The History And Background Of Anemia

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Ayomitunde Fafore

Georgia Military College

Professor Jackson

Biology 123

Anemia is a condition caused when the blood does not supply the body with the right amount of oxygen it needs. Anemia is usually diagnosed when the red blood cells circulating the body or levels of hemoglobin inside the red blood cells (RBCs) are lower than normal. This is because when hemoglobin or RBCs are low, there is always a lesser amount of oxygen supply to the tissues by the blood, because of this people with Anemia are usually tired, cold, weak and short of breath. It is the most common red blood cells disorder affecting about 3.5 million Americans. There are several reasons why anemia occurs. Some of the causes are; there is a high level of RBCs destruction, the body is losing blood ( like when a woman goes through heavy menstrual periods, or an accident that has caused internal or external injuries which caused blood loss), or if there is decreased RBCs production.

Anemia can be avoided by eating an appropriate diet that includes food with enough iron in them. Some people are at a higher risk of anemia because of other reasons such as an illness (like cancer), genetics and others.

Anemia can sometimes be treated or managed in individuals. Sometimes all it takes is a proper diet while other times it might be a lifelong course of treatments such as taking injections.

ANEMIA

Anemia usually occurs when the blood does not supply the body with enough oxygen. A low level of red blood cells in the body can cause anemia. The word anemia is Greek which means without blood. The process of making red blood cells is complex and many complications can always occur. The human body makes about two million RBCs and the average life of a RBC is usually 120 days. If the production of this RBCs is slowed down, there will definitely be complications which would lead to anemia. There are several kinds of anemia which are caused by different several reasons, it could be because of an illness which makes the immune system vulnerable or a genetic disorder that is transferable from parents to their offspring.

Anemia can be detected by a blood test. The analysis and examination of blood sample collected helps in diagnosis of what the cause is. A full blood test is performed if there is a diagnosis and the red blood cells and their iron bearing protein with hemoglobin are measured. In sickle cell anemia, the shape of red blood cells might be distorted, while in iron deficiency anemia, the amount of red cells are usually below the normal required level. In other cases like vitamin deficiency anemia, the red blood cells are larger than normal. Sometimes a bone marrow biopsy might be necessary to be able to confirm a diagnosis. In this case, a sample of the marrow is removed and the overall activity of the marrow is checked to see if there are any abnormal cells, or abnormal growth like cancer cells.

There are three main general causes of anemia which are; decreased RBC production, increase in red cell destruction and blood loss from heavy menstrual periods or an injury which has caused an internal or even external bleeding. Sometimes anemia might be caused by genetics, just like any other disease it can be passed down to children from parents. People with a family history of Anemia are at a higher risk. Menstruating women are at higher risk of anemia because their iron supplies is decreased monthly which is why they have to take double the intake of iron daily they would usually have.

When a person is anemic, their body is probably destroying the RBCs faster than they can be replaced ( RBC life span is usually between 90-120 days) or producing very little amount of RBCs. A lack of proper diet most especially ones that lack certain kinds of vitamins and minerals reduces the production of hemoglobin. The bone marrow usually produces blood, but when something attacks the RBCs the bone marrow tries to recover by producing more blood, when it can not match up, this causes some serious complications resulting in anemia. A person with a proper and rich diet will be able to recover faster because of their ability to produce more blood faster than someone who lacks proper diet.

There are several symptoms of anemia a person can observe. Usually the symptoms depend on how severe their condition is. Some of the common signs includes having a pale complexion, fading of the color of eyelids and red lining of the mouth, rapid heartbeat and in females only abnormal menstruation. Other signs of anemia usually depends on the cause, and some of the signs are mostly being tired, fatigue, weak, dizzy, having headaches, heart palpitations and others. All of these symptoms are somehow connected to the red blood cells.

Anemia can also lead to a reduction of quality of life, especially when it is caused by an illness such as cancer. Even mild anemia can reduce quality of life of an individual. Cancer patients are always faced with the threat of having anemia, especially those going through chemotherapy or some other sort of treatment, however the severity of anemia in such person depends on the kind of cancer they have, their age and gender also comes to play and many other factors. Before any treatment for a cancer patient with anemia, proper precautions have to be taken and all information of that person must be collected such as age, gender and so on. Patients response to treatment should be evaluated. Since cancer treatments such as chemotherapy is practically breaking down the whole body system, that leaves the body vulnerable and this affects every other aspect of their body.

The effect of anemia are often underestimated sometimes in the elderly because they generally could appear to be naturally tired so fatigue could be thought to be a symptom of something else "in a survey of 379 cancer patients who had recently received chemotherapy with or without radiation therapy, 301 patients reported experiencing fatigue at least a few days each month during their most recent chemotherapy treatment" (ebscohost).

The screening and detection of anemia in some patients like patients with chronic kidney disease usually overwhelm doctors because they are often presented with several other issues like hypertension, diabetes and other conditions. The complexity of this patients and management of their illness makes it too overwhelming for primary care physicians to obtain reimbursement from centers for Medicare and Medicaid because of the changes in the regulations. All these issues usually present certain barriers to the treatments and management of anemia in patients with chronic kidney disease. Erythropoietin stimulating agents are one of the most expensive medicine used in the management of anemia in patients with chronic kidney disease, the use of this medicine is very helpful in the treatment of anemia but not everyone that has the disease can afford it, so some may never get to be able to use this medicine. For those who can afford it, their hemoglobin levels must be monitored because the normal requirement of hemoglobin levels must be met.

Iron therapy is also used in the treatment of anemia, the measurement of serum iron usually shows the available iron for hemoglobin synthesis. Iron is needed in the body in the production of hemoglobin. If the amount of iron in the body is insufficient, doctors usually recommend supplying the body with more iron until it has the amount sufficient for the synthesis of hemoglobin.

Treatment of anemia in cancer patients can be done by transfusion, erythropoietin therapies, iron supplementation and so on. In all kinds of treatment of anemia, there are certain protocols that must be followed and all guidelines must be addressed in patients with cancer. "Approximately one million units of blood are transfused into cancer patients with anemia each year in the United States" (ebscohost). Transfusion is a very useful method of treating anemia as it promptly corrects severe anemia associated with hemorrhage. Every unit of blood is useful as a unit increase hemoglobin levels if there is no bleeding.

Iron supplementation is needed in patients with cancer because they usually have nutritional deficits and they lose lots of blood. Iron has to be supplemented into the system to spike the hemoglobin levels. Red blood cells in cancer patients are usually constantly decreased and destroyed which is why they need all the energy they can get from external sources. A good nutrition is a must in anemia patients because this is natural and probably the easiest treatment they can receive. Treatment in patients with blood loss should be supplied with enough blood to help build up the immune system and produce more red blood cells to facilitate the hemoglobin levels and increase red blood cell production. In sickle cell anemia, patients might be given oxygen and pain killing drugs to help reduce the pain. Patients will need blood transfusion as anemia becomes severe or if the hemoglobin production is low. Sometimes a bone marrow transplant might be an effective way to manage it. In some other cases of anemia, all that is needed is just daily supplements to balance the nutrients needed in the body, while in others surgery might be the only or best option available.

There are several anemia management clinics available that help monitor the improvement as treatment goes on, and they also help provide the necessary supplements that patients need. Anemia management clinics must be effectively equipped and financially stable since they are always needed and the lives of these patients are in their hands. They must also have good doctors that are always available to prescribe drugs and treat patients whenever they are needed.

Treatment for anemia in some patients might sometime be unavailable to some patients who do not have enough money and are not insured. Such people might die of this illness or have very serious complication which will still lead to death. For any patient with anemia, treatment has to be received as early as possible.