If you’re living with sickle cell disease, you already know a pain crisis doesn’t send a warning text. According to the CDC, sickle cell disease (SCD) affects an estimated one in 365 Black or African American births in the U.S., and more than 90 percent of people living with SCD in this country are non-Hispanic Black or African American. For many people in our community, managing an illness that can flare without notice is a reality they understand firsthand.
Pain is the most common complication of sickle cell disease and the leading reason people with SCD seek emergency care. In 2025 research documented by the American Society of Hematology, it was found that negative provider attitudes and delays in pain treatment in emergency settings can make the prospect of seeking care especially complicated for people who have experienced it firsthand.
A crisis can start in the middle of your workday, during classes, or in the middle of the night—and when it does, the last thing you have energy for is hunting down a heating pad or trying to remember where you put your care plan.
A comfort kit, assembled before you need it, can hand some of that control back to you.
Here’s what belongs in yours—and why.
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Heat is one of the at-home comfort measures recommended for a sickle cell pain crisis. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), applying heat to painful areas can help relieve pain during a crisis.
A heating pad, warm compress, or warm bath can provide soothing relief when you’re dealing with painful muscles or joints.
Keep a heating pad or another heat source within easy reach, ideally near where you typically rest during a crisis.
Use heating devices according to the manufacturer’s instructions and avoid placing them directly against bare skin for prolonged periods to reduce the risk of burns.
Staying hydrated helps keep blood flowing more freely through your blood vessels, which can be especially important during a pain crisis. The NHLBI recommends drinking fluids when a pain crisis is starting, unless your healthcare team has given you different instructions.
Keep a water bottle or another beverage you tolerate within easy reach so you don’t have to keep getting up to get something to drink during a crisis.
Rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all fluid target, follow the hydration guidance you’ve received from your healthcare team. Your needs may vary depending on your health and treatment plan.
The goal is simple: make it easier to drink when you’re hurting.
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A crisis is not the time to search through cabinets trying to remember which medication you’re supposed to take.
Keep your prescribed pain medication and a copy of your individualized pain-management plan together in an easy-to-reach location. If your healthcare team has recommended over-the-counter medication for certain levels of pain, keep those instructions with your plan as well.
NHLBI recommends working with your healthcare provider to create a pain action plan before a crisis happens, so you know what to do when pain begins.
Your written plan can also help if someone needs to assist you—or if you eventually need to seek medical care.
If you don’t have a written pain-management plan, ask your healthcare provider about creating one.
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You may not feel like cooking during a pain crisis, and standing in the kitchen may be the last thing you want to do.
Keep a few easy-to-prepare foods you know you can tolerate on hand. Think foods that require little or no cooking and can be eaten without much effort.
The goal isn’t to create a special “sickle cell diet.” It’s to remove one more decision from a day when you may already be dealing with significant pain.
If someone regularly helps care for you, let them know where these foods are kept, too.
Pain crises can last for hours or longer, and having something to occupy your mind can make the experience feel a little less all-consuming.
Keep a few things nearby that help you settle in:
These won’t treat the underlying cause of a pain crisis, but distraction and relaxation techniques can be useful additions to your pain-management plan.
Think of them as comfort tools, not replacements for medication or medical care.
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A pain crisis can make ordinary tasks surprisingly difficult.
If you’ve found that certain items make it easier to move around your home, keep them accessible.
Depending on your needs, that might include:
You don’t need to turn your home into a medical facility. The idea is simply to reduce unnecessary trips across the house and make it easier to take care of yourself when movement hurts.
If you live with someone else, make sure your caregiver knows where these items are and how you prefer to use them.
Your comfort kit should also include information that becomes important if your symptoms worsen.
Keep your healthcare provider’s contact information, emergency contacts, medication list, allergies, and a copy of your pain-management plan together in a location that’s easy for you, or someone helping you, to find.
You may also want to keep a digital copy on your phone.
Having this information ready means you don’t have to reconstruct your medical history while you’re in significant pain.
A comfort kit is for symptoms you and your healthcare team have established can be managed at home. It is not a substitute for medical care when something more serious is happening.
According to Cleveland Clinic, severe pain that doesn’t improve with at-home treatment warrants medical attention.
Seek immediate medical attention for severe pain that isn’t improving with your prescribed treatment, fever of 101.3°F or higher, chest pain, coughing or trouble breathing, sudden weakness or numbness, confusion, trouble speaking, or other possible stroke symptoms.
The CDC identifies acute chest syndrome as life-threatening and notes that fever can be the first sign of an infection or other serious complication.
If you do need emergency care, bring your pain-management plan and medication information if you can.
And don’t be afraid to clearly communicate your symptoms and pain level. People living with SCD have reported experiencing skepticism and delays in receiving appropriate pain treatment, so knowing your care plan and being prepared to explain your usual symptoms can help you advocate for yourself.
You know your normal. You also know when something feels different.
RELATED: “I Have Sickle Cell. Sickle Cell Doesn’t Have Me”
The best time to assemble a sickle cell comfort kit is when you’re feeling well, not when you’re already in pain.
Keep everything together in a bag, basket, drawer, or small cart that’s easy to reach. Then check it periodically to make sure medications and other supplies haven’t expired or run out.
You may never use every item at the same time. That’s okay.
The point isn’t to predict when a pain crisis will happen. It’s to make sure that when one does, you don’t have to spend your limited energy searching, deciding, or asking for things you could have prepared ahead of time.
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