Posts Tagged ‘Blood Disorder’

What to Expect From the Total Iron Binding Capacity (TIBC) Test For Iron Deficiency Anemia

Comments: 0November 2nd, 2011 by admin



If your doctor believes that you are suffering from the blood disorder known as iron deficiency anemia, it is likely that a “Total Iron Binding Capacity” or “TIBC” test will be ordered. This test is really easy to understand. It simply takes a measurement of the iron that is located in the blood.

The medical professional that interprets the test will be able to determine if there is an excess of iron within the blood, or if there is a lower than normal amount of iron in the blood. This is made possible by the fact that when iron is transported within the blood, it attaches to a special protein referred to as “Transferrin”. The test works to discover the measurement of this protein.

Preparation

If you are ordered to take the “Total Iron Binding Capacity” test for iron deficiency anemia, it is important to ensure that you know and understand how to effectively prepare for it. You should understand that, because this is a blood test, the blood will be drawn from one of the veins in your body.

An antiseptic is used to clean the injection spot – which is typically from the inside of the area of the elbow or perhaps on the hand. Then, an elastic form of a band will be tied on the area of the upper arm so that the vein swells and becomes visible. The blood is then collected into a vial where it can be sealed and sent for testing.

Test Results

If the test comes back abnormally and there is a high amount of iron in the blood, it typically means that you have iron deficiency anemia. It could also mean that you are in the late stages of pregnancy too. If the test results in low iron levels, it may mean that there is an issue with the liver, you are experiencing a type of malnutrition, you may have Hemolytic Anemia, pernicious anemia, or Sickle Cell Anemia.

Your medical doctor will be able to determine an appropriate course of action if you have Iron Deficiency Anemia, or any other condition that the “Total Iron Binding Capacity” test reveals.

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When Blood Cells Go Wild

Comments: 0September 25th, 2011 by admin



For your body to function properly, it needs a steady supply of oxygenated blood that is supplied by red blood cells. These blood cells carry oxygen from the lungs to different parts of the body to give you energy and keep the skin healthy.

But if the bone marrow makes too many red blood cells, the blood thickens and trouble begins. This is called polycythemia vera – a blood disorder that causes many health problems.

“Polycythemia vera – also called primary polycythemia – occurs most often in older adults. It’s rare in people younger than 20. Polycythemia vera usually develops very slowly. You may have it for years without noticing any signs or symptoms. Often, polycythemia vera is found during a blood test done for some other reason,” said the Mayo Clinic.

In the early stages, the disease has no symptoms. As it progresses, the patient may have headaches, dizziness, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing especially when lying down, chest pain, numbness and fatigue.

No one knows why people get polycythemia vera but it appears to be caused by a mutation in red blood cell production. The mutation is acquired but how this happens is a mystery. What we know if that the disease is common in older people, it affects more men than women and it appears to run in families.

“The problem with blood cell production associated with polycythemia vera is caused by a change, or mutation, to DNA in a single cell in your bone marrow. In polycythemia vera, researchers have found this mutation to be a change in a protein switch that tells the cells to grow. Specifically it’s a mutation in the protein JAK2 (the JAK2 V617F mutation),” explained the Mayo Clinic.

“More than 90 percent of patients with polycythemia vera, and about half of patients with other myeloproliferative disorders, have this mutation. Doctors and researchers don’t understand the full role of this mutation and its implications for treating the disease,” it added.

But don’t feel so bad if you have this condition since you can live with the disease in the absence of complications like a stroke, heart attack, an enlarged spleen and skin problems.

“Polycythemia vera causes your blood to be thicker than normal, which can slow the rate of blood flow through your veins and arteries. Increased blood thickness and decreased blood flow, as well as abnormalities in your platelets, increase your risk of blood clots. Blood clots can cause a stroke, a heart attack, or blockage of an artery in your lungs (pulmonary embolism) or in a vein deep within a muscle (deep vein thrombosis),” warned the Mayo Clinic.

Treatment is aimed at keeping the red blood cell level within a tolerable range. This can be done with the use of drugs, phlebotomy (removing blood) or low-dose aspirin to decrease clotting and reduce the chance of a stroke or heart attack.

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How to Recognize Signs of Anemia in Children

Comments: 0May 16th, 2011 by admin



A condition in which there are either too few red blood cells, too little hemoglobin in each red blood cell, or both. Your child will seem quite well if he is only mildly anemic. If the anemia develops slowly, the body adapts to the smaller amount of hemoglobin. This means that even severe anemia – if it is of gradual onset may cause no symptoms. What you’ll probably notice first is that the child is abnormally tired. He may be pale- the color of his lips, fingertips and insides of the eyelids are a better guide than the cheeks. He may also have a poor appetite or be irritable.

The anemia is caused by a sudden loss of blood, as in an accident or in certain blood disorders, then there may be some breathlessness, a fast pulse and even heart failure if treatment isn’t begun.

The many possible causes fall into three main groups. Lowered red blood cells count in the body; excessive breakdown of red blood cells by the body; and blood loss.

Iron deficiency anemia is the commonest blood disorder in children. Because breast milk usually contains plenty of easily-absorbed iron, young breast-fed babies don’t often suffer from it. Some premature babies are born with low body stores of iron and so have blood tests to check for anemia from time to time. The young child who doesn’t eat a varied diet containing iron-rich foods may become anemic. The main sources of iron in our diet are meat, bread (especially wholemeal), flour, cereals, potatoes and vegetables.

About one child in three with iron deficiency anemia has slight, continual bleeding from the gut after drinking cow’s milk. This can be prevented by heating cow’s milk before it is drunk or by reducing the amount of cow’s milk drunk by the child. Large amounts of cow’s milk may also reduce the amount of iron absorbed by the body and reduce the child’s appetite for other foods.

anemia can be caused by blood loss (a severe nose bleed, an accident or an operation) certain drugs which damage bone marrow or red blood cells: abnormalities in the red cells themselves or by leukemia. Rhesus babies usually suffer from anemia due to red cell abnormalities.

The vast majority of children whose cheeks look pale aren’t anemic at all. In those that are, iron deficiency anemia is the commonest condition by far.

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The Normocytic Anemia Guide

Comments: 0April 13th, 2011 by admin



When it comes to anemia types, the type that is identified as normocytic anemia is considered to be the most common. Individuals that suffer from this blood disorder have red blood cells that are considered to be average or normal. Unfortunately, despite the fact that the blood cells are relatively normal, there are not enough of them produced on a regular basis.

Individuals that have this condition may be born with the condition and others may develop it later in life due to some type of infection or disease in general. In most instances, the blood disorder is caused by a chronic based disease.

Symptoms

When a person first develops this particular form of anemia, there usually are not any symptoms. Seeing that the progression of the condition is relatively slow, symptoms of this form of Anemia may not be experienced for quite some time. Over time, the skin may become a pale color.

This discoloration may be noticed on the lips of the sufferer as well. In some cases, a sufferer will experience a general lack of energy and high levels of fatigue. While experiencing this fatigue, the sufferer may notice that they become weak. In more severe forms of the condition, dizziness may also be experienced.

Conclusion

While normocytic anemia is a relatively common type of anemia that has the fewest symptoms altogether, it is a condition that may prove to be challenging for the person suffering from it. With symptoms such as fatigue, dizziness, and general body weakness it is understandable that treatment should be sought so that day to day activities may be pursued.

When an evaluation is performed by a doctor, it will usually involve a complete blood count or CBC test and a physical examination. Once the results from the CBC are finalized, the doctor will be able to confirm whether or not an individual is suffering from Normocyte Anemia.

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Low Platelets – Possible Causes of ITP and Other Blood Platelet Disorders

Comments: 0May 12th, 2010 by admin



There are a number of reasons and conditions that might just trigger a low platelet count or an increase in the breakdown of blood platelets.

Some possible causes are as follows:

Blood Poisoning – this is usually caused by severe bacterial infections which will leaad to a low platelt count and subsequent blood platelet destruction.

Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome – This is a rare disorder that causes the platelets to plummet. This is also accompanied by destruction of the red blood cells and damage to the kidneys. Sometimes this occurs when the person has contracted a severe bacterial infection such as E.Coli (Escherichia coli), which can be acquired from eating uncooked or undercooked meat, such as hamburger.

Pregnancy – Sometimes and in some unusual circumstances when the body is pregnant it destroys some of its own platelets.

Which can cause a mild case of thrombocytopenia (bruising).

Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) – A blood disorder in which your immune system mistakenly identifies platelets as a threat to the body and creates antibodies that attack the platelets.

Other autoimmune diseases – These range from rheumatoid arthritis, some cancers and even lupus. A lot of these conditions lead to destruction of the platelets because the immune system has malfunctioned.

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) – This is a rare, sometimes genetic, life-threatening condition. This happens when small blood clots spontaneously occur throughout your body, causing a large number of platelets to be spent in the process. In most cases of TTP the cause is unknown. In some of the cases it might be related to experiencing an infection or a chronic disease.

Drugs and medications – It is acknowledged by the medical community that certain drugs and medications can low platelet production by confusing the immune system and causing it to destroy platelets. Some examples include sulfa-containing antibiotics, heparin, quinidine, quinine, some oral diabetes drugs, gold salts and rifampin.

Thrombocytopenia induced by Heparin, has been known to cause excessive blood clotting instead of bleeding. This increases the risk of clot forming blood clots deep within a leg blood vessel. This can be lifethreatening and very dangerous as the blood stream may carry the clot to your lungs.

Trapped platelets in the spleen – The spleen normally functions to fight infection and filter unwanted waste material from your blood. It is an organ about the size of your fist and is located on the left side of your abdomen just below your rib cage. Sometimes and enlarged spleen, which can be caused by any number of disorders, may hold on to too many blood platelets, thereby causing a low platelet count in the blood.

These are just a sampling of possible causes of a low platelet count. If you have signs of a low platelet count please consider looking into natural means to build up your blood platelet levels.

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Anemia

Comments: 0February 18th, 2010 by admin



Anemia refers to a condition that means lack of blood. It is the most common blood disorder that occurs when the quantity of red blood cells decreases in the body. These red blood cells contain hemoglobin- the red colouring matter, a protein and are composed of an organic compound called “heme”. Hemoglobin helps the red blood cells to carry oxygen from the lungs to other parts of the body. The formation of hemoglobin depends on adequate dietary supplies of iron and protein. Red cells have a lifespan of about 120 days and are daily destroyed and repaired. Each and every person should have 100 per cent hemoglobin and a blood count of five million red cells per millimeter.

Types of anemia

1. Iron deficiency anemia: It is the most common types of anemia. Iron is required for the formation of hemoglobin, when there is less iron in the body it causes iron deficiency anemia.

2. Aplastic anemia: When body stops making enough red blood cells and chances of infections increases.

3. Vitamin deficiency anemia: This is also termed as megaloblastic anemia. This is caused due to the deficiency of folic acid or vitamin B12. In this type of anemia the red blood cells made by the body are not able to carry oxygen properly to lungs and other parts.

4. Inherited blood disease: Sickle cell anemia is an inherited anemia that is transferred through genes. In the sickle cell anemia the cells block the organs from getting proper circulation of blood. The other inherited disease is thalassemia. When the body is missing certain genes or when different genes that are not normal are passed down from parents to the kins affects the procedure the body uses to make hemoglobin.

5. Underlying diseases: Certain diseases or condition can affect the formation of red blood cells. Like in kidney failure one is on dialysis and kidney is not in the condition to produce hormones that are required for iron absorption.

6. Pernicious anemia: When body is not able to absorb vitamin B12 from the foods, the condition is known as pernicious anemia. This vitamin is also produced by the bacteria in large intestine but is not absorbed into the blood stream.

Causes

The two main causes of anemia are the reduced or low formation of red blood cell and heavy loss of blood due to injury, heavy menstruation and bleeding piles. Any defect in the bone marrow or an inadequate intake of iron, vitamins and proteins results in low formation of red blood cells. The lack of hydrochloric acid that is required for digestion of iron and proteins also causes anemia. Use of drugs that inactive the nutrients needed in building cells also results in anemia. Various chronic diseases like tuberculosis, kidney failure, rheumatoid arthritis may cause anemia. Presence of intestinal parasites that feed on the vitamins and other nutrients also leads to anemia.

Home Remedies

1. Eating 2-3 apples daily helps in increasing iron content in the body.

2. A liberal intake of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is necessary for the proper absorption of iron. Two citrus fruits are recommended daily.

3. Vitamin B12 is necessary for both preventing and curing anemia. The rich sources of this vitamin are animal protein and organic meats like kidney and liver. The other good sources of vitamin B12 are dairy products, wheat germ, peanuts and soybean. The daily recommended dose is 2.2 microgram.

4. Tea and coffee should be avoided as they hinder with the iron absorption.

5. Beets are very important in the cure of anemia. Its juice contains potassium, phosphorus, calcium, sulphur, iodine, iron, copper, carbohydrates, protein, fat, and vitamins B1, B2, B6, C and P.

6. A cold-water bath is the valuable method in curing anemia. Two baths are recommended daily.

7. Cold friction and hot Epsom baths for 5-10 minutes once a week are recommended.

8. Sunbaths are also beneficial as sunlight stimulates the production of red cells.

9. 3-4 dried figs are recommended a day for anemic person’s.

10. Honey also plays an important role in improving the health. Lemon and honey or apple cider vinegar is highly beneficial when taken during morning.

11. Massaging the body daily also helps to keep the blood level in the body high.

12. Deep breathing and light exercise like walking also tones up the system and increases the blood level.

13. Various yoga asanas like sarvangasana, paschomittanasana, uttanpadasana and shavasana are also beneficial.

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Staying Strong Against Anemia The Natural Way

Comments: 0May 22nd, 2009 by admin



What is anemia?

Anemia is a common blood disorder characterized by a deficit of healthy red blood cells. Red blood cells distribute oxygen to every organ in the body, so a decreased number of red cells means the body must work harder to accomplish even simple tasks. As a result, the affected individual experiences constant exhaustion — one of the most common symptoms of anemia.

What causes anemia?

Various factors combine to trigger common anemia: iron deficiency, blood loss, parasites, and insufficient hydrochloric acid in the stomach. .

Another unique form of anemia called “sickle cell” results from a genetic disorder which causes a patient’s body to produce sickle-shaped red blood cells rather than normal spherical ones. The sickle-shaped cells carry less oxygen and cause sufferers to become anemic.

What are the symptoms?

Some of the most common symptoms of anemia are lethargy, exhaustion, and persistent lack of energy. Noticeable side effects of the condition include breathlessness, premature wrinkling, dull eyes, headache, and pale skin.

Severely anemic individuals may also experience frequent heart palpitations, and are at increased risk for mild, moderate, or severe cardiac problems.

Are there cures found in nature?

Yes! Anemia can be effectively treated using natural ingredients to improve the oxygen carrying capacity of blood. Most of the remedies utilize common ingredients, too.

Green Vegetables

Most green vegetables such as spinach, fenugreek, lettuce and okra are rich sources of iron. The regular consumption of these vegetables ensures a steady supply of iron in the body. Fenugreek seeds are also a rich source of iron. In addition to the healthful benefits of beet and carrot juice which boost the body’s hemoglobin production, other natural treatments include:

SESAME SEEDS mixed with milk are a great source of iron. Simply soak a teaspoonful of sesame seeds in lukewarm water, then grind and strain them, sweeten with honey or sugar and mix in a glass of milk.

ALMONDS contain many beneficial elements for anemia sufferers too, including iron, copper and vitamins. To maximize the benefits of almonds, soak seven almonds in water overnight. Remove the skin and grind the almonds into a paste which should be consumed every morning.

CHAMOMILE, ORANGE PEEL, GINGER, AND BRANDY TEA helps cope with the effects of anemia , too. To mix it in your kitchen combine two tablespoons of chamomile, two tablespoons of ground orange peel, and half of a teaspoon of ground ginger in two cups of boiling water. Allow the mixture to cool. Strain and add one cup of brandy. Consume one half of a cup of this blend every morning and evening.

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