Asian Indian backgrounds as 00:02:17.590 --> 00:02:20.789 well. Summing it up to about 100 ,000 Americans 00:02:20.789 --> 00:02:23.830 who even have this disease to start with. Now... 00:02:25.390 --> 00:02:28.189 There's things for screening and prevention in 00:02:28.189 --> 00:02:31.949 place to allow for early detection of this. Okay, 00:02:32.030 --> 00:02:33.909 and people who do not know whether or not they 00:02:33.909 --> 00:02:36.129 carry the abnormal gene can ask their doctors 00:02:36.129 --> 00:02:38.490 to have blood tests to check to see if they do. 00:02:38.909 --> 00:02:40.629 Couples who are planning to have children and 00:02:40.629 --> 00:02:42.930 know that they are at risk of the child having 00:02:42.930 --> 00:02:45.310 the disease may want to meet with a genetic counselor. 00:02:45.569 --> 00:02:47.469 The genetic counselor can answer any questions 00:02:47.469 --> 00:02:49.330 about the risk and explain the choices that are 00:02:49.330 --> 00:02:53.289 available. Okay? Now, the thing is, what to look 00:02:53.289 --> 00:02:56.919 for, I mean, They're going to diagnose, diagnosis 00:02:56.919 --> 00:03:01.180 will discuss tests, procedures that your doctor 00:03:01.180 --> 00:03:03.039 may want to use to diagnose a sickle cell disease 00:03:03.039 --> 00:03:06.259 for you and your baby. Living with is one of 00:03:06.259 --> 00:03:07.919 the things that they want to talk to you about. 00:03:08.460 --> 00:03:11.120 They'll discuss with you a recommended way to 00:03:11.120 --> 00:03:14.099 manage your complications. There's a lot of research 00:03:14.099 --> 00:03:18.740 in health regarding this. They'll also discuss 00:03:18.740 --> 00:03:21.580 with you about their current research and advancing 00:03:21.580 --> 00:03:24.000 research to treat and cure the said diseases. 00:03:24.300 --> 00:03:26.979 So some people might want to look into that as 00:03:26.979 --> 00:03:29.840 well. And then if you want to, you can participate 00:03:29.840 --> 00:03:32.280 in clinical trials where they openly discuss 00:03:32.280 --> 00:03:34.960 and enroll clinical studies on people and their, 00:03:35.039 --> 00:03:37.039 well, mostly their blood, not so much the people, 00:03:37.139 --> 00:03:39.560 and investigate treatments and approaches to 00:03:39.560 --> 00:03:55.490 deal with these sickle cell diseases. Okay? Let's 00:03:55.490 --> 00:03:58.409 go into signs, symptoms, complications, things 00:03:58.409 --> 00:04:04.050 of that nature. If a person has the disease, 00:04:04.330 --> 00:04:08.449 it is present at birth. But most infants don't 00:04:08.449 --> 00:04:10.810 have any problems from the disease until they're 00:04:10.810 --> 00:04:14.800 about five or six months of age anyway. Every 00:04:14.800 --> 00:04:16.420 state in the United States, especially the District 00:04:16.420 --> 00:04:19.259 of Columbia and every U .S. territory, it is 00:04:19.259 --> 00:04:21.500 required to have newborn babies receive screening 00:04:21.500 --> 00:04:24.259 for this disease. When a child has the disease, 00:04:24.379 --> 00:04:27.240 the parents are notified immediately. Some children 00:04:27.240 --> 00:04:28.939 with the sickle cell disease will start having 00:04:28.939 --> 00:04:31.660 problems early on and some later. Early symptoms 00:04:31.660 --> 00:04:35.060 of the disease may include a yellowish color 00:04:35.060 --> 00:04:38.339 of the skin, known as jaundice, or whites of 00:04:38.339 --> 00:04:42.529 the eyes, known as icterus. That occurs when 00:04:42.529 --> 00:04:45.670 a large number of red blood cells undergo hemolysis. 00:04:46.170 --> 00:04:49.009 It's not pretty. I'm just going to say that right 00:04:49.009 --> 00:04:54.449 now. Fatigue or fussiness from the anemia. Painful 00:04:54.449 --> 00:04:57.269 swallowing of the hands and feet known as dactylitis. 00:05:01.069 --> 00:05:04.110 The signs and symptoms of sickle cell will vary 00:05:04.110 --> 00:05:06.009 from person to person and can change over time. 00:05:06.089 --> 00:05:09.189 Most of the signs and symptoms of a sickle cell 00:05:09.189 --> 00:05:12.170 disease are related to complications of the disease. 00:05:12.509 --> 00:05:17.569 A lot of the complications include acute pain. 00:05:17.910 --> 00:05:22.649 Sickle cell or vaso -occlusive crisis is one 00:05:22.649 --> 00:05:25.970 word for it. The pain episodes or crises may 00:05:25.970 --> 00:05:28.529 occur without warning when sickle cell block... 00:05:28.959 --> 00:05:32.620 blood flow, and decreased oxygen delivery. People 00:05:32.620 --> 00:05:35.959 describe this pain as sharp, intense, stabbing, 00:05:35.959 --> 00:05:39.379 and throbbing, and or throbbing. It could be 00:05:39.379 --> 00:05:43.139 either or or both. Severe cries can even be even 00:05:43.139 --> 00:05:47.420 more uncomfortable than post -surgical pains 00:05:47.420 --> 00:05:51.279 or childbirth. Surprisingly enough, a person 00:05:51.279 --> 00:05:54.500 screaming in pain of this is more ear -piercing 00:05:54.500 --> 00:05:58.300 than a lady in labor, believe it or not. Pains 00:05:58.300 --> 00:06:00.100 can strike almost anywhere in the body and in 00:06:00.100 --> 00:06:02.560 more than one spot at a time But the pain often 00:06:02.560 --> 00:06:05.240 occurs in like several different places I mean 00:06:05.240 --> 00:06:07.240 it could be in your abdomen your arms your chest 00:06:07.240 --> 00:06:10.339 your lower back your legs I mean a crisis can 00:06:10.339 --> 00:06:13.379 be brought on by various conditions high altitudes 00:06:13.379 --> 00:06:15.579 dehydration not drinking enough fluids illness 00:06:15.579 --> 00:06:18.379 stress temperature changes I mean, but often 00:06:18.379 --> 00:06:20.199 a person doesn't know the triggers or the causes 00:06:20.199 --> 00:06:23.079 of the crisis. It just happens at random I mean 00:06:23.079 --> 00:06:24.779 many adolescents and adults with sickle cells 00:06:24.779 --> 00:06:27.769 suffered from chronic pain. I mean, this kind 00:06:27.769 --> 00:06:30.129 of pain can be hard for people to describe, but 00:06:30.129 --> 00:06:34.470 it is usually different from crisis pains and 00:06:34.470 --> 00:06:37.730 the pain that results from organ damage. Chronic 00:06:37.730 --> 00:06:40.990 pain can be severe and can even be, it makes 00:06:40.990 --> 00:06:42.730 your life difficult. Let me just say it that 00:06:42.730 --> 00:06:46.490 way. Its cause is not well understood, for one. 00:06:47.430 --> 00:06:51.949 How do I put this? Severe anemia. Let me go with 00:06:51.949 --> 00:06:54.230 that. People with the single cell disease usually 00:06:54.230 --> 00:06:56.810 have mild to moderate anemia. It's usually not 00:06:56.810 --> 00:07:00.269 that bad in some people's cases. Minus the SS, 00:07:00.490 --> 00:07:03.410 SE, and SEB. I mean, minus those situations, 00:07:03.750 --> 00:07:08.610 okay? Those can be minor too, but I'm just saying. 00:07:08.730 --> 00:07:11.649 At times, however, they can have severe anemia. 00:07:11.769 --> 00:07:13.670 Severe anemia can be life -threatening, okay? 00:07:14.430 --> 00:07:19.730 Especially in an infant or a child. Many different 00:07:19.730 --> 00:07:27.709 things can be caused by this. A plastic crisis. 00:07:30.089 --> 00:07:36.310 It's usually caused by a parvovirus B19 infection. 00:07:36.790 --> 00:07:39.930 It's also known as the fifth disease or slapping 00:07:39.930 --> 00:07:42.930 cheek syndrome. It's a very common infection, 00:07:43.069 --> 00:07:45.449 but in sickle cell disease, it can cause the 00:07:45.449 --> 00:07:47.350 bone marrow to stop producing new red blood cells 00:07:47.350 --> 00:07:50.819 for a while. And this is dangerous, okay? Leading 00:07:50.819 --> 00:07:56.240 to some very, very severe anemia, okay? Another 00:07:56.240 --> 00:07:58.459 one would be blood getting trapped in the spleen. 00:07:58.560 --> 00:08:00.579 Now, I know I've mentioned this before, okay? 00:08:01.399 --> 00:08:03.699 And I've played it off like it's not as bad, 00:08:03.819 --> 00:08:06.319 but I mean, honestly, it is. The spleen is an 00:08:06.319 --> 00:08:08.120 organ that is located in the upper left side 00:08:08.120 --> 00:08:10.040 of your body, okay? And it filters your blood 00:08:10.040 --> 00:08:12.759 and destroys old blood cells. And people who 00:08:12.759 --> 00:08:14.699 have this disease, the red blood cells get trapped 00:08:14.699 --> 00:08:17.589 in the spleen, making it enlarge, okay? With 00:08:17.589 --> 00:08:19.889 red blood cells trapped in the spleen, fewer 00:08:19.889 --> 00:08:21.670 are available to circulate through the body, 00:08:21.730 --> 00:08:23.850 and this can offset anemia, and the large spleen 00:08:23.850 --> 00:08:25.970 may cause pains in your left side and in the 00:08:25.970 --> 00:08:29.230 belly, and a parent can usually feel the enlarged 00:08:29.230 --> 00:08:33.409 spleen in the belly of his or her child. With 00:08:33.409 --> 00:08:35.669 this being said, if your spleen should ever explode, 00:08:35.769 --> 00:08:38.549 you're in actually a lot of danger, because all 00:08:38.549 --> 00:08:39.950 that's going to start spreading throughout your 00:08:39.950 --> 00:08:42.710 body, and it can actually be as poison to you, 00:08:42.730 --> 00:08:51.840 so this is just a heads up to you. Splenic sequestration. 00:08:52.019 --> 00:08:54.419 Man, these words are hard to pronounce. I wrote 00:08:54.419 --> 00:08:56.600 them down, okay? That's the reason I wrote them 00:08:56.600 --> 00:08:57.940 down because I can't remember them because they're 00:08:57.940 --> 00:09:04.919 so hard to say. Splenic sequestration. Okay. 00:09:05.370 --> 00:09:08.429 Crisis and a plastic crisis most commonly occur 00:09:08.429 --> 00:09:10.649 in infants and children though who have the disease 00:09:10.649 --> 00:09:13.470 anyway But adults who have this the the cell 00:09:13.470 --> 00:09:15.450 the sickle cell disease may also experience episodes 00:09:15.450 --> 00:09:18.730 of severe anemia still from time to time Okay, 00:09:18.830 --> 00:09:22.110 but these usually have other causes no matter 00:09:22.110 --> 00:09:24.210 the cause those severe meaning anemia can lead 00:09:24.210 --> 00:09:27.070 to symptoms that include fatigue dizziness pale 00:09:27.070 --> 00:09:30.669 skin shortness of breath I don't know why I said 00:09:30.669 --> 00:09:33.399 that so sluggishly But babies and newborns with 00:09:33.399 --> 00:09:35.980 severe anemia may not want to eat and may seem 00:09:35.980 --> 00:09:38.980 very sluggish. With that being said, there are 00:09:38.980 --> 00:09:41.240 infections to also be aware of. The spleen is 00:09:41.240 --> 00:09:43.220 important for protection against certain kinds 00:09:43.220 --> 00:09:48.480 of infections. So there's its function. The sickle 00:09:48.480 --> 00:09:50.139 cells can damage the spleen and weaken and or 00:09:50.139 --> 00:09:53.590 destroy its functions even if... Even in young 00:09:53.590 --> 00:09:56.149 patients. And I mean, people who have the disease, 00:09:56.269 --> 00:09:58.870 who have damaged spleens, are at risk of severe 00:09:58.870 --> 00:10:01.070 bacterial infections in the blood, lungs, brain, 00:10:01.269 --> 00:10:04.470 bones. I mean, it's life -threatening. Let's 00:10:04.470 --> 00:10:06.110 just put it that way. A lot of the bacterias 00:10:06.110 --> 00:10:08.169 that you can end up with, one of them being chlamydia, 00:10:08.330 --> 00:10:11.250 ironically enough, it's not just an STD. You 00:10:11.250 --> 00:10:15.549 can get that from this. Hemophilius, influenza 00:10:15.549 --> 00:10:24.240 type B, meningococcus, mycoplasma, Uh, pneumonia, 00:10:24.600 --> 00:10:28.539 uh, pneumococcus, salmonella can be resulted 00:10:28.539 --> 00:10:33.519 as this, uh, cephalococcus. I hate that word. 00:10:35.080 --> 00:10:37.679 Also is one of the, uh, one of the different 00:10:37.679 --> 00:10:39.399 bacteria you can get infected with. And keep 00:10:39.399 --> 00:10:42.000 in mind, each one of these is worse going down. 00:10:42.700 --> 00:10:45.700 Okay. I listed them in that order on purpose. 00:10:49.080 --> 00:10:50.960 Chlamydia is not as bad as it sounds, believe 00:10:50.960 --> 00:10:54.789 it or not. That's why it's at the top. It's bad, 00:10:54.909 --> 00:10:56.870 but it's not that bad. Then there's the other 00:10:56.870 --> 00:11:00.269 one, acute chest syndrome. Sickling in blood 00:11:00.269 --> 00:11:03.070 cells of the lungs can deprive a person's lungs 00:11:03.070 --> 00:11:05.409 of oxygen, obviously. And when this happens, 00:11:05.549 --> 00:11:08.029 areas of the lung tissue can get damaged and 00:11:08.029 --> 00:11:10.610 cannot exchange oxygen properly. And this is 00:11:10.610 --> 00:11:15.139 known as acute chest syndrome. At least one segment 00:11:15.139 --> 00:11:17.320 of the lung is damaged as a result of this. And 00:11:17.320 --> 00:11:19.080 the condition is very serious and should be treated 00:11:19.080 --> 00:11:21.879 immediately if it should ever happen. It usually 00:11:21.879 --> 00:11:24.820 often starts a few days after a painful crisis 00:11:24.820 --> 00:11:27.639 begins. A lung infection may accompany acute 00:11:27.639 --> 00:11:30.659 chest syndrome at any given time. And with that, 00:11:30.700 --> 00:11:32.980 the symptoms may include chest pains, coughing, 00:11:33.220 --> 00:11:35.360 fever, rapid breathing, shortness of breath. 00:11:36.200 --> 00:11:38.759 Now we're getting into the more serious stuff 00:11:38.759 --> 00:11:52.279 here. I had to take a break. Everyone needs a 00:11:52.279 --> 00:11:54.320 break. We're going to move on to the next thing 00:11:54.320 --> 00:11:59.559 here. I stopped with the last topic. I was talking 00:11:59.559 --> 00:12:01.639 about acute chest syndrome. Let me go into another 00:12:01.639 --> 00:12:05.419 more complicated matter. It also affects your 00:12:05.419 --> 00:12:11.500 brain, okay? This disease, it's very, very important. 00:12:11.639 --> 00:12:14.860 It's one of the main fields that, you know, aside 00:12:14.860 --> 00:12:17.710 from cancer, is... very detrimental to a lot 00:12:17.710 --> 00:12:20.250 of humans now while it's not as common a thing 00:12:20.250 --> 00:12:23.389 it's still you know it we lose a lot of people 00:12:23.389 --> 00:12:26.309 as a result of it okay so with the brain complications 00:12:26.309 --> 00:12:29.690 okay there's something called a clinical stroke 00:12:29.690 --> 00:12:32.529 okay a stroke occurs when blood flow is blocked 00:12:32.529 --> 00:12:34.649 to a part of your brain okay and when this happens 00:12:34.649 --> 00:12:37.450 the brain cells can be damaged or they can die 00:12:37.450 --> 00:12:40.590 which i know how bad that sounds but i mean it's 00:12:40.590 --> 00:12:43.909 basically the case in sickle cell disease a clinical 00:12:43.909 --> 00:12:46.259 stroke means that a person shows Outward signs 00:12:46.259 --> 00:12:48.480 that something is definitely wrong with them. 00:12:49.480 --> 00:12:51.980 The symptoms depend upon whether a part of the 00:12:51.980 --> 00:12:54.500 brain is affected. Symptoms of a stroke may include 00:12:54.500 --> 00:12:56.860 loss of balance, severe headache, trouble speaking, 00:12:57.059 --> 00:12:59.759 walking and understanding, weakness of an arm 00:12:59.759 --> 00:13:03.039 or leg on one side of the body. As many as 24 00:13:03.039 --> 00:13:06.120 % of people with hemoglobin SS, out of all of 00:13:06.120 --> 00:13:09.759 them, 10 % of people with hemoglobin SC may suffer 00:13:09.759 --> 00:13:12.879 a clinical stroke by the age of 45. Now, in children, 00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:15.279 clinical strokes occur most commonly between 00:13:15.279 --> 00:13:18.179 the ages of 2 to 9, but recent prevention strategies 00:13:18.179 --> 00:13:20.960 have lowered that risk. Now, when a person who 00:13:20.960 --> 00:13:24.659 has these symptoms, or rather, shows symptoms 00:13:24.659 --> 00:13:27.120 of a stroke with the sickle cell disease, their 00:13:27.120 --> 00:13:30.259 family or friends are required to dial 911 immediately 00:13:30.259 --> 00:13:34.059 because a solid stroke, or even a stroke in general, 00:13:34.139 --> 00:13:36.580 can be detrimental. The other one to worry about 00:13:36.580 --> 00:13:38.919 is silent stroke and thinking problems. Brain 00:13:38.919 --> 00:13:42.220 imaging and tests of thinking cognitive studies 00:13:42.220 --> 00:13:44.480 have shown that children and adults with hemoglobin 00:13:44.480 --> 00:13:50.460 SS and hemoglobin sigma beta 0 often have signs 00:13:50.460 --> 00:13:55.320 of silent brain injury, also called silent strokes. 00:13:55.539 --> 00:13:57.860 Silent brain injury is damage to the brain without 00:13:57.860 --> 00:14:00.220 showing outward signs of a stroke at all. And 00:14:00.220 --> 00:14:03.559 this injury is common. Silent brain injury can 00:14:03.559 --> 00:14:07.879 lead to difficulty in hearing, making decisions, 00:14:08.139 --> 00:14:10.919 or holding down a job. Believe it or not, that's 00:14:10.919 --> 00:14:14.240 a cause. Another one would be eye problems. Like 00:14:14.240 --> 00:14:16.539 I mentioned before, it can injure blood vessels 00:14:16.539 --> 00:14:19.240 in the eyes. A common site of damage is the retina. 00:14:19.870 --> 00:14:22.470 Where blood vessels can overgrow, get blocked, 00:14:22.590 --> 00:14:24.750 or bleed. And the retina is the light, sensitive 00:14:24.750 --> 00:14:27.649 layer of tissue that lines the inside of the 00:14:27.649 --> 00:14:29.789 eye and sends visual messages through the optic 00:14:29.789 --> 00:14:32.149 nerve to your brain. Detachment of the retina 00:14:32.149 --> 00:14:35.669 can occur from this. And when the retina detaches, 00:14:35.710 --> 00:14:38.389 it is lifted and pulled from its normal position. 00:14:38.889 --> 00:14:41.850 These problems can cause visual impairment or 00:14:41.850 --> 00:14:46.129 vision loss. So yeah, going blind is a big deal. 00:14:46.330 --> 00:14:48.659 Another one would be heart disease. And this 00:14:48.659 --> 00:14:51.700 one should be pretty much understood. But, you 00:14:51.700 --> 00:14:53.559 know, I'm going to cover it anyway. People who 00:14:53.559 --> 00:14:56.480 have this problem with blood vessels in the heart 00:14:56.480 --> 00:14:59.440 cause, you know, heart problems and heart function 00:14:59.440 --> 00:15:01.740 issues. The heart can become larger than normal 00:15:01.740 --> 00:15:04.179 because they're building up inside it. People 00:15:04.179 --> 00:15:06.740 who have sickle cell can also develop pulmonary 00:15:06.740 --> 00:15:10.320 hypertension. And, you know, basically to block 00:15:10.320 --> 00:15:12.320 the blood vessels to the point where the heart 00:15:12.320 --> 00:15:15.220 can't pump. And it just stops. It's similar to 00:15:15.220 --> 00:15:18.950 cardiac arrest. Except the heart is basically 00:15:18.950 --> 00:15:22.269 inflamed, like it's enlarged. People who have 00:15:22.269 --> 00:15:24.149 the sickle cell disease who have received frequent 00:15:24.149 --> 00:15:26.230 blood transfusions may also have heart damage 00:15:26.230 --> 00:15:31.950 from iron overload as well. The pulmonary hypertension. 00:15:32.950 --> 00:15:36.590 In adolescents and adults, injury to blood vessels 00:15:36.590 --> 00:15:41.009 in the lungs may make it hard for the heart to 00:15:41.009 --> 00:15:42.710 pump blood through those blood vessels because 00:15:42.710 --> 00:15:48.000 they're damaged. For one, this causes the pressure 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:51.139 in the lung blood vessels to rise. High pressure 00:15:51.139 --> 00:15:53.279 through these vessels is called pulmonary hypertension. 00:15:54.700 --> 00:15:56.919 Symptoms may include shortness of breath, fatigue. 00:15:57.539 --> 00:16:00.860 When this condition is severe, it is also associated 00:16:00.860 --> 00:16:04.440 with a higher risk of death. For one, you can't 00:16:04.440 --> 00:16:07.600 breathe. Another thing to keep in mind is kidney 00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:09.799 problems. The kidneys are sensitive to the effect 00:16:09.799 --> 00:16:12.620 of blood, especially the red blood cell cells. 00:16:13.340 --> 00:16:15.580 Sickle cell disease causes the kidneys to have 00:16:15.580 --> 00:16:18.539 trouble making the urine as concentrated as it 00:16:18.539 --> 00:16:21.379 should be. This may lead to the need to urinate 00:16:21.379 --> 00:16:24.580 often, and I mean often, to the point where you're 00:16:24.580 --> 00:16:26.340 bedwetting and you have uncontrollable urine 00:16:26.340 --> 00:16:27.820 during the night, like you'll wake up and your 00:16:27.820 --> 00:16:30.379 bed's just freaking soaked. I mean, this often 00:16:30.379 --> 00:16:32.639 starts in childhood and other problems may occur 00:16:32.639 --> 00:16:35.159 as well, such as blood in the urine, decreased 00:16:35.159 --> 00:16:38.320 kidney function, kidney failure, in some cases 00:16:38.320 --> 00:16:41.440 kidney disease, protein loss in the urine as 00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:45.039 well. Uh, no, another one that's not as common 00:16:45.039 --> 00:16:48.899 would be, uh, pre -epism. Males who have the 00:16:48.899 --> 00:16:51.259 sickle cell disease can have unwanted, sometimes 00:16:51.259 --> 00:16:54.620 prolonged, painful erections. Okay. And this 00:16:54.620 --> 00:16:57.799 condition is called pre -epism, uh, pre -epism. 00:16:57.860 --> 00:17:01.419 I hate this word. Anyway, when blood flows out 00:17:01.419 --> 00:17:04.680 of the erected, uh, penis, it is, it blocked 00:17:04.680 --> 00:17:08.119 it. How do I say this? When it flows out of the 00:17:08.119 --> 00:17:11.390 penis, it's blocked. bicycle cell okay and if 00:17:11.390 --> 00:17:13.690 it goes on for a long period of time it can cause 00:17:13.690 --> 00:17:17.450 permanent damage to your uh package and lead 00:17:17.450 --> 00:17:24.789 to uh impotence impotence i hate that word there's 00:17:24.789 --> 00:17:27.529 a lot of words i don't like but specifically 00:17:27.529 --> 00:17:30.569 talking about a man's junk in this regard it's 00:17:30.569 --> 00:17:33.769 just painful to even say these words and the 00:17:33.769 --> 00:17:36.930 thing is a pre -opism can last for more than 00:17:36.930 --> 00:17:41.369 four hours if it does you need to see medical 00:17:41.369 --> 00:17:45.130 attention immediately i take that back if it 00:17:45.130 --> 00:17:49.130 occurs at all for more than 20 minutes seek medical 00:17:49.130 --> 00:17:51.890 attention just the thought of this as another 00:17:51.890 --> 00:18:07.740 guy is just awful moving right along here Next 00:18:07.740 --> 00:18:10.259 is gallstones. I don't think I need to even explain 00:18:10.259 --> 00:18:13.299 what this is. But basically, when the red cells 00:18:13.299 --> 00:18:21.380 undergo hemolysis, they release hemoglobin. This 00:18:21.380 --> 00:18:24.279 is understood. Hemoglobin gets broken down into 00:18:24.279 --> 00:18:28.180 a substance called bilirubin. It can form stones 00:18:28.180 --> 00:18:30.980 that get stuck in the gallbladder. The gallbladder 00:18:30.980 --> 00:18:33.759 is a small, sack -shaped organ beneath the liver 00:18:33.759 --> 00:18:36.299 that helps with digestion. And the gallbladder 00:18:36.299 --> 00:18:39.289 is... You know, gallstones are a common problem 00:18:39.289 --> 00:18:41.390 with sickle cell disease, okay? They may be formed 00:18:41.390 --> 00:18:44.170 early, but may not produce symptoms for years, 00:18:44.450 --> 00:18:48.390 okay? And when symptoms do develop, just a thought 00:18:48.390 --> 00:18:53.369 of this, it could cause nausea, vomiting, right 00:18:53.369 --> 00:18:55.849 side upper belly pain. I mean, if problems continue 00:18:55.849 --> 00:18:58.809 to occur, you're going to need surgery to remove 00:18:58.809 --> 00:19:02.490 them. Just put it this way. And by the way, if 00:19:02.490 --> 00:19:05.690 you ever have to pass a gallstone, God help you. 00:19:07.339 --> 00:19:12.779 That crap is painful. You think it's bad enough 00:19:12.779 --> 00:19:14.819 when you hear someone scream bloody murder, just 00:19:14.819 --> 00:19:17.359 wait till this happens to you. Or rather yet, 00:19:17.480 --> 00:19:20.480 make sure you drink lots of fluids so this doesn't 00:19:20.480 --> 00:19:24.160 happen to you. Another is a liver complication. 00:19:24.380 --> 00:19:26.000 There are a number of ways in which the liver 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:28.920 may be injured by the sickle cell disease. Sickle 00:19:28.920 --> 00:19:36.140 cell intraheptic colostasis. It is an uncommon 00:19:36.140 --> 00:19:38.680 but severe type of liver damage that occurs when 00:19:38.680 --> 00:19:42.200 sickle red cell blocks blood vessels in the liver. 00:19:42.319 --> 00:19:44.799 This blockage prevents enough oxygen from reaching 00:19:44.799 --> 00:19:49.299 liver tissue. These episodes are usually sudden 00:19:49.299 --> 00:19:51.660 and may reoccur. Children often recover, but 00:19:51.660 --> 00:19:53.700 some adults may have chronic pain that leads 00:19:53.700 --> 00:19:56.079 to liver failure later. People who have sickle 00:19:56.079 --> 00:19:57.619 cell disease who have received frequent blood 00:19:57.619 --> 00:20:00.140 transfusions may also develop liver damage from 00:20:00.140 --> 00:20:03.789 iron overload. um another one would be leg ulcers 00:20:03.789 --> 00:20:06.569 sickle cell ulcers are sores that usually start 00:20:06.569 --> 00:20:08.910 small and they get larger and larger the number 00:20:08.910 --> 00:20:11.490 of ulcers can vary from one to many some ulcers 00:20:11.490 --> 00:20:14.230 will heal quickly but others may not heal and 00:20:14.230 --> 00:20:16.369 may last for long periods of time and some ulcers 00:20:16.369 --> 00:20:19.190 come back after healing so this is another problem 00:20:19.190 --> 00:20:21.759 to keep be aware of People who have sickle cell 00:20:21.759 --> 00:20:23.720 disease usually don't get ulcers until after 00:20:23.720 --> 00:20:26.099 the age of 10, but the fact remains that they 00:20:26.099 --> 00:20:28.839 still are there. Another one would be joint complications, 00:20:29.220 --> 00:20:33.700 sickling in the bones of the hip, which is less 00:20:33.700 --> 00:20:38.480 common. The shoulder joints, knees, ankles can 00:20:38.480 --> 00:20:42.039 decrease oxygen flow and result in severe damage 00:20:42.039 --> 00:20:44.380 in those areas as well. The damage is a condition 00:20:44.380 --> 00:20:50.440 called... a vascular or a septic necrosis. The 00:20:50.440 --> 00:20:53.900 disease is usually found in adolescents and adults, 00:20:54.059 --> 00:20:56.059 not so much kids because their bodies haven't 00:20:56.059 --> 00:20:58.480 developed yet. I mean, but the symptoms include 00:20:58.480 --> 00:21:00.819 pain and problems with walking and joint movement. 00:21:00.859 --> 00:21:05.299 A person may need pain medicines, surgery, or 00:21:05.299 --> 00:21:07.599 joint replacement if the symptoms even persist. 00:21:08.720 --> 00:21:11.180 Another one would be delayed growth and puberty. 00:21:11.400 --> 00:21:13.619 Children who have the sickle cell disease may 00:21:13.619 --> 00:21:15.400 grow and develop more slowly than their peers 00:21:15.400 --> 00:21:18.339 because of the anemia. They will reach full sexual 00:21:18.339 --> 00:21:22.839 maturity, but this may also be delayed. Another 00:21:22.839 --> 00:21:26.859 one would be pregnancy. Pregnancy in women who 00:21:26.859 --> 00:21:29.460 have this disease can be risky, both for the 00:21:29.460 --> 00:21:32.180 mother and for the child. Mothers have the medical 00:21:32.180 --> 00:21:34.779 complication that includes blood clots, high 00:21:34.779 --> 00:21:40.279 blood pressure, increased pain episodes, infections. 00:21:41.349 --> 00:21:44.109 Oh, and on that note, they also have a higher 00:21:44.109 --> 00:21:47.769 risk of miscarriages, premature births, small, 00:21:47.950 --> 00:21:53.190 for -date, or underweight babies as another problem. 00:21:53.490 --> 00:21:57.829 And while this sounds sad, this is the god -awful 00:21:57.829 --> 00:22:01.289 truth of the situation. Another thing to be aware 00:22:01.289 --> 00:22:05.460 of is mental health. In another chronic... As 00:22:05.460 --> 00:22:07.500 in other chronic diseases, people who have sickle 00:22:07.500 --> 00:22:09.920 cell disease may feel sad, frustrated in times. 00:22:10.079 --> 00:22:11.980 I mean, the limitations that sickle cell disease 00:22:11.980 --> 00:22:13.980 can impose on a person's daily activities may 00:22:13.980 --> 00:22:16.660 cause them to feel isolated from others at times, 00:22:16.779 --> 00:22:18.900 sometimes even depressed. People who have the 00:22:18.900 --> 00:22:21.680 disease may also have trouble coping with pain, 00:22:21.799 --> 00:22:24.099 fatigue, as well as the frequent medical visits 00:22:24.099 --> 00:22:26.380 and hospitalizations that they have to deal with. 00:22:28.180 --> 00:22:31.680 You know, there are things to look for that would 00:22:31.680 --> 00:22:34.619 help with this, like treatments. When you go 00:22:34.619 --> 00:22:38.880 to the doctor, they discuss different treatments 00:22:38.880 --> 00:22:41.500 to help with complications or side effects. And 00:22:41.500 --> 00:22:43.319 then they help you to live with these different 00:22:43.319 --> 00:22:48.980 things that happen to you. I will say this. As 00:22:48.980 --> 00:22:53.099 tragic as this disease sounds, in some cases, 00:22:53.240 --> 00:22:57.559 it's a lot worse than in other scenarios. But 00:22:57.559 --> 00:23:00.960 the fact of the matter remains that they can 00:23:00.960 --> 00:23:04.829 at least still do something for you. Okay? Now, 00:23:04.890 --> 00:23:08.029 that's it for now with this specific topic. Next 00:23:08.029 --> 00:23:09.549 time, we'll be covering a little bit more in 00:23:09.549 --> 00:23:11.869 this field. Enjoy the rest of your day. Again, 00:23:11.970 --> 00:23:13.410 this is Food for Thought, Thoughts If It Were 00:23:13.410 --> 00:23:16.369 You by Neogentrics. Please look forward to part 00:23:16.369 --> 00:23:16.789 three.