Sickle Cell

DEHYDRATION AND SICKLE CELL

February 21, 2016 | by admin | Leave a comment
Dehydration and Sickle Cell

Dehydration and Sickle Cell

On this particular topic, I decided to look for some information online in order to post an article from a place of research.

Sickling of red blood cells increases when someone with Sickle Cell becomes dehydrated. Thus, it is important to maintain hydration by consuming adequate fluids. In some cases, hospitalization to receive intravenous fluids may become necessary especially when having a crisis.

An insufficient amount of water in the body (dehydration) is one of the most common causes of a sickle cell crisis. In this situation the blood becomes thicker and sickled shaped red blood cells are more likely to stick together and cause a blockage in the blood circulation. Therefore it is important for an adult to drink at last 3 – 4 Litres of water daily.

The water can be in the form of plain water, diluted fruit squash, tea and other fluids.

http://www.sickle-thal.nwlh.nhs.uk/

Question:  What is the best fluid for a sickle cell patient to drink to prevent pain crisis or during a pain crisis?   Answer: The sickle cell centres recommend water as the drink choice during an episode of sickle cell pain.  The rationales are:
(1) Sickle red blood cells tend to be dehydrated.
(2) Test tube studies show that adding water to the sickle red blood cell can lower the hemoglobin concentration and decrease sickle polymer formation.
(3) A study from the 1960’s showed that giving IV fluid without electrolytes (5% dextrose in water, abbreviated D5W) or low in electrolytes (D5  1/4normal saline) was better than IV fluid with electrolytes for sickle cell crisis patients hospitalized for crisis.
(4) Kidney damage from sickle cell makes it harder to excrete sodium than the average person, so that continuously adding too much salt to the body may worsen the dehydration of the sickle red blood cells and increase sickle polymer formation.
(5) Too much water given IV (in the vein) may cause problems with edema of the lungs or brain, so IV overhydration is not a good idea. A combination of IV and oral fluid intake is preferred, because the patient’s hormonal control of thirst can keep electrolytes and volume from getting too far out of line.   Source: https://scinfo.org/faq

I hope I have been able to educate you on the benefits of not being dehydrated and making sure you drink plenty of fluid at any point in time.