ANEMIA

Guys, now i'm here to let u know something about me. this are the thing that make me worried lately. this is the answer to all question that people always asked me on what going on my health condition lately..;-)

What is anemia?

Anemia is a medical condition in which the red blood cell count or hemoglobin is less than normal. The normal level of hemoglobin is generally different in males and females. For men, anemia is typically defined as hemoglobin level of less than 13.5 gram/100ml and in women as hemoglobin of less than 12.0 gram/100ml. These definitions may vary slightly depending on the source and the laboratory reference used. There various types of anemia. I'm patient of APLASTIC ANEMIA.

what is Aplastic anemia?

Aplastic anemia is a disease of the bone marrow. The bone marrow stops making enough red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets for the body. Any blood cells the marrow does make are normal, but there are not enough of them. Aplastic anemia can be moderate, severe or very severe. People with severe or very severe aplastic anemia are at risk for life-threatening infections or bleeding.

Aplastic anemia causes, symptoms and diagnosis

Aplastic anemia is a rare disease. About 3 out of every 1 million people in the United States get aplastic anemia each year. The disease appears more often in eastern Asian countries, where it affects about 15 out of every 1 million people. It can affect people of any age.

Causes

The bone marrow produces all of the blood cells for the body:
· Red blood cells carry oxygen to all parts of your body.
· White blood cells help the body fight infection.
· Platelets help control bleeding.

Each blood cell lives only a certain number of days, so the body needs a steady supply. Healthy bone marrow is always making new blood cells. However, in aplastic anemia, the marrow makes a much smaller number than normal of all three types of blood cells. In very severe cases, the marrow can stop making any blood cells at all.

In most cases, doctors do not know the cause of aplastic anemia. In about 20% of patients, the disease develops from an inherited disorder, such as Fanconi anemia. Aplastic anemia may also be caused by high doses of radiation or certain chemicals or viruses. There is evidence that in many people aplastic anemia is an autoimmune disease. This means that the body's immune system is reacting against itself. The immune system attacks the bone marrow and stops it from making enough blood cells.

Symptoms

Symptoms of aplastic anemia are caused by low numbers of blood cells. The severity of a person's symptoms depends on the number of blood cells he or she has.
· Low numbers of red blood cells can cause a person to feel tired or weak, be short of breath and look pale.
· Low numbers of white blood cells can lead to frequent or severe infections.
· Low numbers of platelets can lead to easy bleeding or bruising and tiny red spots under the skin (petechiae), or bleeding that is hard to stop.
For a person with moderate aplastic anemia, these symptoms may be mild or moderate. For a person with severe or very severe aplastic anemia, infections or bleeding can be life-threatening.

Diagnosis

To diagnose aplastic anemia, doctors look at samples of blood and bone marrow. In aplastic anemia, the numbers of red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets in the blood are all low. There are two types of samples that can be collected from the bone marrow. A bone marrow aspiration uses a needle to extract a small amount of liquid marrow. A bone marrow biopsy uses a special needle to remove an intact core of marrow. Aspirations and biopsies are both usually taken from the back of the hip bone.

In aplastic anemia, the marrow samples show low numbers of cells. The few cells that do appear are normal (not cancer cells). Based on the number of cells that appear, doctors diagnose the disease as moderate, severe or very severe aplastic anemia. Moderate aplastic anemia sometimes becomes severe over time, so doctors will watch for signs the disease is changing.