To understand what is anemia one should begin with
breathing. The oxygen that is inhaled simply doesn’t
stop in lungs. It circulates though out the body and
fuels the brains also. Oxygen travels to all parts of
the body though bloodstream and to be precise in the
RBCs I.e. red blood cells. Now, these RBCs are produced
in the bone marrow of the body and they serve as boats
carrying oxygen in the bloodstream. RBCs have something
called hemoglobin, a protein which holds oxygen. To make
adequate hemoglobin body requires iron in plenty. The
iron is supplied by the foods that we take along with
other nutrients. When these RBCs are fewer in number
than what is needed anemia occurs in the body. There can
be 3 primary reasons: RBCs are lost due to some reason,
the production of RBCs is slower than what is needed and
lastly the body is destroying the RBCs. Different types
of anemia are linked to at least one of these causes.
The bone marrow replaces small amounts of blood is lost
due to some reason without making a person anemic. But
in cases where considerable amount of blood flows in
small amount of time as a result of an injury due to a
serious example for instance, it may not be possible for
bone marrow to replace RBCs so quickly resulting in
anemia. Also, losing small amounts of blood over long
periods of time may also lead to anemia. Example of this
situation can be seen in girls who get heavy periods
attributed mainly to deficiency of iron in the diet.
Anemia due to iron deficiency is the most common kind of
anemia in the United States. It occurs mainly due to
lack of iron in a person’s diet. A teen with iron
deficiency would have lower hemoglobin production and
consequently lower RBCs. When the production of RBCs is
low the person is regarded as anemic. The signs of
anemia are paleness and tiredness. There can be other
reasons as to why enough RBCs are not produced in the
body. Folic acid and Vitamin B-12 are also essential to
produce RBCs. Getting these in adequate quantities is
this important too. There can be a problem with bone
marrow’s working too resulting in anemia.
Hemolytic anemia occurs when a person has RBCs whose
lifespan is shorter. The bone marrow may not be able to
produce new blood cells if the blood cells die too
early. This can result due to many reasons including
person having disorders like sphenocytosis or sickle
cell anemia. In some cases the immune system of the body
may itself destroy the RBCs. In some cases certain
antibodies can form in the blood as a result of reaction
to certain drugs or infections and may attack the RBCs.
Teens get anemia as they grow rapidly the amount of iron
intake may not be enough to keep up with the pace of the
growth as it needs more nutrients in this process. In
the case of girls they need more iron after puberty and
are at risk due to heavy blood loss during menstrual
periods. In some cases pregnancies also leads to anemia.
Also, teens who diet excessively to lose weight may also
be at risk of having iron deficiency. Meat eaters
especially red meat eaters are at less risk compared to
vegetarians as meat has rich iron in it.
