To understand what are the symptoms of anemia one needs to understand actually what happens in the body when we say that a person has anemia or is anemic. Anemia is said to exist when there is a lesser proportion of red blood cells and lower than normal quantity of hemoglobin in the body.
What are the symptoms of anemia caused by?
Hemoglobin is found in the red blood cells and is responsible for carrying oxygen from the lungs to the different organs of the body. When hemoglobin levels are low, less oxygen reaches the organs, leading to a condition called hypoxia, which is what may cause problems of various kinds.
Anemia symptoms can manifest due to the anemia itself to due to the underlying cause of the anemia (the most common cause being iron deficiency).
What are the symptoms of anemia?
Visible signs
Sometimes anemia may be plain to see as since one may have a pale or colorless complexion. The red lining of the mouth or the inner eyelids may also appear pale and faded in color. The skin may also feel cold to the touch. If the anemia is due to red blood cell breakdown there could be a yellowish cast to the skin as in jaundice.
Tiredness
Lack of energy, tiredness and fatigue are commonly seen symptoms of anemia. They also find that they may faint more frequently, experience heart palpitations or dizziness as a result of the lower RBC count in their blood.
Other symptoms
Anemics may have difficulty sleeping, problems concentrating and may also experience tinnitus (ringing of the ears). Low blood pressure may also be present.
What are the symptoms of anemia among women?
Disturbances in the periods – infrequent or irregular periods, very light periods may be common among women with anemia. Sometimes the periods could be absent altogether (amenorrhea) or conversely in some cases there could be more than normal bleeding.
What are the symptoms of anemia is that more severe?
Severe anemia or hyperanemia could have more serious symptoms such as chest pain, angina or even heart attack. A heart murmur could also be present.
There could also be digestive disturbance or changes in bowel movements, with the appearance of the stool being blackish or tarry in color; and foul smelling and sticky as well. Bloody or dark red stools could indicate that there is bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract.
The spleen could become enlarged in certain cases, which could cause more problems.
What are the symptoms of anemia that one should seek help for?
Severe symptoms of anemia among older people and when it is seen along with heart or lung disease should not be ignored and medical intervention should be sought. When irregular heart beat or arrhythmia is present this could lead to heart damage or even heart failure and should be treated promptly. Since anemia can lead to several other health problems it should be treated and managed in a way that it is not allowed to get out of control.
