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Coping and support
By Mayo Clinic staffIf you or someone in your family has sickle cell anemia, you may want help with the stresses of this lifelong disease. Sickle cell centers and clinics can provide information and counseling. Ask your doctor or the staff at a sickle cell center if there are support groups for families in your area. Talking with others who are facing the same challenges you are can be helpful.
It's especially important to find ways to control — and cope with — pain. Different techniques work for different people, but it might be worth trying heating pads, hot baths, massages or physical therapy. Prayer, family and friends also can be sources of support.
If you have a child with sickle cell anemia, learn as much as you can about the disease and make sure your child gets the best health care possible. A child with sickle cell disease has special needs and requires regular medical care. Your doctor can explain how often to bring your child for medical care and what you can do if he or she becomes ill.
- Sickle cell anemia. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Sca/SCA_All.html. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
- Sickle cell disease. Genetics Home Reference. http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=sicklecelldisease. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
- Sickle cell anemia. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec11/ch131/ch131i.html#sec11-ch131-ch131i-238. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
- Rodgers GP. Specific therapies for sickle cell disease. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
- Exjade (prescribing information). East Hanover, N.J.: Novartis; 2008
- Reproductive genetic testing. National Human Genome Research Institute. http://www.genome.gov/10004766. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
