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| SICKLE CELL CRISIS TRIGGER |
There are some situations that clearly trigger sickle cell
crisis but most triggers are unknown. Sometimes, after you’ve done all you know
to stay healthy, you still get sick.
Once at church a brother asked me: “If you already know the
things that trigger sickle cell then why don’t you just avoid them so you won’t
be sick?” I find such thinking illogical. Yes we do know and try to avoid many
of the triggers to sickle cell, but even so you can still get sick. Just like
being clean and making sure your environment is clean doesn’t mean you will
never get ill. In the same way, sicklers do the best they can to avoid getting
sick, but sometimes they still end up with a crisis for no apparent reason. The
best thing you can do for someone who is suffering is to try to be
understanding and empathetic and not judge them.
A FEW THINGS THAT CAN
TRIGGER SICKLE CELL CRISIS INCLUDE;
·
Being dehydrated
·
Extreme temperatures( hot or cold)
·
Stress
·
Exercise
·
High altitudes( hypoxia)
·
Strenuous activities
·
Infections( including malaria Infection)
Exercise
Exercise causes body exertion. When you exert your body it
uses up more oxygen. Sickle cells already have a limited capacity to carry
oxygen due to their sickle shape and this is intensified during exercise. This
causes low oxygen in the red blood cells causing them to stick together, block
blood vessels and cause severe pain. When you exercise you feel hot and you
sweat. This may lead to dehydration thus increasing the clumping of red blood
cells.
Dehydration
Most healthy adults do not suffer from dehydration but
sickle cell patients often do because their kidneys do not absorb as much water
as a healthy person hence more water is lost via the urine. This lower ability
to concentrate urine is called hyposthenuria and may be caused by the sickling
of red blood cells in the kidneys preventing the kidneys from functioning
optimally.
Extreme weather
temperatures
Lower temperatures cause the blood vessels to constrict and
become narrower in an attempt to preserve body heat and prevent heat loss. When
this happens, the already sickle cells have a hard time moving freely through
these constricted vessels and tend to get stuck thus causing the vessels to get
blocked. This is what causes the very severe joint pains as the blood vessels
in the joints are narrower.
Infections
When I suffer from pneumonia my lungs are affected and I
have difficulties breathing. As a result, my body gets even less oxygen leading
to a state of hypoxia and sickling.
Infections like malaria and others can cause fever,
diarrhoea and vomiting. These can lead to dehydration thus triggering a crisis.
Your body needs a lot of energy and oxygen when fighting an
infection. This can lead to low oxygen tension in the blood which causes
sickling.
My personal triggers are stress, strenuous exercise, anemia,
infections and extreme temperatures.
How about you? What usually triggers a crisis for you?
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