Anaemia derived from the secondary effects of chronic disease will result from a chronic digestive or renal problem, etc. Hemolytic anaemia results from an immune disorder that has generated cells similar to red blood cells competing with them.
In this competition, legitimate blood cells become insufficient because these cells act by destroying them or supplanting their function. This type of anaemia can come with non-compatible blood transfusions, injection of toxic substances, etc. Hence the importance of transfusion safety.
Bone marrow aplasia (alteration in the synthesis and maturation of hematopoietic precursors, with the consequent pancytopenia: anaemia, leukopenia and thrombocytopenia) is a bone marrow problem that causes an alteration in the formation of red blood cells, which are immature and whose function is impaired. Altered.
Megaloblastic anaemia
Megaloblastic anaemia is caused by a lack of one or two elements forming red blood cells: folic acid and vitamin B12. As in the previous case, the lack of these elements is typically caused by a lack of food that the affected person usually consumes.
The leading and most frequent causes of megaloblastic anaemias are pernicious anaemia, malnutrition and malnutrition, chronic alcoholism, an unbalanced diet, the effects on pregnant and lactating people, neoplasms and some drugs (chemotherapy) as secondary effects.
VARIOUS TREATMENTS
Since anaemia can be the product of many different diseases, its treatment will depend on the cause that produces it. For example, in cases where sudden anaemia can be life-threatening, an urgent replacement will be necessary through transfusions of packed red blood cells.
Anemias due to iron, vitamin B12 or folic acid deficiency are treated through the contribution of these principles. Anemias secondary to chronic inflammatory diseases improves with the treatment of the causative disease so that in these cases, no specific treatment will be necessary.
In recent years, growth factors such as erythropoietin have made it possible to treat many forms of anaemia with significant efficacy.
Folic acid deficiency causes megaloblastic anaemia, and suffering from this type of anaemia can cause symptoms such as fatigue, irritability, depression, insomnia and constipation.
Folic acid supplements – always by the doctor – can solve problems such as megaloblastic anaemia or increased requirements during pregnancy, malnutrition, intestinal diseases, severe liver disorders, alcoholism, gastrectomy or dialysis patients.
Anaemia occurs due to vitamin C deficiency when it is a severe and very prolonged deficiency. The consequence of this anaemia is that the bone marrow produces small red blood cells. It is diagnosed by measuring vitamin C in white blood cells and is treated with this vitamin supplement.
USE THE IRON
Infections, inflammations and cancer prevent the production of red blood cells because the iron stored in the marrow cannot be used by the growing red blood cells.
Anaemia generated from problems of these characteristics is called iron reuse anaemia.
In the elderly, chronic diseases can cause anaemia. All infections and inflammatory diseases (arthritis, tendonitis) inhibit the production of red blood cells in the bone marrow, which decreases the red blood cells in the blood, also causing anaemia.
The more serious the causative disease, the more serious the anaemia. However, this is true in acute diseases, not so much in anaemias caused by a chronic illness that is not usually very serious, according to the specialists who analyse these anaemias, called secondary.
These anaemias are slow and generally mild. However, they do not usually produce symptoms, which, if they manifest, are usually from the precursor disease. In the diagnostic process, doctors will first try to exclude other causes of anaemia, such as bleeding or iron deficiency, before attributing it to the disease.
In these cases, iron supplements or vitamins do not work. However, in the rare cases where the anaemia becomes severe, transfusions or injections of a hormone that stimulates the bone marrow to produce red blood cells, called erythropoietin, may be helpful as a therapeutic measure.
NEW RED CELLS
Red blood cells live 120 days. After that period, the bone marrow, spleen and liver remove them.
When the destruction of red blood cells enhances their production level, hemolytic anaemia occurs. This anaemia is less common than anaemias caused by blood loss or decreased red blood cell production. However, the destruction increases when certain factors appear.
The spleen can become enlarged, some obstacles in the blood flow can rupture the cells, and specific antibodies can combine with the red blood cells and cause the immune system to destroy them in an autoimmune reaction.
Sometimes red blood cells are destroyed due to abnormalities in their shape. For example, the destruction of red blood cells can occur in disorders such as systemic lupus erythematosus and certain cancers, particularly lymphomas. In addition, several drugs, such as methyldopa, dapsone and sulfonamides, can also destroy red blood cells experts say about the causes.
The hemolysis may be sudden and severe, and a crisis is generated. Symptoms include chills, fever, back and stomach pain, mild headaches, and blood pressure drops.
Jaundice and dark urine can be caused by the contents of damaged blood cells getting into the blood.
spleen and kidneys
In these cases, the spleen becomes enlarged since it has to adapt to its mission of removing damaged red blood cells.
This enlargement can produce abdominal pain as a symptom. Prolonged hemolysis can lead to the appearance of pigmented gallstones, a rare type of gallstone.
Anaemia caused by an enlarged spleen usually develops slowly, and symptoms are mild. An enlarged spleen can also cause a decrease in the number of platelets and white blood cells. The treatment seeks to downplay what has caused the enlargement of the spleen, which is only exceptionally removed.
Red blood cells can also be damaged by vessel abnormalities, such as aneurysms, an artificial heart valve, or extremely high blood pressure. Thus, normal red blood cells can break, causing their content to leak into the blood.
The kidneys will filter these substances out of the blood but they can also be damaged.
In the presence of many damaged red blood cells, microangiopathic hemolytic anaemia would occur. In addition, fragments of damaged red blood cells can be seen under a microscope.
All this accumulation of data allows the patient to reach various conclusions. Perhaps the first of these would be that the word anaemia should not be played with.
The second conclusion is the necessity that it is worth getting upset and bothering the doctor in the face of any of these symptoms. This will lead to a quick recovery or detect a fundamental problem.
