Your risk for ANAEMIA
ANAEMIA occurs when a person has too few red blood cells circulating in their blood.
Dr Jomo James, internist, said it is oftentimes referred to as low blood count or “weak” blood.
“The red blood cells are necessary to carry oxygen around the body, therefore a low count results in low oxygen being carried around the body,” Dr James explained. “It is this low oxygen content to vital organs — brain, heart, and lungs — that leads to most of the symptoms.”
Dr James said red blood cells originate in and are made from the marrow in your bones. The normal values differ for women and men.
“Generally, a value less than 13 in males and less than 12 in females is considered anaemia,” he said.
Iron deficiency anaemia is more common in women due to menstruation and the demands of pregnancy.
Anaemia is thought to arise from four main mechanisms:
1. Decreased production of red blood cells
“For instance, toxic drugs can affect the bone marrow and suppress production. Also, cancer that spreads to the bone can also suppress production of red blood cells,” he said. He further explained that in this category it would be a nutritional deficiency like iron or vitamin B12 and folate that would cause anaemia.
2. Increased destruction of red blood cells
Dr James said an example of this is in sickle cell anaemia.
3. Increased blood loss
According to the internist, this can occur from bleeding which can happen slowly over time, or suddenly from trauma. He said most bleeding occurs from the gastrointestinal tract or “tripe”.
4. Any combination of the above
“An example is menstruating women with heavy menses who can develop anaemia from the bleeding itself or from the excess iron loss that decreases production of red blood cells,” he said.
If you suffer from weak blood, you may experience the following symptoms:
1. Weakness
2. Fatigue where you become easily tired especially if exercising or exerting yourself
3. Lack of energy.
Additionally, he said more severe anaemia may lead to shortness of breath, racing of the heart and leg swelling from heart failure.
“At a minimum, diagnosis is confirmed by a blood test called a complete blood count. Further testing may be needed to elucidate the exact cause of the anaemia. These range from more blood tests called an anaemia screen. Imaging studies and colonoscopies or endoscopies may be done to look for a gastrointestinal source,” he said
Treatment would solely depend on the cause of the anaemia; however, it may be necessary to give the patient a blood transfusion initially to raise the count quickly, particularly if it’s very low to begin with.
Nutritional deficiencies such as iron will be replaced by iron supplements and multivitamins.
