Understanding Anemia

Anemia is a disease that is caused by a decreased amount of healthy red blood cells. Red blood cells transport oxygen to the body’s organs, so when there isn’t enough healthy red blood cells, the body doesn’t get enough oxygen and anemia occurs. Also, if the body isn’t getting enough hemoglobin, anemia could occur.

Anemia is the most common blood disorder in the world. There are different types of anemia including sickle cell, iron deficiency, pernicious, folic acid deficiency, thalassemia and aplastic. Each one has their own symptoms and treatment so it is important to determine which type of anemia you are experiencing.

There are many different symptoms of anemia. Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms among all the types of anemia. If your body is not getting enough oxygen, then it will have to work overtime to operate correctly. This will cause the fatigue. Shortness of breath is another common symptom. Again, without enough oxygen you may have difficulty breathing. Lack of concentration is a symptom that is caused by the brain not getting enough oxygen. Other symptoms include palpitations, pale skin, restless legs and jaundice. Not everyone will experience these symptoms, but some will.

There are some ways that you can treat anemia. It depends on the type of anemia and the severity. Blood transfusions are commonly used to treat severe anemia. Iron supplements are a treatment used for many different kinds of anemia. It will help increase the amount of iron and boost the red blood cell count. Therefore, the oxygen production will increase as well. Vitamins b12 and folate are also anemia treatments that target certain types of anemia. Since there are different types of anemia, it is important to know which type you have in order to treat it.