Your body makes three different blood cells. Your white blood cells fight infections. Your platelets assist your blood clot. Your red blood cells have the job of transporting oxygen throughout your entire body. Amenia, a medical condition that causes you not to have enough healthy red blood cells to transport significant oxygen to the tissues in your body. Red blood cells have hemoglobin inside them. Hemoglobin is iron-rich protein that gives your blood its red coloring.
Men who have anemia have a hemoglobin level at 13.5 gram/100 ml or less. Women who have anemia have a hemoglobin level of 12 gram/100 ml or less. There are many forms of anemia and they all have their separate causes. These forms of anemia include hemolytic, sickle cell, aplastic and bone marrow anemias. Anemia may be chronic or temporary. Symptoms can range from mild to severe. You may have anemia and not notice any symptoms.
1. Dizziness
Dizziness is a symptom of various medical conditions such as anemia. Other causes include motion sickness, inner ear disturbance or medications. It could also be an underlying conditions like an injury, poor circulation or infection. It is a term used to explain a range of sensations. These sensations include feeling woozy, unsteady or faint. The sensations you feel also lead to another condition called vertigo. Vertigo gives you a false sense that you are spinning. You may also experience your surroundings moving when you are standing still.
The signs of this condition may be triggered by standing up, walking or moving your head. The signs of the condition can also worsen while doing these things. You may have other signs along with nausea or the need to lie or sit down. These feelings can last for seconds or days.
2. Fatigue
Everyone feels overworked or overtired sometimes because of physical activity, sickness or injury. However, unrelenting exhaustion which lasts a long time and is not relieved by rest is called fatigue. Overtime, your energy is reduced. You are not motivated and cannot concentrate. You tire easily after you start physical activity. Being overly tire is not a disease. Instead, it indicates that something is medically wrong. Causes of unrelenting exhaustion include various things like jet lag, depression, lack of physical activity or medication. Medical conditions that may cause unrelenting exhaustion may include cancer, kidney disease, heart disease or emphysema.
3. Lightheadedness
Lightheadedness makes you feel faint. Your body feels heavy because you feel like you cannot get enough blood to your head. You may feel like you are reeling. You may feel faint immediately after you stand. The sudden change in positions decreases your blood flow to your brain. For instance, it can drop your blood pressure. Faintness may decrease after you rest. This may happen from time-to-time, but it should not happen frequently. Lightheadedness is not a disease. It is a sign of underlying medical condition. For example, you may have low blood sugar, anemia, dehydration or stress.
4. Malaise
Malaise is described as a multitude of signs. You feel weak all over your body. You feel discomfort in one area or throughout your body. You generally feel ill. If you do not feel like you have a sickness, you simply do not feel well. No matter how much you rest, the tiredness feeling does not disappear.
Numerous things can cause malaise because it is not a disease, but a sign of a medical condition. Your body undergoes some type of disruption like trauma, injury or disease. The medical conditions include anemia, fibromyalgia, hepatitis or lyme disease.
5. Weakness
Weakness referred to as the decrease strength in one or more of your muscles. It can be in one area of your body or more than one area. It is often more noticeable when you experience the symptom in one area. It is not a medical condition, but a sign of a more serious disease. These medical conditions that may involve lack of strength in muscles include a stroke, anemia, injury to your nerve or multiple sclerosis (MS). Subjective weakness is another type of condition where you feel week, but do not experience a loss of strength.
6. Fast heart rate
When your heart beats faster than normal when you are sitting or at rest is called a fast heart rate, or tachycardia. This is a common heart rhythm disorder that is different from when you are active and your heart beats faster. It only occurs when you are at rest. For instance, it is normal for your heart to begin racing in response to some physical or physiological response. This response can be an event such as a trauma, illness or stress. Your heart beats faster in your lower or upper chambers of your heart when you are at rest. A fast heart rate means that your heartbeats 60 to 100 times faster while you are at rest. Tachycardia may have no complications or other symptoms. However, it left untreated, you may experience stroke, or heart failure.
7. Heart palpitations
Heart palpitations occur when your heart flutters, rapidly beats or has a pounding sensation. The palpitations can be triggered by exercise, medication, exercise or a medical condition. Palpitations are not a disease. It is usually a harmless sign. When your heart palpitates, you may feel like your heart is pumping harder than usual, skipping a beat or beating too fast. You may feel the palpitations in your neck or throat. The common reasons why palpitations occur is because of various causes like fever, caffeine, taking certain medications or hormonal changes.
8. Brittle nails
Brittle nails involve your fingernails and toenails. The brittleness of your nails means they can easily peel, chip, crack or split. Many medical conditions can cause your nails to weaken. Also, certain things you do including long-term use of nail polish or exposure to things like swimming or dishwashing can cause your nails to become brittle. You nails may also soften because of age. Medical conditions that can cause brittle nails include anemia and hypothyroidism. Treatment for weakened nails include vitamin supplements such as biotin can strengthen nails. Also using moisturizers after soaking your nails in water can help in healing your nails too.
9. Headache
A headache is discomfort or pain in any area of your head. It can occur on one or both sides of your head. The pain may appear to be a throbbing sensation, sharp pain or a dull ache. The headache may develop slowly or all of a sudden. Your headache may last for less than one hour or several days. Although it may cause serious pain, it is not a medical condition. Instead, it indicates that you may have a medical condition such as anemia. Also, it can be a life-threatening event depending on the need for emergency care.
10. Pallor
Pallor, or paleness, is an unusual lightness of your skin color compared to your normal skin complex. Pale skin is caused by a reduced oxygen and blood flow. It may be because of a number of decreased number of blood cells in your body. The paleness can be localized to cover one limb or your entire body. You may notice the paleness on your tongue, inner membranes of your lower eyelids or the palms of your hands. You may experience other signs along with paleness is chest pain, rapid beating of your heart, low blood pressure and shortness of breath.
