Acute chest syndrome happens when sickle-shaped blood cells get stuck in the blood vessels in the lungs, causing a pneumonia-like illness. It can be a serious problem. Your child is doing much better and is now ready to leave the hospital. Here's how to care for your child at home.

• Keep giving your child the daily medicines that your health care provider prescribed unless the hospital health care team told you to stop them.
• Give any new medicines prescribed during the hospital stay. These may include pain medicines that your child swallows or breathing medicines given in an inhaler or nebulizer.
• If your child was asked to do deep-breathing exercises at home, make sure they do them as instructed.
• Be sure your child drinks plenty of liquids to stay hydrated.
• Let your child rest until they feel well enough to do normal activities.
• Schedule a follow-up visit with your child's hematologist to review how your child is doing and to make any medicine changes.

Your child has:

• a fever of 101°F (38.3°C) or higher and/or chills
• a cough or chest pain that gets worse
• pain that is not helped by medicines at home
• fatigue (extreme tiredness)
• pale skin color
• severe headache
• severe belly pain or swelling

You know your child best. If you feel they're not well or something is wrong, call your hematology team.

Your child:

• struggles to breathe
• has trouble seeing
• has trouble talking
• has weakness in part of the body
• has a seizure
• is hard to wake up

When you call 911, tell emergency responders that your child has sickle cell disease.

Why does acute chest syndrome happen? Sickle-shaped blood cells can get stuck in blood vessels and cause damage in the body. When this happens in the lungs, it is called acute chest syndrome. Kids with sickle cell disease might get it when they have a respiratory infection, an asthma or allergy flare-up, or a pain crisis.

How is acute chest syndrome diagnosed? Kids with acute chest syndrome can have a fever, cough, chest pain, trouble breathing, and a low oxygen level. Health care providers usually diagnose the problem by asking about symptoms, listening to the lungs, and doing a chest X-ray. The X-ray might look normal when symptoms first start, so the diagnosis often is based on symptoms and how the lungs sound. A chest X-ray done later usually confirms the diagnosis of acute chest syndrome.

How is acute chest syndrome treated in a hospital? The health care team usually gives kids with acute chest syndrome oxygen, antibiotics, IV fluids, breathing treatments, and pain medicine. Some children need a blood transfusion.

Could my child get acute chest syndrome again? Yes. The hematology team gave you advice on how to avoid some of the things that might make it happen again. For example, vaccines and medicine can help prevent respiratory infections that can trigger acute chest syndrome. Care teams also can help you better manage conditions like asthma or allergies that sometimes can trigger acute chest syndrome. Some kids take preventive medicines to manage their sickle cell disease and stay well, avoiding problems before they start. Talk to the care team about ways to keep your child well and make them less likely to get acute chest syndrome again.