What is Anemia?
Anemia occurs when there is a shortage of red blood cells, the blood often referred to as “tired blood”. It is not a disease but a condition that results if there are not enough blood cells to supply oxygen to the tissues of the body. Oxygen is essential for life.
A lack of oxygen can cause Fatigue, Difficulty in concentrating, Loss of appetite and Sleeplessness or insomnia.
Many different diseases can cause shortage of red blood cells (RBC). Anemia is a symptom that can have numerous causes: blood loss, inadequate production of RBCs and excessive destruction of RBCs such as in sickle cell anemia, Thallasemia and repeated blood transfusions.
Although anemia is common, it sometimes can be a complex problem to diagnose and treat because of its many causes
Signs and Symptoms of Anemia
The main symptom of most anemias is fatigue. Other signs and symptoms of anemia in general include:
- Weakness
- Pale skin, including decreased pinkness of the lips, gums, lining of the eyelids,
nail beds and palms - Rapid heartbeat with mild exertion
- Shortness of breath with mild exertion
- Chest pain
- Dizziness, light headedness
- Irritability (in children with anemia)
- Numbness or coldness in hands and feet
Cause of Anemia
Our blood performs a number of crucial functions, including transporting oxygen throughout your body.
Blood consists of a liquid called plasma. Floating within this plasma are three types of blood cells — red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. White blood cells fight infection. Platelets help blood to clot after a cut.
Red blood cells (erythrocytes), which are the most abundant of the three types, give blood its red color. They also carry oxygen from your lungs, via your bloodstream, to your brain and the other organs and tissues in your body. Our body needs a supply of oxygenated blood to function. Oxygenated blood helps give our body its energy and our skin a healthy glow.
Red blood cells contain hemoglobin — a red, iron-rich protein. Hemoglobin enables red blood cells to carry oxygen from our lungs to all parts of our body.
Most blood cells, including red blood cells, are produced regularly in our bone marrow — a red, spongy material found within the cavities of many of our large bones. To produce hemoglobin and red blood cells, our body needs iron and vitamins from the foods we eat.
Anemia is a state in which the number of red blood cells or the hemoglobin in them is below normal. When a person is anemic, his body produces too few healthy red blood cells, loses too many of them or destroys them faster than they can be replaced. As a result, the blood is low on red blood cells to carry oxygen to your tissues — leaving the person fatigued.
