The person suffering Anemia suffers from a lack of red blood cells or the decrease of the supposed percentage of the hemoglobin, and that leads to the decrease of the amounts of oxygen that reaches the cells.
The lack of hemoglobin (iron) is not the only type of Anemia but it is the most common the other types are the lack of B12 or lack of folate. There are other types of anemia that accompany some chronic diseases, there are also other sorts of anemia as Hemolytic anemia, Idiopathic aplastic anemia, Megaloblastic anemia, Pernicious anemia, Sickle cell anemia and Thalassemia.
There are some common reasons that can cause anemia as injuries caused by accidents, hemorrhoids, gastritis (ulcers), surgeries, the wrongly repeated blood donation, childbirth and menstruation in case of women that have very heavy periods.
There are several symptoms that would accompany anemia as headache, fatigue, feeling discomfort and loosing concentration, sometimes people suffering from anemia have problems in breathing. In case of patients that suffers from heart problems if they also suffers from severe anemia, those patients are exposed to palpitations, angina or heart failure. During diagnosing the doctors can get sure of the presence of anemia if they found that the patient suffers from low heart pressure, pale skin, a heart murmur or a rapid heart rate. In case of Sickle cell anemia there are other symptoms as yellowing of the eyes and skin, delayed growth and puberty and pains in the joints.
But the doctors gets sure of the presence of anemia by ordering some blood tests as:
Blood levels of iron
Blod levels of vitamin B12
Blood levels of folic acid
Blood levels of other vitamins and minerals
Red blood count
Hemoglobin level
Reticulocyte count
And in the case of Sickle cell anemia there are other tests that should be done as bilirubin, blood oxygen saturation, CBC, hemoglobin electrophoresis, Sickle cell test, serum creatinine and potassium
Treating anemia differ by the difference of the type of anemia, as the lack of iron, b12 or the foilc acid can be treated by nutritional supplements. In severe cases a blood transfussion can help in the treatment. In other cases of anemia other solutions are available as Corticosteroids or Erythropoietin. In case of Thalassemia the most possible treatment is a bone marrow transplant. In case of Sickle cell anemia the treatments may be bone marrow or stem transplants.