Which specialist treats sickle cell disease?

Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood condition in which red blood cells can change shape and affect blood flow. Care is individual: a haematology team monitors health over time, helps plan prevention and treatment, and shares an emergency plan with you. Children are generally cared for by paediatric haematology before moving to adult services.

Symptoms can include fatigue, jaundice, pale skin, joint pain, or blood in the urine, but each symptom can have other causes. New or changing symptoms deserve assessment in the context of your established care plan.

Keep contact details for your haematology service and bring your treatment plan to urgent visits. Tell clinicians about previous pain episodes, current medicines, transfusion history, allergies, and any recent fever or infection symptoms. Blood tests may be used to monitor the condition and investigate a change in symptoms. If you are planning a family, ask about genetic counselling and premarital screening options.

Seek urgent medical care for fever, chest pain, shortness of breath, new weakness on one side, severe headache, a painful erection that does not settle, or severe pain that is not responding to your agreed plan. Urgent advice is also appropriate for blood in the urine, marked jaundice, or a sudden drop in usual energy or alertness.

Ask who to contact during a pain episode, which symptoms need emergency care, what monitoring you need, how other conditions affect your plan, and when family-planning or genetic advice would be helpful.