Question:
My daughter has swelling in one ankle and occasionally her hands swell and are painful. Any ideas?

Answer:
Hey Guest, how are you doing?

In infants the first appearance of SICKLE CELL ANEMIA, at the age of six to twelve months, may be painfully swollen hands and feet. This dread disease can be prevented by proper mating (i.e. if the sickle cell trait is carried by only one parent, each child born to them will have an even chance that he will carry the trait but no child will actually have the disease. However, if both parents carry the trait (one out of every 144 marriages), 50 percent of their children will carry the trait, 25 percent will be normal, and 25 percent will have sickle cell anemia).

Generally, the same symptoms as in severe anemia, accompanied by jaundice, joint pains, and fever are of sickle cell anemia. The patient is usually poorly developed with long arms and legs, a short trunk, and enlarged heart, and a prominent skull.

A disease that attacks the black population almost exclusively... For some strange reason, the mormally round red blood cells take on a sickle shape, which makes the blood thicker, thus clogging up the capillaries and reducing the blood supply to vital organs as well as the oxygen supply to the cells.

Many of the patients, weakened by the disease, succumb to intervening infections, such as TB, pulmonary embolism, and heart failure. The disease attacks in sudden bouts - a series of severe crisis with extreme pain.

REFERENCE
Julian B. Hyman, M.D. (Hematologist): Blood and Lymph Disease
Funk & Wagnalls Family Medicial Guide, sec. 325 SICKLE CELL ANEMIA, chap. 18, p. 475-6.

Best wishes,