By Ogova Ondego
Published April 7, 2024
Karim is desperate. All his five children are sick. He has moved from doctor to doctor trying to restore their failing health but without success.
All these children were sickly right from their birth and Karim, who disagreed with his parents over the choice of his wife, believed that they had cursed him before their death. Accordingly, he has sought help from apostles, prophets, diviners, workers of miracles and wonders and even traditional healers but he seemed to get nowhere until recently when his children were diagnosed as suffering from a blood disorder known as Sickle Cell Anaemia.
RELATED: URBANISATION EXPOSES AFRICANS TO LEAD POISONING
Sickle Cell Anaemia is not contagious but is passed from parents to their children. As this disorder occurs mainly among Africans, prospective African mates are advised to go for blood test to determine not their blood group but but blood genotype (gene type).
While most people have blood genotype AA, others have AS. Experts explain that while people with AS blood genotype do not suffer from sickle cell anaemia, they can pass on the disorder to their children. That is why people who intend to get married are advised to go for a blood test. If both partners’ blood genotype is AS, then it is possible that their children may suffer from sickle cell anaemia; the children may get the S gene from each parent and end up carrying the sickle anaemia genotype, SS.
Both Karim and his wife have blood genotype AS and that is why their five children have ended up suffering from sickle cell anaemia.
RELATED: NAIROBI CONFERENCE CELEBRATES BOOKS WITH FOCUS ON WOMEN
Scientists explain that couples with blood genotype AS have one in four chances of getting children with the disease.
While people with blood genotype AA cannot get children suffering from sickle cell anaemia no matter who they marry, their AS counterparts stand the chance of getting sickled children should they marry a partner with the same AS blood genotype.
RELATED: URBANISATION COULD EXACERBATE MALNUTRITION
A genetics expert at University of Nairobi’s School of Medicine says all prospective marriage couples should go for a blood test as it could determine the health of their offspring.
Since getting SS children is a matter of probability, no one can guarantee that AS parents will get sickle cell anaemia children though.
“But it is advisable that parents know their blood genotype so that should their children turn out to be sickled, they will not say they were unaware of the condition,” the genetics expert says.
He says in the past families of prospective spouses always conducted some background inquiries on marriage candidates to ensure they had no record of a serious disease, disorder or unfavourable habits or character traits before marriage. This ensured that the couple got healthy children out of the union.
“Marriage between closely-related people was never conducted because it was feared that any disorder in the family could affect the next generation. But modern people insist on marriage based on what they call love and hence they never care to find out whether there is a genetic problem in the family of the people they intend to marry.”
RELATED: ROAD TARMACKING SNUFFS LIFE OUT OF VILLAGE
But what is so serious about sickle cell anaemia that people should be concerned about it?
People with this disorder suffer from sudden and intense pain which may last for days.
Normal red blood cells are round and can pass quite easily through the blood vessels.
But in people with sickle cell anaemia, these cells have taken the form of a sickle and thus it is
difficult for them to go through the tiniest blood vessels.They get stuck in veins, preventing other cells from passing and taking oxygen to other parts ofthe body. When these parts are denied oxygen as result of the non-moving oxygen-carrying red blood cells, pain ensues in joints and bones .
Although the bouts of pain may occur occasionally, they are distressing when they do.
Awake! magazine says symptoms of sickle cell anaemia in children usually manifest themselves at the age of six months. The child then experiences painful swelling of the legs, hands or both.
The magazine says this results in the child’s frequent crying and lack of appetite.
RELATED: WHY PUBLIC TRANSPORT POSES GRAVE DANGER
“The whites of the eye may appear yellow. The tongue, lops, and palms may be paler than normal. Children exhibiting these symptoms should be taken to hospital where a blood test can show if the problem is sickle cell anaemia,” it says.
When the sickled cell clogs blood vessels, pain most commonly affects the joints.
“A severe crisis can also disrupt the work of the brain, the lungs, the heart, the kidneys, and the spleen – sometimes with fatal consequences,” explains Awake!
It says that sickled children may have leg ulcers that linger at the ankles for years.
“Children risk seizures or strokes. Those with sickle cell anemia are especially prone to infectious diseases, since the disorder weakens natural defences. Infection is a common cause of death.’ , the publication notes that not every sickled child experiences all the above symptoms and that some never experience them until their late teens.
RELATED: WHY WIFE-BEATING IS JUSTIFIED
Noting that some parents have wasted lots of resources seeking treatment for their children, it says the disorder has no cure at the moment – it is a lifelong disorder!
The only thing to do ‘is to know how to deal with the crises when they do occur. Parents are advised that when the problem occurs, they should give the children plenty of water to drink. The water makes it easier for blood to flow in the clogged blood vessels.
Sickle-celled children should carry water to school.
Awake! advises that sickle-celled people should avoid strenuous activities besides taking a balanced diet which they should supplement with multivitamins and folic acid.
RELATED: HOW KENYAN MUSIC VIDEOS OBJECTIFY WOMEN
Those who suffer from the disorder and live in areas where malaria is common are advised to avoid infection by protecting themselves with mosquito nets and taking anti-malaria medicine.
Getting malaria can be fatal as the disease usually destroys the few remaining red blood cells.
People living with this problem are also advised to go for regular medical checkups.
