Anemia

Anemia is a blood condition caused by a lack of normal, healthy red blood cells. The red blood cells are those cells in the bloodstream that pass on oxygen from the lungs to the healthy tissues and take carbon dioxide away from the tissues.

There are a number of types of anemia, including iron deficiency anemia, B12 or "pernicious" anemia, folate deficiency anemia, hemolytic anemia, aplastic anemia, megaloblastic anemia, sickle cell anemia and thalassemia. The two major causes of anemia include iron deficiency anemia and pernicious anemia. In fact, anything that interferes with the making of blood cells or causes blood cells to be damaged more quickly (hemolytic anemia and sickle cell anemia) can cause anemia to occur. Some types of anemia result in the bone marrow not making many red blood cells, which lowers the red cell count.

Healthy red blood cells live as long as 120 days and then the body chews up those old red blood cells. There is a hormone known as erythropoietin that sends a signal to the bone marrow to make more red blood cells. Erythropoietin is made in the kidneys so you need healthy kidneys to prevent anemia.

The causes of anemia include taking certain medications, having genetic disorders which lead to anemia, having a chronic disease, having kidney failure, eating a poor diet, having blood loss, being pregnant and having a damaged or overgrown bone marrow with other things, such as leukemia or lymphoma. The immune system can result in a loss of red blood cells (hemolytic anemia) and surgery to the stomach or intestines that causes absorption of nutrients to be diminished, such as iron, folic acid or vitamin B12 can affect the level of red blood cells.

Iron deficiency anemia is the most common type of anemia. It affects twenty percent of women, half of all pregnant women and three percent of men. It results in anemia because you need iron to make red blood cells. Iron is the oxygen-carrying portion of the red blood cell. You get iron through a healthy diet and by recycling old red blood cells. The causes of iron deficiency anemia include blood loss, poor iron absorption and too little of the nutrient in the body. In children, iron deficiency anemia can be related to lead poisoning.

In iron deficiency anemia, the anemia develops gradually as fewer and fewer cells are made along with a gradual reduction in the cells that are too old. Women lose blood through menstruation and are therefore at higher than average risk for getting iron deficiency anemia. Gastrointestinal bleeding is another cause of iron deficiency anemia. This can be due to an ulcer of the stomach, esophageal varices or long term use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications. Some cancers can contribute to anemia as can celiac disease, Crohn's disease and gastric bypass surgery.

Those at high risk for iron deficiency anemia are those that take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory diseases for a long time or who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Seniors are at higher risk of developing iron deficiency anemia as are women who are of childbearing age.

Symptoms of anemia include brittle nails, poor appetite, tiredness, bluish coloration to the whites of the eyes, headache, pale skin, irritability, shortness of breath, sore tongue, and unusual food cravings.

Testing for iron deficiency anemia includes doing a fecal occult stool test for blood, checking the anemia, getting indices for the RBCs, checking a serum ferritin and doing a serum iron level.

Treatment of iron deficiency anemia includes giving iron by mouth or injection, giving erythropoietin to stimulate red blood cell production and fixing the underlying problem causing the iron deficiency anemia. It often takes up to six to twelve months to fix iron deficiency anemia completely.

B12 deficiency anemia is also called pernicious anemia. The cause is a lack of intake of enough vitamin B12 due to stomach or intestinal problems. If your body is missing the intrinsic factor made in the stomach, you cannot absorb vitamin B12 very well. You can also get pernicious anemia if you eat a vegetarian diet or have a bad diet while an infant. Poor nutrition during pregnancy can lead to problems with B12 anemia. It is often seen in chronic alcoholism, Crohn's disease or other intestinal diseases.

Regardless of the type of anemia you have, you can get the following symptoms: pain in the chest, fatigue, low energy, dizziness, headaches, difficulty concentrating and shortness of breath during exercise.

The treatment of anemia depends on the type of anemia you have. Fixing the underlying problem is the first choice and giving nutrients or erythropoietin to begin building red blood cells is a second good choice. In addition, severe anemia can be treated with transfusions until the red blood cells can be produced in sufficient numbers.