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Archive for the ‘Anemia’ Category

Causes of anemia in children: when medical tests revealed that the hemoglobin is present in amounts below the limits considered normal for the age in question, we are dealing with a diagnosis of anemia. Your son has been pale, feel tired and is apathetic.

Wonder what happened? What has caused this worrying? Well, let’s see what are the most frequent causes, but always remember that You will get properly diagnosed each case, our contribution is a review of statistical value in order to properly inform.

Blood loss in the intestine: in general is caused by parasites which feed on blood agents or injured in the intestine. Treatment is complex and can not be reversed without a problem.

Iron deficiency in blood: one of the most common causes usually given by a poor diet or absorption of iron deficient, usually because of poor food combining. It is also easy to reverse diet and following doctor’s advice.

cause anemia in children

Infectious diseases: some are of varying complexity (from urinary infections to HIV infection). We are looking after the two previous cases dismissed.

A few weeks ago we talked about anemia and its symptoms. Today we will work to know what are the causes of this disease. The main causes of anemia may be some infections, medication intake, certain disease or poor nutrition.

The most common is the latter and is due to the lack or iron deficiency. The causes that make you have low iron levels include:

* Lack of iron in the diet. This problem occurs mainly in children and young women. Children who drink too much milk and not eat foods rich in iron, and young women who follow diets that are “fashionable” are at risk for iron deficiency.
* Growth spurts. Children under three years are growing so fast that their bodies have difficulty maintaining the appropriate level of iron they need.
* Pregnancy. Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding need 2.5 times more iron than men. That is the reason why pregnant women are tests to determine if they are anemic and why they have to eat more foods rich in iron or taking iron tablets daily. Read the rest of this entry »

What is anemia? Anemia occurs when blood does not have enough hemoglobin, a protein inside red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. A common cause of anemia is not having enough iron.

What are the symptoms?

The issues presented by the absence of hemoglobin in the body is often no warning symptoms that tell us the presence of this problem. Symptoms may include paleness, tiredness, unusual feeling of shortness of breath or fast heartbeat.

But what can cause low iron levels? A number of things can cause your iron levels to drop. For example, lack of iron in the diet, a problem that occurs mainly in children and young women; phases of accelerated growth, as in the case of children under three years to grow so fast that their bodies have difficulty maintaining the amount of iron they need.

Another case is that of women who are pregnant or nursing. They require 2.5 times more iron than men. This is the reason why pregnant women are tests to determine if they are anemic. If pregnant, you have to eat more foods rich in iron or taking iron tablets daily.

And finally, the decline in iron can also be caused by blood loss. This is a common cause of anemia in adults. Heavy periods can cause anemia. Blood loss can also be caused by internal bleeding, usually in the digestive tract.

Iron deficiency anemia is due to inadequate intake of iron is most common in our environment. A poor or monotonous food can help or through ignorance or lack of economic resources, a habitual low in iron.

The main treatment of iron deficiency anemia is oral administration of iron. The amount absorbed is not linearly related to the amount consumed.

Furthermore, the emergence of side effects (nausea, constipation or diarrhea?) With iron preparations limit the number manageable. Treatment should continue for several months to replenish the body.

Dietary therapy is complementary to drug treatment and is intended to be included in the daily diet foods rich in easily absorbed iron and other foods, their nutritional composition that favor iron absorption both contributed through food as pharmacologically administered iron .

Through food, absorption depends on the chemical form in which minerals are found in food. Thus, the iron content in foods of animal origin (meat, liver, fish and egg yolk) and heme iron is better absorbed than nonheme provided by plants (or enriched grains, legumes, vegetables) .

There are nutrients that promote the absorption of iron from foods such as vitamin C and proteins, among others. Similarly, there are substances present in greater amounts in certain foods that interfere with iron absorption (oxalic acid, tannins, phytates?), And that should be taken into account when planning the food.

What is iron deficiency anemia?

The main cause in the development and occurrence of iron deficiency anemia is a decrease in organic iron stores, causing a parallel reduction in the number of red blood cells.

The human body contains about 4 g of iron of which the majority (about 2.5 g) are attached to a protein (transferrin) to form hemoglobin.

Thus, iron is essential for the formation of hemoglobin. In the liver, spleen and bone marrow is stored as ferritin is the iron in the body.

Every day, an adult loses about 1 mg of iron through the skin, mucous, feces and urine. Fertile women have higher losses through menstruation.

During pregnancy there is a degree of anemia caused by an increase in demand for iron by the fetus accompanied by an increased volume of circulating blood.

In adults the most common cause is usually chronic blood loss or decrease in the absorption of this mineral from diseases affecting the duodenum, part of the intestine near the stomach that produces the absorption of iron (ulcers, inflammatory bowel disease , hemorroidesl?).

Children often have this type of anemia during periods of rapid growth and development by increased requirements due to the constant growth of tissues.

Anemia is characterized by a decrease in hemoglobin concentration or the capacity to carry oxygen in the blood. Hemoglobin is the molecule that transports oxygen from the lungs to all body cells.

Hemoglobin deficiency may be due to a decreased number of red blood cells, also called red blood cell, blood volume or a reduction of hemoglobin content within them.

Red blood cells live approximately 100 days and is in the bone marrow where they are constantly producing new ones. To this end, the bone needs certain nutrients like iron, folic acid, vitamin B12 and protein among others.

Different types of anemias are classified according to their etiologic basis, ie the cause that provokes it.

The anemia caused by inadequate intake of nutrients involved in erythropoiesis are often called nutritional, although its appearance can also be related to a suboptimal use of these nutrients.

The symptoms coincide in most cases of anemia: fatigue, fatigue, weakness, irritability, pallor, anorexia or loss of appetite, nausea, diarrhea, mouth sores and hair loss, etc. The onset is usually insidious.

The skin, mucous membranes and nails are pale by the decrease of circulating hemoglobin. If anemia is long standing can be found atrophy of the taste buds of the tongue and other changes more pronounced.