Anemia is a medical disease in which the total volume of blood in the body is low or deficient. In other words, it’s a medical disease in which the capacity of the blood to transport the oxygen—that gives energy to the cells or to the tissues is reduced, either because of the few red blood cells or because of too little hemoglobin (Hgb)—which is the protein in the red blood cells. Put differently, the medical condition of having a more/less normal of red blood cells or quantity of hemoglobin is known as anemia. In short, one is considered to be suffering from anemia if the hemoglobin count is below the normal range. In addition, anemia reduces the capacity of the blood to carry oxygen through the body, consequently, making the body cells to function improperly. American Cancer Society reveals that many people suffering from cancer have anemia.
American Cancer Society shows that anemia can be caused by the following:
Cancer that affects the bone marrow
Blood loss due to injury or other health problems
Cancer treatments like radiation or chemotherapy
Disorders that affect the bone marrow like myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS)
Bleeding tumors – ( common in the liver, stomach, and peritoneum – ie the membrane that lines or covers the abdominal cavity which covers most abdominal organs or internal organs of the body such as stomach, liver, kidneys, intestines etc. However, abdominal cavity is the part of the body or the space in the body below the chest and above the pelvis ie– the lower part of the abdomen and covers most of the abdominal organs.
Nutrition problems or nutrition deficiency like low levels of iron, vitamin B12, or folate. Malnutrition may cause the body to have anemia.
Medicines such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), aspirin, steroids, antibiotics amongst others.
Other notable causes of anemia include: hemolysis ie (excessive destruction of red blood cells), underproduction of red blood cells probably due to bone marrow diseases and, underproduction of normal hemoglobin like in sickle cell anemia etc.
Common signs attributed to anemia are as follows:
Fatigue or tiredness
Abnormal increase in heart-beat or unusual heartbeat
Chest pain
Shortness of breath
Dizziness or the person feeling a bit weak and dizzy
Swelling in the hands or feet
Palpitation ie (an abnomally rapid beating of the heart or irregular beating of the heart)
Pale skin, mouth, gum or nail beds, amongst others.
Low blood counts or anemia may be highly dangerous and may have terrible consequences if it’s not quickly addressed. It could make someone to feel ill, it may also put one or patient at risk of contracting terrible infections quickly! It could also make the patient to feel so weak, tired, and also cause shortness of breath or trouble breathing. More importantly, sufficient hemoglobin is needed for the continuation of life or for human existence. Hence, lack of enough hemoglobin in the body to meet this needs may cause the body to be unable to transport adequate oxygen from the lungs to the tissues and body cells and, may cause the heart to pump blood harder than usual and if this continues for a long period of time it may lead to health complications or heart problems like heart failure, which may invariably lead to death. This is the crux or a fatal result of anemia over a period of time, without check or untreated! Medical experts reveal that hemoglobin level below 6.5g/dL is life threatening and it may lead to death.
However, as an individual, you can try to prevent low hemoglobin level through your diet by eating foods high in iron and folate, which can support the production of red blood cells and as a result promote the formation of hemoglobin. Foods rich in iron include vegetables, red meat, beans, lentils, eggs, poultry, amongst others. While foods rich in folate include lettuce, avocado, rice, peanuts amongst others.
According to the National Academy of Sciences, the Recommended Dietary Allowances of iron for women ages 19 to 50 is 18 millgrams while for men ages 19 plus, 8 miligrams per day.
It’s worthy to note that overloaded of iron may be dangerous to your health because, it can damage the heart, the liver, gonads ie (productive glands eg an ovary or testis that produces gamates or germ cells) and other organs. Likewise, iron overload is a notable risk in people who suffer from certain rare genetic conditions like hemochromatosis sometimes, without such people knowing it. Hemochromatosis¬ is a hereditary metabolic disorder causing iron deposits or causing iron excessive absorption and accumulation in the body, it’s also called bronze diabetes. Additionally, iron overload may be dangerous for people receiving recurrent blood transfusions. In fact, blood removed from patients with iron overload cannot be used for transfusion.
Notably, genetic testing is available to identify patients with common forms of hemochromatosis. Once again, storage of too much iron in the body is dangerous and untreated iron¬deficiency anemia, over a long period of time, is also equally dangerous. Therefore, if you are suffering from anemia or hemochromatosis, kindly visit your doctor or health care providers for definite medical treatment and attention.
Image by pixabay and special thanks to oswaldoruiz
