Before thinking about the hemolytic anemia side effects, you should know what the condition means.
Because of this condition the red blood cells are destroyed and removed from the blood stream earlier than they should be.
This is a kind of anemia which means that the red blood cell levels are lower than they should be.
Side effects of hemolytic anemia
The truth is that the side effects depend greatly on the kind and the severity of the condition. It is common for the affected people not to show any signs or symptoms.
If the condition is severe, the patients could see many different kinds of signs that vary in severity. They usually apply to all kinds of anemia.
The most common kind of symptoms of hemolytic anemia is fatigue or tiredness. This occurs because there are too few red blood cells in order to transport oxygen to the different parts of the body.
The condition could also cause shortness of breath, headache, dizziness, pale appearance, cold hands and feet and pain in the chest.
Another one of the hemolytic anemia side effects is that the heart needs to work harder in order to bring the right amount of oxygen to the different parts of the body.
As a result patients can be affected by an arrhythmia, heart failure, enlarged heart, or heart murmur.
Jaundice
This is one of the hemolytic anemia symptoms means that the skin and the white of the eyes get a yellowish color.
This is because when the red blood cells disappear, the hemoglobin levels of the blood increases. This breaks down into bilirubin that gives this yellow color. In the same time the urine can turn brown or dark yellow.
Upper abdomen pain
An enlarged spleen or gallstones can become hemolytic anemia side effects because of the high levels of cholesterol and bilirubin. The stones can cause pain in the abdomen. The spleen is the organ that filters the damaged or old blood cells. Because of anemia the organ could enlarge and lead to pain.
Leg pain and ulcers
Another one of the signs of hemolytic anemia include this kind of pain. This is because the sickle-shaped cells might clog the small blood vessels in the legs. As a result, the patients can be affected by pain or leg sores.
Reaction to blood transfusion
It is possible to see the hemolytic anemia side effects because of blood transfusion. Something like this usually occurs if the blood isn’t of the same type as yours. The reactions in this case include chills, fever, shock and low blood pressure. The problem could turn out to be life threatening.
If you see the hemolytic anemia signs, you should go to your doctor immediately. He or she will give you a diagnosis based on your family and medical histories, test results and physical exams.
There is a lot to know about the hemolytic anemia side effects. In the majority of the cases these are similar to the symptoms of any other kind of anemia.
