Anemia
Anemia occurs when the level of healthy red blood cells (RBCs) in the body becomes too low. Red blood cells contain hemoglobin, a red, iron-rich protein that gives blood its red color. To produce hemoglobin and red blood cells, your body needs iron, proteins, and vitamins from the food that you eat. When you are anemic, it means that your body is producing too few healthy red blood cells, losing too many of them, or destroying them faster than they can be replaced. Thus, the oxygen carrying capacity of your blood decreases, leaving your tissues poorly oxygenated and you tired.
The main symptom of most types of anemia is fatigue. The other symptoms that an anemic person can suffer from are weakness, pallor of the skin, unusually rapid heartbeats on least exertion, shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness, cognitive problems, numbness or coldness in the hands and legs, headache, and poor appetite, especially in infants and children with iron deficiency anemia.
There are many causes for the development of anemia. Loss of blood by way of heavy menstrual bleeding, through wounds, as well as stomach ulcers can cause anemia. With inadequate iron, the bone marrow cannot produce enough hemoglobin. A growing fetus can deplete the mother's stores of iron, leading to iron deficiency anemia. A diet lacking in vitamin B12, folate, and other key nutrients, can lead to decreased RBC production. Any long-standing medical condition can lead to anemia. The kidneys secrete a substance called erythropoietin that stimulates the bone marrow to make red blood cells. Hence, any kidney disease can alter this secretion and thereby trigger anemia. The inability to absorb iron or other essential nutrients from food can occur in case of intestinal disorders and can thus cause anemia.
Sickle cell anemia is an inherited and sometimes serious type of anemia caused by a defective form of hemoglobin that forces the RBCs to assume an abnormal crescent (sickle) shape. These cells die prematurely, resulting in a chronic shortage of RBCs. Hemolytic anemias are a group of anemias that develop when red blood cells are destroyed at a rate that is faster than their production in the bone marrow. Aplastic anemia is a life-threatening type of anemia that is caused by a decrease in the bone marrow's ability to produce all the three types of blood cells, namely red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Other than these causes, anemia can also result from inherited disorders, infections, some kinds of cancer, or exposure to certain drugs or toxins.
The treatment of anemia depends upon its cause. Iron deficiency anemia is treated with prescribed iron supplements. If the cause of loss of blood is excessive menstruation or blood loss from elsewhere, this needs to be controlled. Folic acid and vitamin B12 supplements may be prescribed if the anemia is traced to a deficiency of these nutrients. Discontinuing certain medications may be necessary if they appear to be causative. Alternative medications may have to be administered instead.
Depending upon the cause, treatment for more severe or chronic forms of anemia may include bone marrow transplantation that could be considered in some cases of sickle cell anemia, thalassemia, and aplastic anemia, medications to fight infections or to stimulate the bone marrow to produce more blood cells, and removal of the spleen or treatment with medications to prevent blood cells from being removed from the circulation or destroyed too rapidly.
Although most types of anemia cannot be prevented, you can help avoid anemia due to iron or vitamin deficiency by eating a healthy diet that includes foods rich in iron, folic acid, and vitamin B12. Eating plenty of iron-containing foods is particularly important for people who have high iron requirements, such as growing children and menstruating or pregnant women.
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