Do You Know the Signs?

Dealing with Anemia for nearly 5 years now, I thought that some of you should know a little more about the disease and what can happen - in the cases of Iron or Vitamin deficiencies, you can reverse the symptoms, but you MUST maintain your care. Many other forms of Anemia are related to cancer treatments and other, sometimes fatal diseases.

Anemia - in short terms is the following: Anemia is a condition of lower than normal levels of healthy red blood cells and their oxygen carrying component called hemoglobin. Hemoglobin in red blood cells carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. People with anemia, therefore, do not get enough oxygen delivered to the important tissues of the body. This results in many symptoms such as tiredness and weakness, and is why prolonged anemia can cause damage to the heart and other organs.

Anemia can be mild, moderate, or severe and may develop slowly over time. In many cases, anemia develops because of a nutritional problem or a chronic disease such as cancer, kidney disease, or rheumatoid arthritis. If the underlying condition or nutritional deficiency can be effectively treated, the anemia can be managed or corrected.

Anemia is typically caused by:
Chronic disease
Menstruation
Nutritional problems
Inherited blood disorders
Exposure to drugs or toxins

Here are the symptoms:
I have placed an asterisk next to those that I have experienced the most
Fatigue****
Weakness*
Pale skin*
Brittle nails*
Chest pain
Dizziness**
Irritability*
Coldness of hands or feet*
Trouble breathing
Fast or irregular heartbeat**
Headache*
Fuzzy thinking*
Loss of concentration**
Depression*
Loss of sex drive
Decreased work performance*
Desire to eat ice or other peculiar things** (yes I ate ice every moment I could!)

There are several reasons that Anemia can occur, severe blood loss, increased destruction of red blood cells, and decreased production of red blood cells are the main factors.

Women should monitor their blood counts regularly and be aware especially if you are to donate blood, if you have Anemia, it may be impossible to do so.

(from the NAAC Website, July 3, 2008)