A crisis can happen if you have an infection like a cold or the flu, if you're overtired, if you're exercising too hard, if you're not drinking enough water or other fluids, and if you don't have enough oxygen in your blood. Also, the cold weather can bring on a crisis. But there are treatments for the disease and to help you to prevent a painful crisis. Your doctor can prescribe hydroxyurea. This drug might reduce the chance that your red blood cells will change into the sickle shape.
Some doctors also recommend that patients take extra folic acid, a vitamin.
Your doctor can also prescribe medicine to help with anemia. One of these drugs is called erythropoetin. Blood transfusions are sometimes given to help anemia, too. The pain from a sickle cell crisis may be so bad that you have to go to the emergency room. Some sickle cell patients have had a bad experience in emergency rooms and hospitals.