Team Doctors (Trainers): Don’t Let Your Athletes Get Sidelined By Sickle Cell Trait!

While most people with SCT participate in sports without problems, there have been occasional serious complications and even deaths associated with dehydration, overheating, and other avoidable situations. Make sure you and your athletes are aware of the warning signs of exercise-related illness and know what to do if any of them experience signs or symptoms. The conditions that increase the risk of exercise-related illness for athletes with SCT appear to be the same as those that increase the risk for athletes who do not have SCT. However, intense conditioning sessions appear to put athletes at higher risk for harm from competitions; though, scientific information specific to SCT is currently limited. Abstract source