ANAEMIA (Iron deficiency)

Anaemia means "Want of blood". Medically it means a person has less haemoglobin, the colouring matter of red blood cells ((haemoglobin contains a protein part (globis) joined with an iron-containing pigment haem. (From which comes the prefix haem for many medical words indicating some relationship to the blood.) Haem is the oxygen-carrying portion of haemoglobin. Haemoglobin picks up oxygen in the lungs, holds it loosely, carries it in arterial blood and delivers it as fuel to cells. In exchange, the blood plasma picks up carbon dioxide that every cell must excrete. The plasma then carries it to the lungs where the exhalation ejects carbon dioxide from the body, whilst fresh inhalation recharges the oxygen supply. Iron is the key element of this remarkable gas-transportation, but the protein part (globis) is vital too. Taking iron as a supplement does not benefit all types of anaemia.)) A person suffering from anaemia has less haemoglobin than is normally found in healthy people of the same age group, almost everyone at some time of their lives suffers from mild anaemia. It is important for doctors to sort out which of the many causes of anaemia are present and which are potentially serious.

Iron deficiency is the most common anaemia. To make haemoglobin, the body normally conserves iron efficiently, but sometimes iron reserves are low resulting in anaemia. Insufficient iron in the diet is the commonest reason, but the more serious cause in the more affluent societies is small, continuous or intermittent blood loss. Nutritional iron deficiency is most often in premature babies, the growing child and in pregnant individuals. Iron reserves may become too low to provide all the iron necessary at this time because of an increased demand of haemoglobin...(more)

Beneficial Treatments...(more)