anemia

overview

Anemia is an illness in which the number of red blood cells or hemoglobin concentration in them is lower than normal. It mainly affects women and children.

Anemia occurs if there is not enough hemoglobin in the body to carry oxygen to the organs and tissues.

In severe cases, anemia in children can cause poor cognitive and motor development. It can also lead to problems for pregnant women and their babies.

Anemia can be caused by poor nutrition, infections, chronic diseases, strong menstruation, pregnancy problems and family history. It is often caused by a lack of iron in the blood.

Anemia is avoidable and treatable.

In many revenue with low and lower mean, the most commonly recognized causes of anemia are iron deficiency and malaria.

Scope of the problem

The population groups include children under the age of 5, especially for infants and children under the age of 2, menstruct young girls and women as well as pregnant and postpartum women.

It is estimated that anemia affects half a billion women between the ages of 15 and 49 and 269 million children between the ages of 6 and 59 months. In 2019, 30% (539 million) were not pregnant women and 37% (32 million) pregnant women aged 15 to 49 years affected by anemia.

The WHO regions of Africa and Southeast Asia are most affected with an estimated 106 million women and 103 million children who are affected in Africa and 244 million women and 83 million children in Southeast Asia.

Signs and symptoms

Anemia causes symptoms such as fatigue, reduced physical work capacity and shortness of breath. Anemia is an indicator of poor nutrition and other health problems.

The frequent and non -specific symptoms of anemia include:

• fatigue
• Fatus or feel stunned
• Cold hands and feet
• Headache
• Shortness of breath, especially in the event of effort.

Heavy anemia can cause more serious symptoms, including:

• Blow mucous membranes (in the mouth, nose, etc.)
• Blow skin and under the fingernails
• Fast breathing and heart rate
• Dizziness when getting up
• Light bruises.

Causes

The anemia is diagnosed based on the bloodhemoglobin concentrations, which are below the defined threshold values ​​based on the age, gender and physiological status. It is regarded as a symptom for an underlying disease.

Anemia can be caused by various factors: nutrient deficiency, inadequate nutrition (or the insufficient absorption of nutrients), infections, inflammation, chronic diseases, gynecological and obstetric diseases and inheritance of red blood cells.

Iron deficiency, especially due to insufficient iron absorption, is considered the most common lack of nutrients that leads to anemia. Defects in vitamin A, folic acid, vitamin B12 and riboflavin can also lead to anemia, since they synthesis in the synthesis of hemoglobin and/or erythrocyte production. Further mechanisms are nutrient losses (e.g. blood loss due to parasitic infections, bleeding in connection with birth or loss of menstrual), impaired absorption, low iron storage in birth and nutrient metabilities that influence the iron briotability.

Infections can be another important cause of anemia, depending on the local burden of infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, HIV and parasitic infections. Infections can affect the nutrient absorption and metabolism (e.g. malaria, ascariasis) or loss of nutrients (EC Schistosomiasis, hookworm infection). Many different chronic diseases can cause inflammation and lead to inflammation or anemia of chronic diseases. The HIV infection causes anemia by a variety of mechanisms, including ineffective production or excessive destruction of red blood cells, blood loss and side effects of drug treatment.

Consistent serious menstrual losses, expansion of blood volume during pregnancy and loss of blood during and after birth, especially with postpartum bleeding, often lead to anemia.

In addition, diseases of the red blood cells are a common cause of anemia in some regions. This includes diseases such as α and β-thalassemia due to anomalies of hemoglobin synthesis, sickle cell diseases due to changes in the hemoglobin structure, other hemoglobinopathies due to hemoglobin genes, anomalities of the red cell enzymes or abnormalities of red blood cells or abnormalities or abnormalities of red Blood cells membrane.

Treatment and prevention

The treatment and prevention of anemia depends on the underlying cause of the disease. There are many effective ways to treat and prevent anemia.

In some cases, changes in nutrition can help reduce anemia, including:

• Eating food that are rich in iron, folic acid, vitamin B12, vitamin A and other nutrients
• Feed a healthy diet with a variety of food
• Dietary supplements if a qualified health service provider recommends.

Other health states can cause anemia. Actions include:

• Prevent and treat malaria
• Prevent and treat Schistosomiasis and other infections caused by ground -transmitted helminths (parasitic worms)
• Let yourself be vaccinated and practice good hygiene to prevent infections
• Manage chronic diseases such as obesity and digestive problems
• Wait between pregnancies at least 24 months and use birth control to prevent unintentional pregnancies
• Prevent and treat severe menstrual bleeding and bleeding before or after birth
• Delay of the umbilical cord clamp after birth (not earlier than 1 minute)
• Treat hereditary diseases of red blood cells such as sickle diseases and thalassemia.

Self -care

There are various ways to prevent and treat anemia in everyday life, including a healthy and diverse diet and the early conversation with a health service provider if you have symptoms of anemia.

To maintain a healthy and diverse diet:

• Eat iron -rich foods, including lean red meat, fish and poultry, legumes (e.g. lentils and beans), fortified grain and dark green leafy vegetables;
• Eat foods that are rich in vitamin C (such as fruit and vegetables) that help the body absorb iron. And
• Avoid foods that slow down the iron absorption if you consume iron -rich foods such as bran in muesli (all -wheat flour, oat), tea, coffee, cocoa and calcium.

If you take calcium and iron preparations, take them at different times during the day.

People with severe menstrual bleeding should go to their doctor for treatment. Doctors can recommend iron preparations or hormonal contraceptives.

Some infections can cause anemia. Wash your hands with soap and water and use clean toilets to reduce the risk of infection.

Malaria can also cause anemia. People who live in places where malaria is common should follow the local health authorities of advice to prevention. Find a quick treatment if you suspect that you have malaria.