LAGOS -A haematologist, Dr Fatai Bello, said on Monday that children with sickle cell anaemia required sustained and adequate healthcare to live healthily and prevent complications associated with the disease.
Bello, who works at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
“Sickle cell anaemia has a lot of complications if the child is not well managed, the child will fall ill often, and the growth might be stunted, may not grow as fast as colleagues of his age, recurrent infection, recurrent malaria attack. [eap_ad_2] “Also there are some complications that come as the child is growing up, but all these complications will be less if the child has adequate medical attention from the youngest possible age.
“If a child that has the HbSS like we call “sickler” in our local parlance, and the child has fewer crises, less exposure to malaria from mosquito bite, and is not dehydrated, but well-hydrated, often such child will have a fewer number of illnesses and fewer crises; the child will likely grow better than if he or she doesn’t have those preventive measures.
“The child will have a healthier life, the organs will be protected, because of the absence of frequent crisis; therefore, the child has a better life span and a better outcome at the end of the day.”
Bello said that improper management of sickle cell anaemia could cause complications such as stunted growth, acute chest syndrome, organ damage, and stroke. (NAN)[eap_ad_3]
