Sickle Cell is an inherited red blood cell disorder where there aren’t enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout your body. The gene is most prevalent amongst patients of African descent. It’s easily diagnosed with a simple blood test.
Symptoms
- Periods of pain that can last a few hours to a few days
- Blood clots
- Swelling in hands and feet
- Joint pain that resembles arthritis
- Chronic neuropathic pain (nerve pain)
- Life-threatening infections
- Anemia (decrease in red blood cells)
Anemia is the most common symptom of sickle cell. In fact, many people refer to it as sickle cell anemia.
Causes of Sickle Cell
People with sickle cell anemia inherit the disease, which means that the disease is passed on to them by their parents as part of their genetic makeup. Parents can’t give sickle cell to their kids unless they both have the faulty hemoglobin in their red blood cells.
Prognosis
People who have sickle cell disease have a reduced life expectancy. Some people with the disease can remain without symptoms for years, while others do not survive beyond infancy or early childhood. New treatments for SCD are improving life expectancy and quality of life.
Medical Marijuana and Sickle Cell
This disease cannot be cured but medical marijuana eases symptoms to give patients a better quality of life. MM helps most with all the different types of pain associated with this disease. Additionally:
- The study, “Marijuana Use in Adults Living with Sickle Cell Disease,” was published in the journal Cannabis And Cannabinoid Research.
- Medical marijuana may reduce hospital visits in patients with sickle cell disease.
Marijuana strains that help with associated pain include:
- Blueberry Kush: This indica-dominant strain is as a mood enhancer, this strain can help someone most when the pain is so much that they can’t even sleep.
- White Widow: This hybrid strain is 50/50 and delivers pain relief without the drowsiness.
- Jack Herrer: This sativa-dominant strain is pine scented and helps deliver a clear mind along with the pain relief.
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