Anemia
Anemia
Anaemia is defined as a state in which the blood heamoglobin level is below the normal range for the patient’s age, sex and altitude of residence. Normal haemoglobin level lies between 13-16 g/dL in makes and 11.5-15.0 g/dL in females.
Anaemias can be classified in two ways:
Based on the cause of anaemia
- Blood loss, which may be acute or chronic
- Acute(large volume over short period)
- Chronic (small volume over long period)
- Inadequate production of normal red cells
- Excessive destruction of red cells
Based on the morphology of red cells
- Normocytic
- Microcytic
- Macrocytic
Causes
Due to blood loss
- Acute blood loss – Trauma, post-partum bleeding
- Chronic blood loss – Hook worms, bleeding peptic ulcer, haemorrhoids, excessive menstrual loss
Due to inadequate production of normal red cells
- Deficiency – Iron, Vitamin B12, folate
- Toxic factors – Chronic inflammatory and infective diseases, renal failure, hepatic failure, drugs leading to aplastic anaemia
- Endocrine deficiency – Hypothyroidism, hypoadrenalism, reduced EPO due to renal failure, hypogonadism, hypopituitarism
- Marrow invasion – Leukaemias, fibrosis, secondary carcinoma
- Marrow failure – Hypoplastic, aplastic anaemia
- Maldevelopment – Sideroblastic anaemia, haemoglobinopathies like sickle cell disease and thalassaemias, neoplastic disorders of erythropiesis
Due to excessive destruction of red cells (haemolytic anameias)
- Genetic disorders – Red cell membrane, haemoglobin or enzyme abnormalities
- Acquired disorders – Immune, toxic, mechanical and infectious causes
Symptoms
- Fatigue, lassitude, dyspnoea, palpitation
- Dizziness, headache, syncope, tinnitus, vertigo
- Irritability, sleep disturbances, lack of conventration
- Throbbing in head and ears, paraesthesia in fingers and toes
- Anorexia, indigestion, nausea, bowel disturbances
- Angina, intermittent claudication, transient cerebral ischaemia
- Symptoms of cardiac failure
- Amenorrhoea, polymenorrhoea
Treatments
- The job of doctor is to find cause of anemia. According to cause the treatment is started. In many conditions which cause anemia apart from acute acute blood loss which needs immediate hospitalisation, Homoeopathy works in many conditions treating anemia completely. It corrects the cause from within and treats this disorder.
Few medications which help in these patients are ferrum metallicum, nux vomica, calcarea phos etc.