“When we found out that the bone marrow transplant could actually cure her, there were like- I didn’t even want to ask any questions, I just wanted to know how fast we could get it done.”

– Daphne Houston, Erin’s mom

The most common gene disorder in African-Americans, sickle cell disease, in which bone marrow produces abnormal red blood cells that sickle and clog blood vessels. It’s a lifelong and painful condition, but for the most severe cases, there is a cure.

At eight-months-old Erin Houston had a stroke. “That’s when we found out how serious the disease was,” remembers her mom, Daphne.

Erin had sickle cell disease. By the time she was three-years-old she was in and out of the hospital once a month with pneumonia. “She couldn’t get too hot, couldn’t get too cold, because things like that would send her into a crisis,” her mom explains.

And that’s when they were told Erin would be a good candidate for a bone marrow transplant, a risky, yet potential cure.

“When we found out that the bone marrow transplant could actually cure her, there were like, I didn’t even want to ask any questions, I just wanted to know how fast we could get it done,” Daphne recalls.

First, they had to find out if one of Erin’s brothers was a “matched sibling.” “And what we mean by that,” explains Dr. John Horan, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, “is we look at proteins known as HLA proteins and they need to be matched at all those proteins.”

Her brother Kendall was a perfect match.

Erin was treated with chemotherapy, which destroyed her diseases bone marrow. Then she was injected with healthy bone marrow from her brother’s pelvis. “And about two weeks later, we see evidence of new blood cell production,” says Dr. Horan.

It’s been three years and Erin has had no complications. “So far she seems cured, if I can use that word. To us she is,” smiles Daphne. Her sickle cell disease is gone, in part because of her brother. “I love him, that’s what I always do, love him,” Erin sings.

Sickle cell anemia is an inherited disease of the red blood cells that can cause attacks of pain. It can also damage vital organs, cause serious infections and lead to early death.

Why is it called “sickle?” Unlike normal blood cells, which are round like doughnuts, sickle cells become hard, sticky and shaped like sickles used to cut wheat. When these hard and pointed red cells pass through small blood tubes, they clog the flow and break apart. This can cause pain, damage and a low blood count or anemia.

Most cases of sickle cell disease occur among African-Americans and Hispanics of Caribbean ancestry. About one in every 400 African-Americans has sickle cell disease. It also affects people of Arabian, Greek, Maltese, Italian, Sardinian, Turkish and Indian ancestry. There are several forms of sickle cell disease. According to the March of Dimes, the most common forms include the following:

• SS –The child inherits two sickle cell genes.
• SC –The child inherits one sickle cell gene and one gene for another abnormal type of hemoglobin celled “C.”
• S beta thalassemia –The child inherits one sickle cell gene and one gene for a type of thalassemia, another inherited anemia.

The symptoms of sickle cell disease vary greatly from one person to the next. Some affected people have few symptoms, while others are frequently hospitalized. One of the most serious complications of sickle cell anemia is stroke (bleeding or blockage of blood vessels in the brain). The March of Dimes says 10 percent of children with sickle cell anemia have a stroke, which can lead to lasting disabilities by age 20. The risk is highest between the ages of 4 and 6. Recent research has found that regular blood transfusions greatly reduce the risk of a first stroke in children with sickle cell disease. Unfortunately, regular transfusions pose some major risks, including a potentially fatal buildup of iron in the body, infections and other problems. Other treatments to prevent sickle-cell anemia are being tested and studied, with various results.

The Georgia Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center (GCSCC) reports that most states now perform the sickle cell test when babies are born. The simple blood test will detect sickle cell disease or sickle cell trait. Other types of traits that may be discovered include Hemoglobin C trait, Hemoglobin E trait and Hemoglobin Barts, which indicates an alpha thalassemia trait.

The GCSCC recommends the following general guidelines to help keep a sickle cell patient healthy:

• Take the vitamin folic acid (folate) daily to help make new red cells
• Take daily penicillin until age 6 to prevent serious infection
• Drink plenty of water daily (eight to 10 glasses for adults)
• Avoid too hot or too cold temperatures
• Avoid overexertion and stress
• Get plenty of rest
• Get regular checkups from knowledgeable health-care providers

Parents of sickle cell patients should watch for the following conditions that need an urgent medical evaluation:

• Fever
• Chest pain
• Shortness of breath
• Increased tiredness
• Abdominal swelling
• Unusual headache
• Any sudden weakness or loss of feeling
• Pain that will not go away with home treatment
• Priapism (painful erection that will not go down)
• Sudden vision change

If your child has sickle cell disease, the GCSCC suggests familiarizing yourself with the following possible complications he or she will suffer:

• Pain episodes
• Strokes
• Increased infections
• Leg ulcers
• Bone damage
• Yellow eyes or jaundice
• Early gallstones
• Lung blockage
• Kidney damage and loss of body water in urine
• Blood blockage in the spleen or liver (sequestration)
• Eye damage
• Low red blood cell counts (anemia)
• Delayed growth

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
Duke University
Emory University School of Medicine
Georgia Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center
Sickle Cell Disease Association of America
SickleCell Kids

“We want to help parents help prevent the spread of infection. And one of the best ways to do that, it’s so simple, you don’t need a very expensive regime, is just to teach children to wash their hands carefully.”

– Dr. Michael Levine, pediatrician

American kids will miss 22 million days of school this year, all because of the common cold. There is no cure for the cold, but there are many ways to prevent it. And one of those ways is more important than any other.

Six-year-old Gabrielle Bloomberg has a cold.

“She’s been complaining of fever, and she’s been complaining about difficulty swallowing,” says her dad, Howard Bloomberg.

And eight-year-old Cody Eggersman has a cold.

“Friday he was complaining a little bit of ringing ears,” explains his mom Leslie Eggersman, “And then um, over the course of the weekend he’s just been real congested and then this morning he woke up with a headache and a fever.”

“When children get together, they tend to spread infection,” says pediatrician Michael Levine, M.D., “And it doesn’t matter if it’s nursery school, preschool, grammar school, whatever, things spread when they get together in crowds.”

And when a child has to take a day off, often a parent does as well.

“I work, my wife works, and it throws our schedule out, so it’s quite an ordeal,” says Mr. Bloomberg.

There is one source of infection greater than any other!

A child’s hands.

Doctors say that’s where prevention begins.

“It’s so simple, you don’t need a very expensive regime,” says Dr. Levine, “Just teach children to wash their hands carefully. The main thing is to not just put your hands underwater, but to rub them while you’re doing it. The soap helps cause it makes you concentrate that you’re supposed to be washing your hands, but it’s the friction that seems to help, to get rid of the bacteria from your hands while you’re washing them.”

He says other ways to prevent infection include; washing toys or other objects that may carry germs, drinking lots of fluids, eating a healthy diet, and plenty of exercise.

“So the things you’ve heard all your life haven’t changed,” says Dr. Levine, “The thing that we’re emphasizing more these days, in addition to diet and exercise, is frequent hand washing and washing of objects around the children.”

The common cold is sometimes difficult to define. Basically, a cold is a viral infection of the upper respiratory system. In fact, more than 200 different viruses are known to cause the symptoms of the common cold. Colds are most prevalent among children and seem to be related to a youngster’s relative lack of resistance to infection and to contacts with other children in daycare centers and schools. Children have about six to 10 colds a year. In families with children in school, the number of colds per child can be as high as 12 a year.

To a certain extent, colds are identified and defined by their symptoms. The symptoms of a cold usually begin to appear two to three days after the initial infection occurs and may include:

• Nasal discharge
• Obstruction of nasal breathing
• Swelling of the sinus membranes
• Sneezing
• Sore throat
• Cough
• Headache
• Fever (usually slight, but can climb to as high as 102 degrees in infants and young children).

There is very little a physician or parent can do to treat the common cold. Colds and cold symptoms can last from two to 14 days, but two-thirds of people recover in a week. Contrary to what many parents believe, antibiotics do not kill viruses and will have no effect on either the symptoms or the duration of the common cold. The best that a parent or physician can do to treat a cold is try to alleviate some of the symptoms of the cold. According to experts at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, recommendations for treatment of cold symptoms include:

• Bed rest
• Plenty of fluids
• Gargling with warm salt water
• Petroleum jelly for a raw nose
• Acetaminophen to relieve headache or fever

Nonprescription cold remedies, including decongestants and cough suppressants, may relieve some cold symptoms, but they will not prevent, cure or even shorten the duration of the illness. Moreover, most have some side effects – such as drowsiness, dizziness, insomnia or upset stomach – that may have increased effects on children. Nonprescription antihistamines, however, may have some effect in relieving the runny nose and watery eyes that are commonly associated with colds.

Keep in mind when using any over-the-counter medicine that they all have important information on the bottle or box. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services urges parents to always read the information on the label before using a product. Consumers can learn the following information about a medication from its label:

• Dosage amounts of the drug for an individual
• How often to give the drug
• Ingredients of the drug
• Warnings about using the drug
• Whether or not the drug is safe for children

If no dosage recommendations for children under age 12 are given on the bottle, ask your doctor or pharmacist if the medicine is safe for young children.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services