1. Iron-deficiency Anemia
Iron-deficiency anemia refers to a type of microcytic hypochromic anemia caused by insufficient iron stores in the body, which affects hemoglobin synthesis. It is the most common type of anemia worldwide, including in our country. The incidence rate of this condition is very high and it is almost global.
Causes: Iron is an essential trace element for blood production, and dietary iron deficiency is the main cause of anemia. Other causes include hookworm infections, gastrointestinal malabsorption, bleeding from stomach and duodenal ulcers, hemorrhoids, excessive menstrual bleeding in women, and dysfunctional uterine bleeding during puberty, all of which can lead to iron-deficiency anemia.
Symptoms: The symptoms are similar to those of nutritional anemia and can be differentiated through hair mineral testing.
Prevention and Treatment: Iron-deficiency anemia can be treated with ferrous sulfate or 5-20 ml of 10% ammonium citrate iron taken three times daily. Vitamin C (100-200 mg) should also be taken three times daily to promote iron absorption. After the anemia symptoms disappear, it is advisable to continue taking the medication for another 1-2 months to consolidate the treatment effect.
Adjuvant Therapy:
High-protein diet. Protein is the raw material for synthesizing hemoglobin; attention should be paid to dietary supplementation, consuming about 80 grams of high-quality protein foods such as animal liver, lean meat, eggs, milk, and bean products daily.
Moderate intake of fat, approximately 50 grams per day is appropriate. Excessive fat intake can reduce digestive absorption and suppress hematopoietic function.
Consuming iron-rich foods like spinach, beets, animal liver, animal blood, and hawthorn, and using iron cookware is recommended.
The diet should include vitamin-rich foods, especially B vitamins and vitamin C, which have good effects on preventing and treating anemia.
Correct unhealthy eating habits, such as picky eating or long-term vegetarianism.
2. Nutritional Anemia
Nutritional anemia mainly refers to anemia caused by severe iron deficiency, secondarily due to vitamin B2 deficiency.
Causes: Many women overly restrict their diets, avoiding meat, eggs, and milk, even reducing plant oils, and primarily consume vegetables like greens and radishes, leading to anemia over time.
Symptoms: In addition to general anemia symptoms like dizziness, tinnitus, blurred vision, fatigue, dry and falling hair, patients may also experience loss of appetite, diarrhea, mouth ulcers, and tongue inflammation.
Prevention and Treatment: The key to preventing and treating nutritional anemia is adjusting the dietary nutrition structure and eating scientifically. Breakfast should provide sufficient high-calorie quality proteins like soy milk, eggs, and milk; lunch should widely obtain various nutrients from dishes; dinner should avoid fatty and sweet foods to prevent indigestion and obesity. Foods like beets, carrots, citrus fruits, and tomatoes should be eaten more. Gastroenteritis and peptic ulcers should be actively treated to improve overall nutritional status.
3. Hemorrhagic Anemia
Hemorrhage is the most common cause of anemia, which can be acute or chronic. Chronic blood loss often leads to iron-deficiency anemia; acute blood loss due to trauma or disease causing vascular rupture or coagulation defects within a short period results in acute hemorrhagic anemia.
Causes:
Severe functional uterine bleeding;
Ectopic pregnancy, placenta previa, or childbirth-related gynecological massive bleeding;
Sexual intercourse-induced traumatic massive bleeding;
Massive hemoptysis due to bronchiectasis or lung tumors;
Esophageal varices rupture bleeding due to ulcers or liver diseases;
Massive bleeding from surgery or surgical injuries.
Symptoms: If the blood loss reaches 1500-2000 ml (about 40% of total blood volume), even if the patient was healthy before the bleeding and rests in bed afterward, they may still experience thirst, nausea, shortness of breath, extreme dizziness, or even brief loss of consciousness. Due to redistribution of blood circulation, the patient's extremities become cold, their complexion turns pale, and urine output decreases. Blood pressure, cardiac output, and central venous pressure all decrease, the pulse becomes rapid and weak, and shock symptoms gradually appear, such as restlessness, breathing difficulties, weak and rapid pulse, cold and clammy skin, nausea and vomiting, eventually leading to coma.
Prevention and Treatment: The primary treatment measures are to stop bleeding and transfuse blood based on the cause of bleeding, then treat the underlying disease. Important treatments include rapidly infusing whole blood, plasma, dextran, and normal saline to replenish blood volume and rescue from shock. Patients with a history of chronic bleeding or originally low iron stores, even depleted, should begin oral iron supplements 1-2 months after the bleeding stops to promote red blood cell production and replenish iron stores.
Adjuvant Therapy: After the acute phase, a high-protein, vitamin-rich, and trace element-rich diet should be provided early.
4. Aplastic Anemia
Aplastic anemia is caused by reduced or failed bone marrow hematopoietic function.
Causes: It is related to exposure to certain harmful substances and use of certain medications, such as benzene, arsenic, sulfonamides, chloramphenicol drugs, and radiation. Organic lesions like tuberculosis, liver and kidney diseases, leukemia, etc., often concurrently cause aplastic anemia.
Symptoms: In addition to general anemia symptoms, these patients often exhibit subcutaneous or mucosal bleeding, chills, and fever. Prevention and Treatment: Generally, Chinese herbal medicine and testosterone are used to treat aplastic anemia, and adrenal corticosteroids and blood transfusions can also be administered. If the treatment effect is poor, drugs like nandrolone phenylpropionate, lithium carbonate, cobalt oxide, etc., can be used to stimulate hematopoiesis, which has some effect on some patients. If still ineffective, splenectomy can be considered, followed by continued conservative treatment postoperatively. To prevent aplastic anemia, regular physical examinations should be conducted, any changes in condition should be addressed promptly by a doctor, antibiotics should not be abused, and chronic diseases like liver and kidney diseases and tuberculosis should be treated timely.
5. Physiological Anemia
Anemia caused by increased blood volume in normal human bodies leading to blood dilution is called physiological anemia.
Causes: Physiological anemia is most commonly seen in pregnant women. This is because during pregnancy, to meet the needs of the fetus, the mother's blood volume increases by about 35% compared to normal conditions. Plasma increases relatively more than red blood cells, with plasma increasing by about 1000 ml and red blood cells by about 500 ml, causing blood dilution.
Symptoms: Palpitations, shortness of breath, difficulty concentrating, and abdominal distension, severe cases may develop heart failure. Pregnant women with anemia are also prone to a condition called gestational hypertension syndrome, and may experience prolonged labor and postpartum bleeding during childbirth.
Prevention and Treatment: Physiological anemia is mainly improved through food.
Ensure adequate caloric intake. Only when there is sufficient energy can various nutrients, including iron, be fully absorbed and utilized.
Eat enough animal-based foods. Animal-based foods contain more iron and high-quality protein. When choosing foods, we should not only look at their iron content but also understand the iron absorption rate. Animal-based foods contain heme iron, whose absorption rate is much higher than non-heme iron in plant-based foods, with an absorption rate of around 20%, approximately ten times that of non-heme iron in plant-based foods. Moreover, oxalic acid, phytic acid, phosphate, and large amounts of dietary fiber in plant-based foods also affect iron absorption. Therefore, despite the high iron content in black fungus and spinach, it is not as easily absorbed as the iron in lean meat and liver.
Choose foods rich in vitamin C, such as fresh vegetables and fruits, as vitamin C promotes iron absorption. Animal offal like liver, kidney, and heart should be consumed weekly. Regular consumption of blood products like pig's blood, chicken's blood, and duck's blood is recommended, paying attention to hygiene.
6. Hemolytic Anemia
Hemolytic anemia refers to a category of anemia where red blood cell destruction accelerates and bone marrow hematopoietic function compensation is insufficient.
Causes: Based on the reason for shortened red blood cell lifespan, hemolytic anemia can be divided into hemolytic anemia caused by intrinsic red blood cell defects and hemolytic anemia caused by extrinsic red blood cell defects. Causes: ① Red blood cell membrane defects; ② Hemoglobin structural or production defects; ③ Red blood cell enzyme defects; Hemolytic anemia caused by extrinsic red blood cell defects usually occurs later in life, where red blood cells may be damaged by chemical, mechanical, or physical factors, biological and immunological factors, leading to hemolysis. Hemolysis can occur inside or outside the blood vessels.
Symptoms: The clinical manifestations of hemolytic anemia are related to the speed, degree, and location of hemolysis.
Acute hemolysis: Onset is sudden, characterized by chills, high fever, pallor, lumbar pain, shortness of breath, weakness, irritability, and possible gastrointestinal symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
Chronic hemolysis: Onset is slower, with general anemia symptoms such as fatigue, pallor, shortness of breath, and dizziness. Additionally, jaundice of varying degrees, splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, gallstones as common complications, obstructive jaundice may occur. Ulcers may form on the ankles of the lower limbs, difficult to heal, commonly seen in sickle cell anemia patients.
Prevention and Treatment:
Causal treatment: Removing the cause and trigger is extremely important. For example, in cold-type autoimmune hemolytic anemia, attention should be paid to keeping warm; individuals with favism should avoid eating broad beans and oxidative drugs; drug-induced hemolysis should immediately discontinue the drug; infection-induced hemolysis should be treated with active anti-infection therapy; secondary to other diseases, the primary disease should be actively treated.
Splenectomy: Indications for splenectomy: a) Good therapeutic effect for hereditary spherocytosis; b) Consider splenectomy when glucocorticoid treatment for autoimmune hemolytic anemia is ineffective; Other hemolytic anemias, such as pyruvate kinase deficiency, unstable hemoglobin disease, etc., can also consider splenectomy.
Blood transfusion: When necessary, it is best to transfuse only red blood cells or red blood cells washed three times with normal saline. In general, if hemolysis can be controlled, anemia can be corrected through one's own hematopoietic function.
Source: http://www.she-live.com/html/2012/jiankangzhuangkuang_0215/16617_3.html