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blood tests. The primary test is a full blood count; a blood test that looks at the number, size and shape of the red blood cells. Your doctor may also measure the amount of iron, vitamin B12 and folic acid in your body. Generally, this will uncover the most common kinds of nutritional anemia.
....If your nutritional tests are normal, but you still have a lower red blood cell count, this means that your body is making red blood cells but they appear to be disappearing. This brings me to the first type of anemia, hemorrhagic anemia. This potentially life-threatening form of anemia results from an increased loss of blood, usually caused by stomach ulcers, hemorrhoids or trauma. The most common cause of this form of anemia is the use of NSAID type anti-inflammatory medications. This is why you are asked to contact your Doctor or Peoples Pharmacist if you develop fatigue, black stools or stomach pain while taking NSAIDs. The most common types of NSAIDs are A.S.A., ibuprofen and naproxen. Ask your Peoples Pharmacist if you are taking an NSAID and are concerned about anemia. The treatment for hemorrhagic anemia depends upon its severity.
....The most common form of anemia is iron-deficiency anemia. Iron is the most important part of hemoglobin, and is what gives blood its red colour. Iron-deficiency can occur at any age. There are four groups of |
....Perhaps this year I should start all my articles with a little joke. Anemia can be a very tiring topic. But seriously, lets get to the heart of the matter; anemia is defined as the reduction in the quantity of hemoglobin in the blood. Hemoglobin is a major component of your red blood cells. There are several kinds of anemia, as well as several causes. The symptoms tend to be similar; fatigue, pallor, breathlessness on exertion and poor resistance to infections. Hopefully the jokes will improve as the year progresses.
....It is believed that there are over 400 kinds of anemia. Most of them are rare. Generally they fall into two categories, nutritional and non-nutritional. The most common types of nutritional anemia result from a deficiency of certain vitamins, usually folic acid, vitamin B12 or iron. They can also result from a lack of other nutrients; including vitamins |
B2, B6, C, A, D, E, K, zinc, copper, calcium and protein. To learn more about anemia, perhaps we should learn the basics about how blood is made.
....What we think of as blood is really made up of four parts; red blood cells, white blood cells (for immunity), platelets (for clotting) and plasma (a watery liquid they all float in). Red blood cells are produced by bone marrow, a gel-like substance present within certain bones of the body. Red blood cells look like a hockey puck with a concave divot on both sides of the flat surfaces. Red blood cells tend to survive in the plasma for about 120 days. Then the spleen removes them from the body and the important elements are recycled, while the rest is expelled as waste.
....The treatment for anemia usually depends on the type of anemia. If your Doctor suspects that you have anemia, s/he will send you in for a few |
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