Understanding Types of Anemia

When many people hear the word anemia they think low blood iron. What more people do not know is that there are many various types of anemia. This guide will help you better understand some the various different types of anemia and how they affect the body.

Anemia is characterized by low Hgb, Hct, and RBC's; Anemia can be caused by many factors: Impaired production of RBC's, blood loss, and nutritional deficits. The general signs and symptoms are, anorexia, disorientation, dizziness, dyspena, fatigue, headache, palpations, insomnia, vertigo, dyspepsia, pale mucus membranes and skin.

Hypovolemic Anemia - Abnormally low circulating blood volume, from hemorrhage or blood loss is the cause of this anemia, causes may include; surgical procedures, trauma, GI bleeding, and severe burns.

Pernicious Anemia- is caused by the lack of the intrinsic factor usually found in gastric mucosa. The body cannot absorb vitamin B12 without the intrinsic factor. B12 is vital to growth of cells and maturation of red blood cells. It is also caused by autoimmune disease and can occur in patients after gastric bypass surgery.

Aplastic Anemia- is caused by depression of bone marrow, when the body does not produce enough of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Causes can be due to congenital and acquired reasons.

Iron Deficiency Anemia- is caused when the red blood cells contain decreased levels of hemoglobin (Hgb), causes can include excessive iron loss, gastric or duodenal ulcers, inadequate dietary intake or inadequate iron intake.

Sickle Cell Anemia- is a genetic disorder that affects African Americans, this anemia happens with the red blood cells are crescent shaped and unable to hold as much oxygen. Sickled cells will clump together causing ischemia and hypoxia of the tissue.

Polycythemia - is caused when the blood has an over abundance of red blood cells causing the blood to thicken. Then the blood thickens this causes the blood not to circulate as easy. Causes can be idiopathic.

Agranuloytosis- is caused by a severe reduction of the granulocytes due to bone marrow depression, causes include adverse reaction to medications, neoplastic diseases, viral or bacterial infections, chemo and radiation.

There are many types of anemia as you have seen by reading thus far, each type of anemia have different types of signs and symptoms and it is important for the medical professional to know the signs and symptoms that stick out in each different class of anemia so that they may be able to distinguish between the anemia's. For example pernicious anemia has the sign and symptom of lemon colored skin and smooth red sore tongue, by noting these two signs and symptoms you would be able to eliminate other forms of anemia.