Doctors launch crucial service for hidden condition that can make you 'feel on fire' and even kill
05.03.2024 - 07:23
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
“I can use so many words to describe it: excruciating, agonising, painful, severe," says one woman living with sickle cell disease. The lifelong genetic condition can ruin lives - causing organ failure, strokes, loss of vision and can be fatal.
But while medics and patients alike fight to raise awareness of sickle cell disease, experts say people still face difficulties in getting treatment when they need it most, even in emergencies. To help stop the suffering of being unable to get help, Manchester is launching a pioneering new specialist unit and 24/7 helpline to make sure people with sickle cell disease from across the region get support when they need it.
The new sickle cell unit, based at Manchester Royal Infirmary, part of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), is the first of its kind in the country and will support patients living with the rare blood disease in Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cumbria. The inherited blood condition causes red blood cells to become misshapen - these cells do not live as long as healthy blood cells and can block the blood vessels, leading to serious problems.
READ MORE: 'Hidden condition made me feel like I was on fire. Now I feel like I have wings’
Sickle cell disease is most prevalent in people of black African and Caribbean heritage. When blood vessels to part of the body become blocked, that leads to a 'sickle cell crisis'.
The pain can be severe and last for several days or weeks. A sickle cell crisis can affect any part of the body but is most common in the limbs or back. And as the symptoms are painful episodes, getting infections more than average and anaemia, the condition is often hidden from view.
Elizabeth Naamorkor Caulley, 49,a student experience