Why is anemia dangerous?
There are several reasons why anemia shouldn’t be ignored.
Too exhausted for daily routine. Blaming yourself for being “lazy” and a constant feeling of fatigue following you from day to day? Anemia can leave no strength for work, sports or even rest.
Complications of pregnancy. If you are pregnant, keep an eye on your red blood cell count. In pregnant women, anemia can be one of the risk factors provoking premature birth.
Heart problems. When your body does not get enough oxygen, the heart begins to pump more blood so that the organs and tissues still get enough O2 for normal metabolism. Increased workload on the heart can put you fall under higher risk of having hypertension or heart disease.
Don`t put off your GP appointment. Anemia can have a dozen causes, including chronic diseases. If you don`t pay attention to anemia, then you might risk missing the disease that causes this condition – sometimes it can be quite serious and life-threatening.
What are the symptoms of anemia?
At first, you might not even notice any changes. When you are lacking little number of erythrocytes and your body is not starving for oxygen, anemia has almost no effect on well-being. But at some point, as the shortage of red blood cells increases, the symptoms of anemia appear quite clearly.
Here they are:
- constantly feeling exhausted, unwilling to do anything;
- pale or yellowish skin;
- easily occurring shortness of breath;
- dizziness, lightheadedness or feeling like you are about to pass out;
- cold, freezing hands and feet;
- rapid or irregular heartbeat;
- discomfort (anxiety-like), tight feeling in the chest.
