Everything About Anemia: Causes, Types, Symptoms & Treatment

Anemia is a poor health condition in which the loss of red blood cells happens. The loss of red blood cells causes less oxygen to be passed to blood tissues. It can be a mild anemia, severe anemia, or even acute anemia disease.

Anemia can be caused due to iron deficiency, pregnancy. Dangerously low hemoglobin levels can cause severe anemia. Consult to doctor immediately if you experience unknown fatigue, very low or high blood pressure, or unexpected paleness.

Anemia can be masked by other chronic diseases as well. Several other diseases like severe typhoid, effects of dengue fever, presence of sickle cells or abnormal hormone structure and many more diseases may cause anemia. This way, it may not occur directly.

Anemia can happen at any age. Anemia in women is seen more than anemia in men. But it’s not fixed. Nowadays, anemia in babies is more common than anemia in adults. Anemia in toddlers and disabled persons can also occur just as normal humans.

In mild anemia, it can be recovered by just having a good diet that increases red blood cells. In acute and severe anemia, referring to the doctor and taking iron supplements is a must.

This is the complete guide to anemia disease, its symptoms, severity levels, prevention measures, anemia types, and anemia treatment.

Causes of Anemia

Anemia may arise due to multiple existing health problems. Existing chronic diseases may also cause anemia. Following are the causes of anemia disease: –

1. Having a chronic disease like diabetes, blood cancer, or other cancers, the presence of sickle cells, kidney failures, or similar diseases. Most of the chronic diseases cause anemia as these involve the loss of red blood cells.
2. When your body is unable to produce red blood cells anymore
3. Severe fevers like typhoid, dengue fever, malaria can cause mild anemia as you lose appetite and good health. This indirectly leads to the loss of fresh blood cells.
4. Extra bleeding can cause anemia. It can happen due to accidents or severe injuries.
5. Having an unhealthy diet may also cause mild to severe anemia over time
6. Some women may also get anemic in pregnancy.
7. Women may get anemia in periods or mensuration days.
8. The deficiency of vitamin B12, B12 Complex, Iron, and Folate causes anemia.
9. Any intestinal disorders that might block nutrition to absorb properly may also anemic condition.
10. Immunity disorders can also lead to anemic condition
11. Individuals having a family history of anemia are more suspected to anemia of any severity.
12. People over 65 years of age are more likely to develop an anemic condition.

Low iron levels normally cause anemia when you don’t have serious illness already. Anemia in children commonly occurs when iron levels fall below normal iron levels. This can also happen in adults, youngsters, or in old ages. Consider reading causes of iron deficiency to take preventive measures in time.

Low iron in pregnancy causes anemia which increases pregnancy complications. The normal iron levels for women must be maintained throughout the pregnancy period and after baby birth.

In any human, blood without iron is a serious health issue. Being anemic for long-term and having continuously low iron levels may cause several other diseases. Taking care of your health is as important as you are.

Symptoms of Anemia

The symptoms of anemia can be observed and felt both. Signs of anemia appear appear quickly on with time based on the health condition.

Based on different gender and age, an individual may feel a variety of anemia signs and symptoms as follows: –

• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Pale or yellowish skin
• Irregular heartbeats
• Shortness of breath
• Dizziness or lightheaded
• Chest pain
• Cold hands and feet
• Headaches

In the initial stage or mild anemia, you might not feel it as anemia or a normal tiredness just. In severe anemia, it can cause serious illness and a lack of stamina to complete routine tasks. Consider reading the side effects of Anemia, the next section, when it becomes severe.

Side Effects of Anemia

The anemia side effects varies from for its severity levels and other combination of diseases. Read the last section where I’ve discussed special cases of anemia in combination with other diseases.

If you don’t take anemic condition serious, it can cause several mild to severe health problems or anemia side effects such as: –

• Complications in Pregnancy: Women in pregnancy with deficiency of folate and B complex vitamins are likely to develop anemia which leads to premature baby birth. Anemia during pregnancy causes premature baby birth that raises serious health risks to both mother and newborn baby.
• Complications in menstruation: Females having untreated anemic conditions or an unhealthy diet to prevent anemia face complications in their menstruation cycles. It is critically important to take very healthy diet, not just in menstruation says,
• Severe Fatigue: The most common health problem that arise being anemic is severe fatigue. A normal person with anemic conditions feel too tired and unhealthy. Completing everyday tasks becomes a major challenge for anemia patients.
• Heart Issues: Severe anemia causes health issues including irregular heartbeat, also known as arrhythmia,
• Death Due to Anemia: People with the inherited anemic disease are suspected to lose red blood cells quicker. Sometimes, it leads to death.
• Physiological issues: Severe and Acute anemia can lead to lack of consciousness, decision frustration, and in rare cases eyesight, observation strength, and similar physiological effects.

Types of Anemia

There are multiple types of anemia based on its severity level, condition, and in combination with other diseases.

Chronic anemia is the anemic condition that becomes chronic over the time and may leads to death in some cases.

The types of anemia disease are listed as follows: –

• Nutritional Anemia: It’s an anemia usually caused due to lack of iron nutrients, B vitamins, folate, and other nutritional disorders. As per WHO, hemoglobin concentration below 7.5mmol/L & 8 is normally due to nutrition disorder. The common types of nutritional anemia are pernicious anemia and Iron deficiency anemia.
  • Pernicious Anemia: It’s a disease in which enlarged abnormal blood cells circulate in the blood but, do not function as normal blood cells. Those cells are problematic and destroy the regular cell function.
  • Iron Deficiency Anemia: Iron helps to produce red blood cells. Unhealthy or diet without iron nutrient causes iron deficiency anemia. Normally, it can be recovered with iron supplements or nutrition that is iron enriched.
• Aplastic Anemia: It’s a type of anemia in which the body produces an insufficient amount of all blood cells including red, white, and even platelets. Blood cells are only produced by stem cells in bone marrow. Those produced blood cells normally do not come our and resides inside.
• Microcytic Anemia: Mainly due to iron deficiency, the existence of usually hypochromic or small red blood cells, classified as less than MCV, in the peripheral blood smear.
• Myelophthisic anemia: It’s one of the severe types of anemia disease. Myelophthisic anemia is also known as Myelophthisis. In myelophthisic, fibrosis or tumors causes the disposition of hemopoietic bone marrow tissues.
• Fanconi anemia: It’s an anemic disease that is inherited from parents that badly affects bone marrow.
• Sideroblastic anemia: It’s a rare disease that is a group of multiple blood disorders. In sideroblastic anemia, the blood has enough iron but, it’s unable to produce blood tissues that carry oxygen. Iron is collected in mitochondria and usually forms a ring shape around the mitochondria nucleus.
• Normocytic anemia: In Normocytic anemic condition, your blood has less number of normal-sized red blood cells.
• Dilutional anemia: In dilutional anemia, based on gender and age factor, the anemic condition of a person leads to an increase in plasma volume or decrease in RCM.
• Postpartum anemia
• Physiological anemia
• Refractory anemia
• Hemorrhagic anemia
• Hemolytic anemia
• Macrocytic anemia
• Megaloblastic anemia
• Diamond Blackfan anemia

Diseases that Leads to Anemia

Besides the aforementioned reasons for anemia, there are some indirect poor health conditions which lead to anemia.

Following is the list of diseases that leads to anemia: –

• Thalassemia Anemia: Thalassemia is a blood disorder disease, normally inherited from parents. It causes the body to make an abnormal amount of hemoglobin. The caused condition destroys red blood cells quicker which forms an anemic condition.
  • Mediterranean anemia is named for Thalassemia major which is usually found in the Mediterranean region in Italy.

Anemia Treatment: Mild Cases

• Good Diet: Mild anemia can be treated by taking an appropriate diet by adding iron, folate, and vitamin V enriched nutrients. Severe and acute anemias may require additional care and consult to a doctor can help.
• Supplements: Taking Iron supplements in pregnancy and menstruation normally helps. Taking supplements that helps the body to produce fresh hemoglobin also helps in normal cases.
• Vitamin C: Citrus fruits, juices, and nutrients with Vitamin C are helpful to prevent anemia.
• Folic Acid: A form of folate, every day a small dosage in the form of a diet or supplement, can help you with anemia.
• Vitamin B-12: Add meat and vitamin B1 to 12 enriched diet or supplements to your life to save yourself from anemia.

The severe cases of anaemia can’t be handled at home or with just supplements. You must consult your doctor in this regard.

Special Anemia Cases

The anemia of chronic diseases happens due to the side effect of any other chronic disease. Beside the signs your anemic and anemia types, there are other conditions and cases that you must be aware of: –

• Anemia and periods
• Anemia and cancer
• Anemia in chronic kidney disease
• Anemia and pregnancy
• Anemia and high blood pressure
• Anemia and diabetes
• Anemia and colon cancer
• Anemia after surgery
• Anemia and insomnia
• Anemia and diarrhea anemia constipation

Are you feeling anemic? Consult your nearby specialist today.