Anemia Symptoms Symptoms Of Anemia
The signs and symptoms of iron deficiency anemia can often be subtle and unclear, but it is the most common form of anemia. Iron is an essential mineral so if you lack it, your body cannot make enough healthy red blood cells. Those red blood cells contain hemoglobin, a protein-rich in iron that carries oxygen from your lungs to the tissues of your body.
It is a good idea to know the symptoms of iron deficiency anemia, especially when they can often take time to develop. Anemia gets worse with time and may cause different life-threatening physical and mental problems. Therefore, it is a good idea to know the symptoms of iron deficiency anemia, especially when they can often take time to develop so that it can be diagnosed early before it turns fatal.
In the early stage, the symptoms of anemia are very light, especially when you have mild or moderate anemia. Our body has a special ability to adapt and will compensate for the low level of oxygen in the blood. However, if ignored, the anemic condition advances, the body’s ability to compensate decreases, and the symptoms of anemia become more noticeable. In most of the case, anemia is diagnosed while investigating other illness, as the early signs were ignored.
20 Warning Signs And Symptoms Of Anemia You Might Not Be Aware
1. FATIGUE OR/AND WEAKNESS
Anemia Weakness
It is usually the first sign of anemia. It is common to feel tired after a long day of work or a heady session of exercise. But if you perceive that you have low energy levels, muscle weakness, or feeling unexplained fatigue, which still persists even if you rest well, then it is probably due to a deficiency of iron.
The lower level of hemoglobin leads to lower oxygen supply to the muscles and you feel a lack of energy and exhaustion. You start feeling fatigued when you do not have enough red blood cells. If you have such a complaint too, consult a doctor immediately.You have trouble doing a normal workout. Your endurance gets suffered if you have anemia and you have trouble in doing a normal workout.
2. PALENESS
Paleness Anemia
Paleness or yellowing of the eyes is one of the best ways to tell that you are anemic. You look at the mucous membrane of your eyes, it is a vascular area, and so if it is yellow, it is a true indication that you are not getting enough red blood cells in other areas of your body either. No matter your skin tone, your face, the palms of your hands, gums, inside the lips, and the lower part of your nail may also look pale. This washed-out appearance is due to decreased blood flow and reduced red blood cells.
3. SHORTNESS OF BREATH
If you notice that you often have shortness of breath, especially when during exercise, while climbing the stairs when you are lifting something, or even when you do some everyday activity this means that you may have anemia.
These are a sign that indicates your body is not getting the oxygen it needs. Hemoglobin in the red blood cells is the carrier of oxygen around the body. When you have a lower level of hemoglobin in your body due to anemia, your oxygen level will be also low. That means your muscles not getting enough oxygen to perform regular activities and you suffer from shortness in breath.
4. HEART PALPITATION OR INCREASED HEARTBEAT
This condition is affecting our heart as well. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, inadequate hemoglobin in the blood makes the heart to beat faster in order to pump more blood to get more oxygen into the cells.
This heart rate or heartbeat increases. A heart murmur or an irregular heartbeat is also common if you are anemic. Heat palpitation may be heard as pounding in-ear, especially if you are lying down on one side.
5. CHEST PAIN
Anemia Chest pain
Anemia makes the heart to overwork to meet the oxygen demand. The supply of oxygen to the cardiac muscle also is hampered and the anemic person feels chest pain or angina. An overworking heart suffers from irregular heartbeats, enlargement of cardiac muscle, and even heart attack.
In fact, one-third of all cases of Congestive Heart Failure is found to be due to anemia. According to a review of cardiomyopathy and iron deficiency in the Texas Heart Institute Journal, things get worst if you are suffering from iron deficiency anemia for a long time.
6. ANXIETY
A high-speed heart can make anyone feel anxious. If the anxiety is new to you, it has intensified or there is no other reason, it may be a sign that you are anemic. Lack of oxygen also speeds up the sympathetic nervous system and makes you feel stressed. You feel apathy towards anything and everything – work, family, or friends. You feel apathy towards anything and everything – work, family, or friends.
7. NUMBNESS
Due to lack of blood in the body, hands and feet can also become numb. One of the principal causes of anemia is vitamin B12 deficiency. Lack of viaminB12 causes nerve damage and this leads to numbness and tingling sensation in your hand and feet, loss of reflexes, and muscle weakness. Sharp pain and numbness are also observed in iron deficiency.
8. MUSCLE SORE
Muscle weakness and unexplained muscle pain or muscle ache is one of the commonest symptoms of iron deficiency anemia. If you do not have enough iron in your muscle, its ability to recover is hindered and you feel muscle soreness and inflammation. In lack of oxygen, the muscle does not get enough energy to perform properly and losses its strength and stamina.
9. HEAVY PERIODS AND IRREGULAR BLEEDING
In women, to heavy period may be a sign of iron deficiency anemia. Heavy period causes loss of too much blood and replenishes half of it, and the following again losses too much blood. The most common cause of iron-deficiency anemia in women is uterine fibrosis, especially those located inside the uterine cavity, which causes heavy, irregular, and painful bleeding. Due to which the problem of anemia or blood deficiency occurs.
10. GETTING FREQUENT INFECTION
If you often get sick, especially if you are repeatedly suffering from respiratory illness, iron deficiency might be the reason. Sufficient iron is necessary for a healthy immune system and lack of iron will cause you to catch more illnesses than usual. Our lymphatic system plays a vital role in fighting infection and your spleen is an important part of it. If the spleen and the lymph nodes are not getting enough oxygen due to anemia, they cannot produce healthy white blood cells to fight infection.
11. SWELLING AND SORENESS OF THE TONGUE AND MOUTH
People suffering from iron deficiency anemia have complained of a sore, swollen, or strangely smooth tongue. A low level of hemoglobin in the blood makes the tough look pale, where are as low myoglobin, another iron protein complex present on muscles, causes your tongue ( which is also a muscle) to become swollen, sore, and strangely smooth.
The swollen tongue may cause difficulty to chew, swallow, or even speak. Mouth ulcers or sore red cracks at the corners of the mouth, also termed as angular cheilitis, are also an indication of iron deficiency.
12. COLD HAND AND FEET
According to Iron Disorder Institute, unexplained cold hands, and feet are a common symptom of iron deficiency. If you feel a freezing sensation in your fingers and toe or if your nails turn whitish, then you have lesser hemoglobin in your blood and suffering from anemia. With anemia, there is less supply of oxygen to the hands and feet and adequate heat is not produced.
13. BRITTLE OR SPOON-SHAPED FINGERNAILS
BRITTLE OR SPOON-SHAPED FINGERNAILS ANEMIA
Nails become weak and fragile that chip and crack easily due to deficiency of iron and other nutrients. A concave or spoon-shaped depression in a nail; a condition called koilonychia, is also an indication of severe iron deficit in the body. A strong and healthy nail is a sign of proper nutrients, but if your nail becomes brittle, you are probably suffering from iron deficiency.
14. PINK OR RED URINE
People with iron deficiency may have pink or red urine, this happens because iron deficiency caused increased intestinal absorption of certain pigments. According to a study, 66 to 80 percent of cases of pink or red urine are due to untreated iron deficiency anemia. Dark urine may also cause due to hemolytic anemia when excess red blood cells are destroyed due to sickle cell disease or thalassemia.
15. UNUSUAL CRAVINGS
Strange and unhealthy cravings are observed in anemia. This usually occurs as the body lacks certain nutrients. If you notice to have a certain unusual craving for non-nutritive substances like chewing chalk, paper, ice, or dirt, then it is sure that you are lacking iron in your diet. This hankering for strange foods is also seen during pregnancy.
16. BRAIN FOG AND DIFFICULTY TO FOCUS
Your brain is the first organ to suffer from the lower level of oxygen in the body. Lack of adequate oxygen to the brain will slow cognition. If you are having trouble concentrating, remembering things, or not remembering the past, then it is not just the cause of increasing age but it can be a sign of iron deficiency. Synthesis of neurotransmitter may be altered in people with iron and vitamin B12 deficiency and this leads to difficulty to focus.
17. ANEMIA HEADACHE
Stress, headaches, and migrainesare common, but if you think you have a headache more often or you do nothing that reduces pain, see your doctor immediately. Although there are several causes of headaches, anemia could be one of them. According to the American Society of Hematology, due to anemia, not enough oxygen to reach your brain and this causes the blood vesicles in the brain to swell up, causing an increase in pressure and headache.
18. DIZZINESS OR LIGHT-HEADEDNESS ESPECIALLY AFTER STANDING
Feeling light-headedness or dizziness especially after standing may be due to anemia. When you stand up the blood pulls down by gravity and lowers the blood pressure in your head. Therefore, if you are suffering from anemia you have a lower oxygen supply, a fall in blood pressure further lowers the supply of oxygen in your brain, and you feel dizzy or light-headed. Feeling light-headedness or dizziness is a symptom of lower RBC (red blood cell) count.
19. HAIR FALL
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, 80 million men and women experience hair loss mostly due to hereditary factors, but you cannot ignore the change of being anemic. If you see more than 100 hairs in your brush or your hair are thinner, you may be anemic. Hair is a thread of protein growing from the hair follicle and the formation of this hair protein requires iron.
Thus the loss of hair may be a sign of iron deficiency. Due to iron deficiency anemia, the hair follicle gets less oxygen and cannot regenerate or grow, which makes the hair dull, damaged, and thin. Sometimes the follicles may die and hair falls. It can also be due to hormonal conditions like hypothyroidism or vitamin deficiency, so go to your doctor.
20. RESTLESS LEG SYNDROME
Restless leg syndrome is the strong urge to move your legs while you are at rest. You feel an unpleasant tingling and crawling sensation in your feet and legs. This becomes worse at night and the sufferer finds it difficult to sleep.
Though the exact cause of restless leg syndrome is not known, according to John Hopkins Medicine, 15% of the case found to have a link with iron deficiency anemia. The lower the level of iron deficiency, the syndrome becomes worst.
These 20 symptoms indicate that you have anemia. Therefore, never ignore these symptoms, rush to your doctor, and go for a blood test.
