10 Sickle Cell Anemia Symptoms
Symptom #6: Vision Issues
In patients with sickle cell disease, vision issues occur due to vascular occlusion, which may affect the retina, conjunctiva, iris, and choroid. One of the most significant and severe vision issues that affect sickle cell disease patients is proliferative sickle cell retinopathy (PSR). The risk for this condition increases with age, and the peak onset is between 15-24 years in men and between 20-39 years in women. Early stages of PSR are usually asymptomatic. It is recommended that patients with sickle cell disease have dilated funduscopic examinations (visualize the fundus of the eye) every 1-2 years by a retina specialist, beginning at age 10.
The treatment and management involved when vision issues occur is the prevention of vision loss from retinal detachment, vitreous hemorrhage, and reducing neovascularization in the lesion (formation of new blood vessels).
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