Anemia

Anemia occurs when healthy red blood cells (RBCs) in the body fall too low. This can lead to health problems because RBCs contain hemoglobin, which carries oxygen to the body's tissues. Anemia can cause various complications, including fatigue and pressure on the body's organs.

Anemia can be caused by many problems, but there are three main causes of anemia:

1. Excessive destruction of RBCs
2. Bleed
3. Production of RBCs is not enough

Thalassemia is a severe form of anemia (Photo: med-ed) There are also other causes such as genetic disorders, nutritional problems (such as iron deficiency or vitamin deficiency), infectious diseases, Some types of cancer are either pharmaceutical or toxic.

Anemia due to the destruction of RBCs

Hemolytic anemia ("hemo" means blood, "lytic" means destruction) occurs when red blood cells are destroyed early (normal, life cycle of RBCs 120 days. Anemia Due to hemolytic, their life cycle is shorter) and bone marrow (soft tissue, spongy inside the bone that creates new blood cells) cannot keep up with the body's needs for new cells. This can happen due to many different reasons.

Occasionally, infectious diseases or certain drugs such as antibiotics or bloody ear drops are also responsible for this disease.

In autoimmune hemolytic anemia, the immune system mistakes RBCs as intruders from outside and begins to destroy them.

In other children, genetic defects in red blood cells lead to anemia. Common forms of hereditary hemolytic anemia include sickle cell anemia (often seen in severe hereditary anemia), lack of thalassemia, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase.

Sickle cell anemia is a severe form of anemia, common in Africans, but also affects Saudi Arabs, Indians and the Mediterranean. In this disease, the hemoglobin forms long rods when it releases oxygen, extending red blood cells to an abnormal crescent shape. This leads to premature destruction of RBCs, lowering regular hemoglobin levels, and relapse of pain and problems that can affect nearly every organ system in the body.

Thalassemia is a severe form of anemia: RBCs are rapidly destroyed and iron settles in the skin and vital organs.

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase anemia (G6PD) often affects African men, it also occurs in many other groups. In this disease, RBCs either do not produce enough enzymes G6PD or G6PD enzymes are produced more / less abnormally and do not function properly. If someone born with a G6PD deficiency is infected with an infection, taking certain drugs or being infected with a certain substance, the body's RBCs are under excessive pressure. If there is not enough G6PD to protect them, many red blood cells will be destroyed soon.

Anemia due to blood loss

Blood loss can also cause anemia, which may be due to excessive blood loss from injury, surgery or problems in blood clotting. Longer, slower blood loss such as bleeding due to inflammatory bowel disease can also cause anemia. Sometimes anemia is caused by heavy menstrual periods (in women and women). Some types of cancer in children can also cause aplastic anemia, as may be chronic diseases affecting the ability of the bone marrow to make blood cells.

Anemia may also occur when the body is unable to produce enough healthy RBCs due to iron deficiency. Iron is an important factor to produce hemoglobin. A low-iron diet can lead to iron deficiency, the most common cause of anemia in children. Iron deficiency anemia can affect children of all ages, but it is more common in children under 2 years of age.

Adolescent girls are also at increased risk of menstrual iron deficiency anemia, monthly blood loss requires an increase in iron intake in the daily diet.

T.VY