Anaemia is a common problem faced by around 30% of the world’s population.  It is seen commonly among young women due to the blood loss during the menstrual cycle. Poor nutrition is another factor causing it. Contamination of water with lead or copper also plays the villain showing a rise in the number of anaemic patients.

As anaemia is common, intake of iron is recommended as a remedy.  But anaemia is often blamed for symptoms that are unrelated. Iron deficiency is only one cause of anaemia among many other reasons. 

What Is Anaemia?

The exact meaning of the term word “anaemia” is a reduction in the number of red blood cells. It may seem like a straightforward definition,

But there are at least two ways to determine what a “low” number of red cells are. The first method is less than the number needed to carry on normal bodily function, or, lower than most other healthy people.

A laboratory defines its normal values by measuring hundreds or even thousands of normal, healthy people’s red blood counts and defining the normal range as the values of 95% of that population. The rest remaining 5% is the very highest and lowest values that are often considered abnormal.

Anaemia Is Not a Disease

Anaemia is not actually a disease, as believed commonly. It is a blood-test result. The bone marrow produces more than enough red blood cells to carry oxygen to the vital organs of the body, which last about four months in the circulation and then get broken down and later get removed from the circulation when they get feeble.
Anaemia is associated with fatigue, headaches, palpitations, shortness of breath and even chest pain leading to heart attack. The symptoms of anaemia tend to be worst during exertion as exercise requires more oxygen delivery to the muscles. Anaemia can even develop difficulty breathing, confusion or lethargy, leading to low blood pressure with dizziness or even shock and death.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008 at 1:07 pm and is filed under anaemia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.