Introduction to Anemia

Anemia is a blood disorder and can be described as a condition caused by a lack of enough healthy red cells or hemoglobin inside the red blood cells which carry oxygen to different parts of the body. The red blood cells with hemoglobin carry oxygen to the body's tissue and cells via circulatory system as a part of respiration.

1/18/20263 min read

Anemia is a blood disorder and can be described as a condition caused by a lack of enough healthy red cells or hemoglobin inside the red blood cells which carry oxygen to different parts of the body. The red blood cells with hemoglobin carry oxygen to the body's tissue and cells via circulatory system as a part of respiration. It is a major public health concern that mainly affects the young children due to decreased blood formation, pregnant and postpartum women, and menstruating adolescent girls and women due to blood loss. Although anemia can be a fatal health disorder, it can be preventable and treatable in many cases.

Signs and Symptoms

Here are the common and non-specific signs and symptoms of anemia:

  • Tiredness

  • Light-headed

  • Cold extremities

  • Headache

  • Shortness of breath

Here are the severe symptoms of anemia:

  • Pale mucous membrane, skin, and under fingernails

  • Rapid heart rate and breathing

  • Dizziness

  • Bruising of skin

Risk factors which can contribute in the development of clinical condition in anemia are as follows:

  • Genetic

  • Poor nutrition

  • Intestinal disorder

  • Chronic diseases (such as rheumatoid arthritis)

  • Autoimmune disorders (such as lupus erythematosus)

  • Infections

  • Physiological conditions

  • Aging

Types of anemia

· Iron deficiency anemia: It is a most common type of anemia which accounts for around 50 percent of total anemia conditions in the world. In iron deficiency anemia, inadequate iron intake, decreased absorption of iron, increased demand for iron mainlyt in pregnancy and increased loss of iron might be the major causes.

· Thalassemia: It is an inherited blood disorder where formed hemoglobin is abnormal, causing hemolysis. It is common in certain races, such as people of Mediterranean, African, and Asian descent.

· Older person: It is prevalent in older persons, which is an overlooked condition. Its prevalence increases with age, above 65 years old. Those who have chronic illness as well may be even more susceptible to anemia.

· Aplastic anemia: It is a type of anemia where all types of blood cells do not form due to bone marrow failure. It can be fatal and more serious conditions. Here, the bone marrow is injured from trauma, certain radiations, chemotherapy, toxic chemicals, antibiotics, autoimmune diseases, and viral infections. So, it cannot form new blood cells, causing aplastic anemia.

· Hemolytic anemia: Here, red cells are dead or destroyed before their lifespan by autoimmune disease or some other conditions. It can be inherited or acquired.

· Sickle cell anemia: It is an inherited disorder where a sickle cell gene is inherited from each parent. Red cells have sickle cell where it is disc-shaped in normal conditions. Sickle cell can slow the blood flow which prevents the flow of blood towards the tissue and different parts of the body contributing to different fatal health conditions.

· Pernicious anemia: It is the anemia where the intestine cannot absorb vitamin B12. This is because of the deficiency of intrinsic factor in the stomach or deficiency of B12 itself. This can cause irreversible nerve damage.

Diagnosis of anemia

Along with symptoms, major diagnosis process is the blood test for the hemoglobin estimation in laboratory. Laboratory diagnosis of anemia mainly involves hemoglobin estimation where hemoglobin falls below specific thresholds according to age, sex, and physiological conditions is measured. It is important to recognize symptoms for an underlying condition of anemia. Different laboratory diagnosis methods are prevalent as laboratory techniques which can be performed by special laboratory scientists in laboratories where whole blood is drawn from individual and blood tests are performed. To find out about these laboratory techniques, please follow our laboratory techniques page for hemoglobin estimation.

Treatment and prevention

After the diagnosis of anemia, the major concern is treatment. The treatment depends on the main cause which is responsible for the anemia so, the treatment part should be left for the medical physicians but the prevention can be done from home. There are many effective ways to prevent anemia.

In some cases, diet is the major concern in anemia so diet changes can help reduce anemia that includes:

  • Adding nutritional value of iron, folate, Vitamin B12, vitamin A in food.

  • Having balanced diet helps in overall health.

  • Taking supplements as per need prescribed or suggested by health professional.

Other health conditions can cause anemia. So, preventing those conditions is the the preventable options such as:

  • Treating and preventing malaria

  • Treating schistosomiasis and other parasitic infections that can cause blood loss.

  • Vaccination for the prevention from certain diseases affecting red cells.

  • manage chronic diseases like obesity and digestive problems

  • Maintain the gap between pregnancy and use birth control measures to prevent unintended pregnancies.

  • Getting proper health facilities during delivery and abortions to prevent heavy bleeding.

  • Finding and treating the acquired disorder such as thalassemia and sickle cell anemia in susceptible populations.

· Avoiding infections that can cause anemia by maintaining hygiene.

· Self-care is the most important to prevent any clinical conditions.

References



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