THE DISABLING DISEASES: THE ANAEMIAS
Posted on March 11, 2009, under General health.
‘Anaemia’ comes from the Greek word meaning ‘without blood.’ Actually, it indicates that the number of red blood cells is below normal. These vital cells contain the pigment haemoglobin, which carries oxygen from the lungs to the body tissues. In anaemia, the haemoglobin is reduced, too.
Anaemia is best recognised by the pallor of the palms of the hands, the fingernails, and the inner parts of the eyelids (the conjunctivas). Mild degrees of anaemia are not detectable in this way. Your doctor has instruments for testing the blood for anaemia.
Symptoms
In mild anaemia, there may be nothing more than a sensation of lack of pep or of feeling not quite so energetic as one does under normal circumstances, and a tendency to greater fatigue. More severe anaemia causes shortness of breath on exertion. This may be accompanied by pounding of the heart (palpitation), and a rapid pulse and heart action (tachycardia). In addition, there may be severe headaches, loss of appetite, dizziness, ringing in the ears, and even fainting spells. In very advanced cases of anaemia, swelling of the ankles and other evidences of failure of the heart may appear.
There are many causes of anaemia. I shall describe the most important ones completely enough for you to recognize them and shall mention briefly most of the others, so that you will know the general methods of prevention.
Loss of blood. If there is a massive haemorrhage from a wound, the body may lose enough blood to cause severe anaemia. This acute type of anaemia is frequently accompanied by shock. (See the entry shock in the encyclopaedia section.) Immediate transfusions arc generally required to replace the blood that has been lost.
Chronic blood loss also leads to anaemia. The slow leakage of blood from an ulcer of the stomach may cause a severe anaemia. This may be overlooked because the blood is mixed with the bowel movements. Haemorrhoids may cause loss of blood and lead to anaemia. Excessive menstrual flow may act in the same way. A cancer of the stomach or intestine may cause sufficient bleeding to produce anaemia. These anaemias will clear up when the cause has been found and corrected. Since iron is necessary to build haemoglobin, medicines containing iron arc helpful in these cases, and so are foods with a fairly high iron content. In addition to iron, haemoglobin production requires protein, vitamin B12, and other minerals and vitamins; therefore the diet for this type of anaemia should be rich in these elements. (See Chapter 2 for information on diets.)
A deficient diet can cause anaemia. If there are not adequate iron, protein, vitamins, and certain minerals such as copper and cobalt in the diet, the production of haemoglobin and the formation of red cells will be impaired.
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