CAUSES
Anemia can be caused by blood loss, chronic illness, cancer therapy, the infiltration of bone marrow with cancer, hemolysis, or a decrease in red blood cell production.

SYMPTOMS
Anemia can be quite difficult to diagnose. The symptoms can be quite vague, and thus the disease often goes undetected in a lot of individuals. The most common feeling experienced by people with anemia is a general feeling of fatigue or weakness, poor concentration, and a general feeling of sickness. Individuals with more severe forms of anemia often report experiencing shortness of breath when they have to exert. Even more severe forms of anemia can result in palpitations, sweatiness, even heart failure.

Doctors often recognize anemics by the paleness of their skin. It is not always so obvious, however. Other apparent signs of anemia are koilonychias and cheilosis.

Another rare sign of iron deficiency anemia is the consumption of non food items such as hair, dirty, grass, paper, and wax.

TREATMENT
Depending on the cause and the severity of the particular case of anemia, a number of different treatment methods might be employed. In non-menstruating adults, cases of iron deficiency from nutritional causes are incredibly rare.

The diagnosis of anemia necessitates a search for such sources of loss as possible gastrointestinal bleeding from ulcers or colon cancer. Mild to modern anemia can be treated by iron supplementation with ferrous gluconate or ferrous sulfate. Vitamin C is also helpful in aiding the body’s absorption of iron. Vitamin supplements containing Vitamin B-12 tend to replace deficiencies of iron.

In cases of anemia related chronic disease, anemia typically has to do with chemotherapy. It might also be associated with renal disease. Clinicians might combat this through a prescription of recombinant erythropoietin, epoetin alfa, as a stimulus for the production of red blood cells.

In serious cases of anemia, when blood loss is constant, it may be necessary for the patient to have a blood transfusion.

Generally doctors will try to avoid having to perform a blood transfusion. In some instances, however, doctors are more aggressive in this area than they were in the past. It is now recommended by the Rivers protocol to maintain the hematocrit at a level above thirty. This recommendation comes based on evidence that even a moderate amount of anemia reduces the chances of survival. The physiological principle behind this is that the reduction of oxygen delivery that comes about owing to anemia can be extremely dangerous for those individuals at risk for organ damage from a lack of perfusion. There exists a certain amount of controversy as to what hemoglobin levels should be used as triggers for a blood transfusion in other situations. Anemia can be quite dangerous for those individuals afflicted with acute coronary syndromes, as it impairs the delivery of oxygen to the heart. The point at which this becomes a danger, however, is still a controversial point and is in need of further study.

PREVENTION
The best way to prevent anemia from occurring is to eat food that is rich in iron.