Anemia

Introduction: Anemia

Anemia refers to a low red blood cell count. Hallmark symptoms include fatigue and pallor (pale skin). Mild forms of anemia may go undiagnosed. Anemia is also a common complication of pregnancy and it is important to diagnose it in pregnancy, because of the high risk to the mother of maternal bleeding in childbirth. There are various types of anemia and causes of anemia.

Symptoms of Anemia

• Weakness
• Fatigue
• Tiredness
• Mild early symptoms
• Shortness of breath after exercise

See full list of 26 symptoms of Anemia

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical testing related to Anemia:

• Fatigue: Related Home Tests:
  • Home Anemia Tests
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  • Home Adrenal Function Tests
  • Home Calcium Deficiency Tests
  • Home HIV Tests
• Thyroid: Home Testing:
  • Home TSH Tests
  • Home Adrenal Function Tests
• Adrenal Gland Health: Home Testing:

Medical Textbooks Online about Anemia

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Wrongly Diagnosed with Anemia?

• Misdiagnosis of Anemia
• Failure to diagnose Anemia
• Underlying causes of Anemia (possibly wrongly diagnosed)
• Failure to diagnose Anemia

Misdiagnosis and Anemia

Unnecessary hysterectomies due to undiagnosed bleeding disorder in women: The bleeding disorder called Von Willebrand's disease is quite common in women, but often fails to be correctly diagnosed. Women...read more »

Anemia undiagnosed in pregnancy: The onset of anemia (low red blood cells) in pregnancy is sometimes overlooked, despite it being a well-known complication of pregnancy. The...read more »

ADHD diagnosis overlooked hidden nutritional disorder: The book "A Dose of Sanity" reports on a case of a boy diagnosed with ADHD and receiving Ritalin. His...read more »

Cluster of diseases with difficult diagnosis issues: There is a well-known list of medical conditions that are all somewhat difficult to diagnose, and all can present in a variety of different severities. Diseases...read more »

Rare type of breast cancer without a lump: There is a less common form of breast cancer called inflammatory breast cancer. Its symptoms can be an inflammation of the breast tissue,...read more »

Pituitary conditions often undiagnosed cause of symptoms: There are a variety of symptoms that can be caused by a pituitary disorder (see symptoms of pituitary...read more »

Vitamin B12 deficiency under-diagnosed: The condition of Vitamin B12 deficiency is a possible misdiagnosis of various conditions, such as multiple sclerosis (see symptoms of multiple sclerosis)....read more »

Females with anemia could be Plummer Vinson syndrome: Plummer Vinson syndrome commonly occurs in women between the 4th-7th decade of age. Importance is given to the condition due to its strong association with upper gastrointestinal...read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Anemia

Causes of Anemia

• Poor diet - lack of iron
  • Vegetarian diet
  • Vegan diet
  • Excessive dieting
  • Neglect

See full list of 101 causes of Anemia

More information about causes of Anemia:

• Medications, drugs, or substances causing Anemia (466 listings)
• Drug interactions causing Anemia (180 listings)
• Underlying causes of Anemia
• Anemia as a complication caused by other conditions
• Anemia as a symptom
• Medical news summaries relating to Causes of Anemia

Treatments for Anemia

• Iron supplements
• High-iron diet
• Healthy diet
• Intravenous iron - mainly for those on kidney dialysis
• Vitamin B12 supplements

See full list of 12 treatments for Anemia

Videos for Anemia

Patient Surveys for Anemia

• Patient Profile Survey
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• Survey about the symptoms of your Anemia
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Prognosis for Anemia

More about prognosis of Anemia

Reseach about Anemia

Visit our research pages for current research about Anemia treatments.

Clinical Trials for Anemia

The US based website ClinicalTrials.gov lists information on both federally and privately supported clinical trials using human volunteers.

Some of the clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for Anemia include:

• Amifostine With or Without Epoetin Alfa in Treating Patients With Myelodysplastic Syndrome - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - amifostine,epoetin alfa
• Amifostine in Treating Patients With Advanced Myelodysplastic Syndrome - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - amifostine
• Bryostatin 1 in Treating Patients With Myelodysplastic Syndrome - This study has been completed (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - bryostatin 1
• Decitabine in Treating Patients With Myelodysplastic Syndrome - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - decitabine
• Topotecan in Treating Patients With Myelodysplastic Syndrome - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - topotecan

See full list of 828 Clinical Trials for Anemia

Statistics for Anemia

• Medical statistics for Anemia
• Prevalence and incidence statistics for Anemia
• Death and Mortality statistics for Anemia
• Society statistics for Anemia

Types of Anemia

• Iron deficiency anemia - the most common cause.
• Sickle Cell Anemia
• Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia
• Pernicious anemia
• Thalassemia

See full list of 11 Types of Anemia

Medical Guidebooks and Ebooks for Anemia

• Icon Health Sourcebook for Anemia

See all guides and ebooks for Anemia

Stories from Users Related to Anemia

• Does anyone know what iron & blood levels should be?
• 1 year old - undiagnosed fast breather/low oxygen levels
• Living low on energy
• Microcyte anaemia
• weird blood work - high HDL & low B12
• Can Being An Anemic Cause Miscarriages???
• hemoglobin
• I my tsh level too low?
• anemic symtoms
• Low Bp, Cmp Results
• Blurry lower peripheral vision
• low b12 levels
• Seizures, weight loss, Low Vitamin D level
• low DHEA
• (help pls)tsh level is too low from 0.08 to 0.02 (is this worst?)
• Suffering For Last 08 Yrs Due To Low Hemoglobin And Enlarged Spleen
• constant shimmering in peripheral vision
• low tamperture
• low blood levels
• low hemoglobin-enlarged spleen

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User Interactive Forums

Read about other experiences, ask a question about Anemia, or answer someone else's question, on our message boards:

• I can not get a diagnosis. Please help.
• Tell us your medical story.
• Share your misdiagnosis story.
• What is the best treatment for this?
• See all the forums.

Article Excerpts about Anemia

Anemia in Kidney Disease and Dialysis: NIDDK (Excerpt)

If your blood is low in red blood cells, you have anemia. Red blood cells carry oxygen (O₂) to tissues and organs throughout your body and enable them to use the energy from food. Without oxygen, these tissues and organs--particularly the heart and brain--may not do their jobs as well as they should. For this reason, if you have anemia, you may tire easily and look pale. Anemia may also contribute to heart problems. (Source: excerpt from Anemia in Kidney Disease and Dialysis: NIDDK)

Kidney Failure Glossary: NIDDK (Excerpt)

The condition of having too few red blood cells. Healthy red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body. If the blood is low on red blood cells, the body does not get enough oxygen. People with anemia may be tired and pale and may feel their heartbeat change. Anemia is common in people with chronic renal failure or those on dialysis . (Source: excerpt from Kidney Failure Glossary: NIDDK)

Anemia: NWHIC (Excerpt)

Anemia is a process, not a disease, and is the most common disorder of the blood. Anemia occurs when the amount of red blood cells or hemoglobin (oxygen-carrying protein in the blood) in the blood becomes low, causing the tissues of the body to be deprived of oxygen-rich blood. It is characterized by a reduction in size, number, or color of red blood cells (RBC) which results in reduced oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. The blood of an anemic person has trouble carrying oxygen to tissues and organs, in a sense, become "starved" of oxygen and without oxygen, the tissues cannot produce energy to function. In order for the body to stay healthy, organs and tissues need a steady supply of oxygen. (Source: excerpt from Anemia: NWHIC)

Definitions of Anemia:

A reduction in the number of red blood cells per cu mm, the amount of hemoglobin in 100 ml of blood, and the volume of packed red blood cells per 100 ml of blood. Clinically, anemia represents a reduction in the oxygen-transporting capacity of a designated volume of blood, resulting from an imbalance between blood loss (through hemorrhage or hemolysis) and blood production. Signs and symptoms of anemia may include pallor of the skin and mucous membranes, shortness of breath, palpitations of the heart, soft systolic murmurs, lethargy, and fatigability. --2004 - (Source - Diseases Database)

A deficiency of red blood cells - (Source - WordNet 2.1)