In almost all cases, after a few hours or days, the pain subsides and the patient recovers. Scientists are searching for drugs to help treat the disorder. Early in 1995, for example, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in the United States announced that the drug hydroxyurea reduced by half the frequency of painful crises in sickle-cell patients. It is thought to do this by preventing red blood cells from changing their shape and clogging the blood vessels. Such drugs are not readily available everywhere, nor are they helpful in every situation.
Water makes it easier for blood to flow in the vessels of the body.
Adults with sickle-cell anemia should drink three to four quarts of water every day. Children, of course, will drink less. We teach children with sickle-cell anemia to carry water bottles to school. Teachers should understand that these children may more often ask to be excused to relieve themselves. Parents should know that these children might wet their beds more often than those who do not have the disorder.