It will not be for anyone to discover that blood plays a very large role in a person’s life, but despite this, few people know what exactly it consists of. The blood contains the following components:
- plasma;
- red blood cells;
- leukocytes.
Red blood cells play a very important role, they transport oxygen to the cells. White blood cells, in turn, are responsible for protecting the body from the influence of harmful microorganisms. The composition of red blood cells is hemoglobin.
What is hemoglobin?
Hemoglobin is an iron protein. The structure of hemoglobin includes a special iron ion. Due to the interaction of this ion with oxygen, our blood becomes red.
Transported through the blood vessels through the respiratory tract, iron combines with oxygen and supplies it to all parts of our body. When hemoglobin moves back, it takes carbon dioxide and transports it, passing through the veins located in the respiratory tract.
Indicators of normal hemoglobin levels
There is a definition of the norm of hemoglobin in the blood, even on which you can judge the low or high content.
The norm is:
- for men 130 - 160 units;
- for women, 120 - 150 units;
- for women during pregnancy 110 - 115 units.
The amount of hemoglobin is determined by taking a complete blood count.
Low hemoglobin in women, men and children
What are the causes of low hemoglobin? In both women and men, when the level of hemoglobin decreases, there are almost the same symptoms, but the effects can be completely different.
It is known that at low rates of red cells in men there is a decrease in the level of potency. If you do not provide the right treatment in a timely manner, then in the future this can lead to impotence.
The fair sex can notice a decrease in hemoglobin by the fact that the menstrual cycle is disturbed. Initially, there are small delays and failures, but in the future this may lead to the fact that menstruation stops altogether.
The reason for this may be blood loss. This happens in the case when a woman’s body has diseases such as uterine fibroids, as well as an ovarian cyst. For those and other neoplasms, blood filling is characteristic.
This blood is very slowly and weakly absorbed. This leads to the fact that hemoglobin can not fully perform its basic functions, because it is converted into a completely different compound.
Reduction of hemoglobin in children, as a rule, occurs because the place of certain pathologies, as well as a shortage of essential foodstuffs, which have the necessary supply of vitamins and minerals.
In the case when the reduction level reaches a critical scale, the child may need blood transfusion, since otherwise there is no other way out. Reduced hemoglobin is typical for those children who are very active.
Low hemoglobin in pregnancy: causes and effects for the baby
Low hemoglobin is a direct danger not only for the health of the pregnant woman, but also for her child.
It is possible to identify the main reasons for which the hemoglobin index in the blood is significantly reduced:
- In the process of pregnancy, the woman’s body gives most of its reserves to the child. Due to the fact that the baby is very important to fully develop, he takes all the necessary vitamins from the mother. This, in turn, leads to the fact that the pregnant woman significantly reduces the supply of calcium, folic acid and zinc.
- A sharp decrease in hemoglobin occurs in the case of bleeding. If the risk of miscarriage arises, then anemia results. In this situation, a pregnant woman needs to very carefully monitor her health, that is, to eat right and stick to bed rest. In some cases, experts recommend visiting special oxygen chambers.
- If a pregnant woman has a multiple pregnancy, this feature almost always entails a sharp decrease in hemoglobin level. Doctors attribute this to the fact that red bodies are present in the blood in a very large amount, while their number does not fully correspond to the volume.
- When there is too little time between the first and second pregnancies, then a second pregnancy causes tremendous stress in the body. Experts recommend taking a break between pregnancies in 3 - 4 years. It is during this period of time the body has time to fully recover. But this happens under the condition of proper lifestyle and good nutrition.
- Protracted toxicosis.
- Large loads that the body experiences in the second half of pregnancy also negatively affect hemoglobin.
Lack of oxygen in the blood leads to the fact that the baby can not saturate your body with vitamins. In addition, it can lead to oxygen starvation of the fetus. Oxygen practically does not enter the baby’s brain and this can lead to very serious consequences.
Symptoms of low hemoglobin
As soon as the hemoglobin level decreases below the established norm, characteristic symptoms appear. These symptoms can be divided into two categories, namely:
- subjective;
- objective.
Subjective symptoms include:
- feeling of weakness in the whole body;
- there is drowsiness in the daytime, and no sleep at night;
- it is difficult to wake up in the morning;
- increased level of fatigue;
- noise in ears;
- regular headaches;
- persistent dizziness;
- fainting;
- violation of the menstrual cycle;
- reduced potency;
- partial or complete lack of appetite.
All of these symptoms suggest that the tissues do not receive the right amount of oxygen, and the pH level is disturbed.
Also separately should be allocated indirect signs of iron deficiency:
- Poor condition of the nail plates. They become very thin, constantly stratified and broken. On the surface of the nail plates are formed spots very similar to the fungus.
- Hair problems. Hair begin to split very strongly, become dull and lifeless. Their growth almost completely stops and there is a strong loss.
- Disturbance of taste buds. A person has a rather strong desire to eat not quite familiar products, more precisely, not quite edible. It can be chalk or sand. Those smells that were previously perceived extremely negatively, are now beginning to be very much liked.
- The skin becomes pale and very dry.
- In the area of the foot tingling is often felt.
- There are bouts of seizures.
- There is a slight increase in body temperature.
The category of objective symptoms include:
- lowering blood pressure;
- the heart works with a characteristic noise.
In the first stages, when the hemoglobin index decreases in the body.
A person may not feel all the symptoms, but only some, such as fatigue or a slight weakness in the body.
Therefore, in order to detect the wounded changes in the hemoglobin index, it is necessary to donate blood for a general analysis.
Drugs and folk remedies to restore hemoglobin and iron levels
Now let's talk about how to fill the level of iron and increase hemoglobin. The following drugs are prescribed as essential drugs:
- Vitamin B12;
- Fenulas;
- Folic acid;
- Totem;
- Sorbifer durules;
- Ferretab composite.
To fight for a normal level of hemoglobin to be effective, separate attention should be paid to your diet. In the case when exactly the food is the main reason for the decrease in the level of iron and hemoglobin in the body, then everything can be easily corrected, literally within a few weeks.
If there is a shortage of iron in the body, then you should include those foods that contain it in your diet. In fact, the list of such products is not large. You can select the main products, namely:
- liver;
- buckwheat;
- Garnet;
- red meat;
- prunes;
- dog rose;
- plums.
In addition, the diet should necessarily include seafood, a wide variety of nuts, dishes with potatoes, where potatoes are cooked right in the skin, wheat bran. Great benefits are brewer's yeast, cranberries, and raspberries.
If possible, you should regularly use a mixture of carrot-based juices and beets. This mix is taken only once a day in an amount of 100 ml. But at the same time the juice should be as fresh as possible. Since its preparation should take no more than 1 hour. In addition, he needs time to insist.
It is very important to note that during the recovery period of the hemoglobin and iron levels in the body, it is necessary to use foods that contain calcium very carefully. The fact is that calcium significantly slows down the process of iron absorption. The amount of folic acid can be replenished with:
- sour dairy products;
- citrus fruits;
- melons, and also watermelons;
- leek leek;
- green peas;
- bananas;
- grapes.
If you correctly create your menu and use the above products in a reasonable amount, then this will result in the synthesis of folic acid in the intestinal microflora, which in turn will provide an opportunity to replenish hemoglobin reserves to the desired level.
Those people who have a marked decrease in hemoglobin level, you need to drink less coffee, as well as strong tea. It is also recommended to give up bad habits.
Blood transfusion with low hemoglobin: is it necessary?
In the case when anemia is observed in a person for a long time, and the disease itself is in a severe course, a person can only normalize hemoglobin by such a complicated procedure as blood transfusion.
This procedure involves the transfusion of good blood from the donor, that is, a healthy person to the patient.
It is important to note that such a procedure can have negative consequences, namely:
- pain in the whole body;
- the appearance of rashes on the surface of the skin;
- lower blood pressure;
- fever;
- vomiting and swelling;
- heartbeat failure.
Treatment and prevention of IDA with a lack of hemoglobin
Before proceeding to the normalization of hemoglobin and iron in the body, it is necessary to first eliminate the main reason for the decrease in performance.
In that case, when micro-bleeding occurs frequently or the following may be necessary:
- elimination of hemorrhoidal formations;
- Correction procedure occurring bleeding in the uterus;
- surgery to remove fibroids;
- therapeutic treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
Pathogenetic methods of normalizing hemoglobin levels can be distinguished. Such methods include the appointment of drugs, which include iron, as well as vitamins of group B.
The doctor individually for each patient determines the dose, which fully has a healing effect, but this dose cannot replenish reserves in excess, since this in turn threatens with the appearance of intolerance.
Drugs in the form of injections are most often prescribed in the case when a person is in a hospital setting. This makes it possible to prevent the development of allergic reactions in connection with the use of iron-containing drugs. In some cases, specialists provide contraceptive therapy of chronic iron deficiency anemia. This applies to the following situations:
- severe bleeding during the menstrual cycle;
- uterine bleeding;
- severe inflammation of hemorrhoids;
- diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
And another interesting and informative video from Dr. Komarovsky about low hemoglobin.
