anemia
Anemia is a disorder that occurs when your blood is short on red blood cells. It is the most common blood disorder and affects on world’s population. The aim of this article, is to consider the risks, symptoms, and best treatments for the blood disorder so you can be prepared in case you or a loved is diagnosed.
Red blood cells, play an important role in circulating oxygen throughout the body and taking carbon dioxide from other parts of the body to the lungs so it can be exhaled. Anemia occurs for several reasons:
- Your body doesn’t make enough red blood cells to begin with
- Bleeding caused you to lose red blood cells more quickly than they could be replaced
- Your body destroyed red blood cells.
While nearly a quarter of the world’s population have anemia at some point in their lives, some people have a higher risk than others.
- Women who are at their childbearing age are at higher risk because of blood loss from menstruation.
- Pregnant women are also at increased risk, as pregnancy changes levels of iron and folic acid, which are necessary for producing blood. Pregnancy can also change the blood itself, causing the plasma in blood to increase faster than the number of red blood cells, which can in turn dilute the blood and lead to anemia.
- Babies under one are also at increased risk for developing anemia, especially those who are born prematurely, or those who are fed breast milk only or formula which isn’t fortified with iron.
Symptoms of anemia
In very mild cases of anemia, individuals may have no symptoms at all. However, , the most common symptoms of anemia are as following:
- General feeling of fatigue and lack of energy.
- Paleness of the skin,
- Fast or irregular heartbeat,
- Shortness of breath,
- Chest pain,
- Headache, and light- headedness.
Symptoms can worsen as the disorder worsens, so it’s better to refer a doctor at the first signs.
Treatments of anemia
Treatments for anemia, aim to increase the number of red blood cells in your body. In some cases, this can be done through dietary means by increasing your intake of iron, B12, and folic acid. That is because all these nutrients play a role in the production of healthy red blood cells.
A gynecologist, Dr. Bahmanpour, also prescribes the certain medications that also help to stimulate the production of red blood cells. In some cases, addressing the underlying reason for anemia can be useful.
For example, for women whose anemia is due to heavy menstrual periods, medications to help regulate periods can often succeed in keeping anemia at bay.
Conclusion
Usually, anemia has to be diagnosed by a doctor’s blood test. Recently, however, by using a smartphone app that uses the phone’s built-in light and camera, doctors can monitor blood hemoglobin levels.
Contact Dr. Mitra Bahmanpour, Gynecologist
Address: Khalij Fars Building. Next to 18th st. Velenjak. Tehran. Iran
Tell: +9821- 26641827
+9821- 26641908
+9821- 1831
+98912- 0897425
