Last week, I talked about food, herbs and drinks that are beneficial for you as someone with sickle cell. Today, I would like to continue in that vein; in terms of looking after you better. All what I am trying to do is encourage healthy habits and answer questions that I was asked over and over again by people.
First things first, sickle cell disease can be detected during pregnancy or soon after birth. Screening for sickle cell disease in pregnancy is offered in the western world to check if there is a risk of a child being born with the condition, and all babies are offered screening as part of the newborn blood spot test, which is a heel prick test. Blood tests can also be carried out at any age to check for sickle cell disease in any individual.