Different Kinds of Anemia
Anemia occurs when the hemoglobin or red blood cell count of someone is lower than usual and, therefore, unable to meet someone’s physiological needs. The different types of anemia are; iron deficiency, sickle cell, thalassemia, aplastic, and vitamin deficiency anemias (Le, 2016).
| Aplastic | Iron deficiency | Sickle cell | Thalassemia | Vitamin deficiency | |
| Causes | *The body is unable to produce enough red blood cells due to certain infections, medications, exposure to toxic chemicals and autoimmune diseases | *Not enough iron in the body *Blood loss, e.g., heavy menstrual bleeding, cancer, ulcer, using pain killers that contain aspirin
| *A defective form of hemoglobin that dies prematurely | *Insufficient alpha globin and beta globin | *A diet lacking vitamin B- 12 and folate *Inability of the body to absorb vitamins |
| Symptoms | *Fatigue *Dizziness *Cold hands and feet *Shortness of breath *Headache *Pain in the chest *Paleness of skin, nail beds and gums | *Fatigue *Fast heartbeat *Smooth, shiny and inflamed tongue *Pica *Angular stomatitis | *Fatigue *Dizziness *Cold hands and feet *Difficulty in breathing *Headache *Pain in the chest *Paleness of skin, nail beds and gums | *Slow growth *Large spleen *Paleness *Loss of appetite *Jaundice *Bone problems *Poor appetite *Darker urine | *Fatigue *Dizziness *Nerve damage *Neurological problems *Digestive tract problems *Smooth and beefy tongue *Enlarged liver
|
| Tests | *Full blood count testing *Examination of the bone marrow *Other tests, e.g., X-rays, ECG, and scans
| *Full blood count testing *Peripheral smear *Testing the iron and ferritin, in serum, and the capacity of iron-binding *Evaluating hemosiderinuria, pulmonary hemosiderosis, and hemoglobinuria * Content of reticulocyte hemoglobin *Electrophoresis of hemoglobin | *Compulsory screening for HbS at birth *Hemoglobin electrophoresis *Count of CBC with reticulocyte and differential count *Electrolytes in serum *Test for the solubility of hemoglobin *Peripheral blood smear * Tests for pulmonary function *Renal function tests *Tests for hepatobiliary function *Examining CSF *ABGs *Blood culture *Secretory phospholipase test | *Full blood count testing *Mean corpuscular volume *Blood film *Hemoglobin electrophoresis *Chronic villus sampling * Amniocentesis *Indices of red blood cells *Genetic testing *Distribution width of red blood cells *Iron studies | *Full blood count testing *Schilling test |
| Treatment | *Medication *Transfusion of blood *Transplant of marrow stem cells and blood
| *Medications *Change in diet *Surgery *Prescribed supplements *Iron therapy (intravenous) *Rejection of iron *Transfusion of blood | *Bone marrow transplants | *Transfusion of blood *Supplements of folic acid *Chelation therapy of iron | *Replacement of vitamin B- 12 |
Among the treatment of the kinds of anemias, sickle cell anemia is the most challenging to treat because the condition occurs due to by few red blood cells and not lack of iron. It has only one cure, which is a bone marrow transplant. This treatment has severe risks to the patient, such as organ damage, infections, development of cancer, cataracts, and even death (Le, 2016).
References
Le, C. (2016). The Prevalence of Anemia and Moderate- Severe Anemia in the US Population (NHANES 2003-2012). PLoS ONE, 11(11). doi:10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0166635