You have made it to 25, maybe even 40. One day, you started feeling severe chest pain and fatigue. So, you went to the hospital and you were told you have the Sickle Cell Disorder. Is that even possible?
Short answer is no.
You cannot "suddenly develop" Sickle Cell in adulthood.
Sickle Cell Disease is a genetic condition. If you have it, you have had it since birth. The real question is: why are some people only finding out in their 20s or 30s?
Here Is How It Happens
In Nigeria, newborn screening is not available in most places especially outside urban hospitals. So many babies are born with sickle cell and never get properly diagnosed.
Some kids grow up thinking they “just fall sick a lot” or have “malaria that doesn’t go.”
It is not until a serious crisis or a genotype test later in life that the truth comes out: they have been living with Sickle Cell all along.
So it is not new, it is just newly discovered.
Common signs You Have Been Missing:
Constant joint pain
Frequent fatigue or weakness
Yellowish eyes
Swollen hands and feet as a child
What to Do If You Are Just Finding Out
Get a haemoglobin electrophoresis test as soon as possible.
Start building a relationship with a sickle cell specialist
Learn how to manage the condition (hydration, diet, triggers, meds)
What If You Are AS and Not SS?
If you are AS, you are a carrier, not a patient.
You cannot “develop” Sickle Cell later but you can pass the S gene to your future children. So it is important to understand your genotype and your partner’s before having children.
Know Your Status
You did not “catch” or “develop” Sickle Cell, you just finally got the right information.
In this country, that is already a win.
#SickleCell #GenotypeMatters #KnowYourStatus #SickleCellAlert #SickleCellTrait