The Causes and Symptoms of Anemia And How To Treat It
Anemia is a blood disorder in which your red blood cells number or hemoglobin level is lower than normal. Since red blood cells transport oxygen from your lungs to every part of your body, the low number of red blood cells makes body cells deprived of oxygen. Hemoglobin is the substance in red blood cells that collect oxygen from your lungs and release it to body cells. Low levels of hemoglobin also makes your body cells deprived of oxygen.
What are the symptoms of anemia?
The symptoms of acute anemia include:
– Sudden paleness
– Cold sweating
– Unconsciousness or even death
The symptoms of chronic anemia include:
– Fatigue, breathlessness, weakness, headache, and dizziness
– Irregular or rapid heart beat
– Insomnia
– Lack of concentration
– Pale complexion
Some of the common causes of anemia are sudden blood loss due to an accident, surgery, or internal bleeding. Increased bleeding during menstruation period or absence of menstruation periods can only cause anemia in women. Poor nutrition is also a common cause of anemia. Nutrients like iron, folic acid, and vitamin B12 are essential for red blood cell and hemoglobin production. The other causes of anemia include kidney failure, cancer, or bone marrow failure in producing red blood cells.
Treatments of anemia
Anemia is treated according to the causes, severity, and condition. When it is caused excessive bleeding, blood transfusion is the common procedure to replace blood lost. If the poor nutrition is the main cause, dietary changes and supplements are the solution to raise the levels of iron, folic acid, and vitamin B12 back to normal. Sometimes, you may have to take vitamin C so that your body can absorb iron better.
You can get those nutrients by incorporating certain foods into your diet. Foods high in iron include green leafy vegetables like spinach, prune juice, dried fruits, tofu, and iron-fortified foods. Vitamin B12 can be naturally found in beef meat, oatmeal, and soy based products. Great sources of folic acid include soy products, beef liver, bread, pasta, grains, peas, beans, and some fruits like banana and orange.
If you don’t get better after taking over the counter drugs, see a doctor to determine what causes the symptoms. There are many factors that can cause anemia, your doctor will recommend the most effective treatment to reduce the symptoms. Sometimes, anemia is only a symptom of another severe underlying disorder like cancer or bone marrow failure.