It is believed that people who carry the gene for sickle cell anemia are less likely to catch malaria. So more of these people survived and passed on the sickle cell gene to their children. Special blood tests can tell a doctor if a kid has sickle cell disease. Hemoglobin is the part of the blood that carries oxygen to different parts of the body in the red blood cells. A doctor may also prescribe a vitamin supplement called folic acid.
Folic acid helps the body make new red blood cells.
Taking penicillin or vitamins does not cure sickle cell anemia, but it can help keep a kid with sickle cell anemia from getting sick. Pain medicine also helps kids with this disease. A blood transfusion raises the amount of normal hemoglobin in the blood and decreases the chances that blockage will occur in the blood flow. Blood transfusions may be needed if a kid has lots of sickle cell problems, such as lots of blood vessel blockage to the brain or heart, or if a kid tends to have severe anemia. Doctors have found out that a bone marrow transplant sometimes can cure sickle cell anemia.