Anemia

• Anemia Overview
• Anemia Causes
• Anemia Symptoms
• When to Seek Medical Care
• Exams and Tests
• Anemia Treatment
• Self-Care at Home
• Medical Treatment
• Medications
  • Surgery
  • Next Steps
  • Follow-up
  • Prevention
  • Outlook
  • Synonyms and Keywords
  • Authors and Editors

  Anemia Overview

  Blood is actually a liquid made up of several different cell types. One of the most important and most numerous cell types is the red blood cell. The purpose of the red blood cell is to deliver oxygen to the body. Anemia describes the condition in which the number of red blood cells in your blood is low. For this reason, doctors sometimes describe someone with anemia as having a low blood count. A person who has anemia is called anemic.
  
  

  • Preventing anemia and having the correct number of red blood cells requires cooperation among the kidneys, the bone marrow, and nutrients within the body. If your kidneys or bones are not working, or your body is poorly nourished, then you might not be able to maintain a normal red blood cell count.
    
    
  • Anemia is actually a sign of a disease process rather than a disease itself. It is usually classified as either chronic or acute. Chronic anemia happens over a long period of time. Acute anemia happens quickly. Determining whether anemia has been going on a long time or whether it is something new helps doctors to find its cause. This also helps predict how severe the symptoms may be.
    
    
  • Red blood cells live about 100 days, so the body is constantly trying to replace them. In adults, red blood cell production occurs in the bone marrow. Doctors try to determine if a low red blood cell count is caused by increased blood loss or from decreased production in the bone marrow. Knowing whether the number of white blood cells has changed also helps determine the cause.
    
    
  • In the United States, 2-10% of people have anemia. Other countries have even higher rates of anemia. Women are twice as likely to have anemia than men. Anemia happens in both young people and in old people, but older people are more likely to have other medical problems associated with anemia.
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