Signs and Symptoms of Anemia

Anemia results when your body does not have enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen to your tissues. Many of the symptoms of anemia occur because organs aren’t receiving adequate oxygen.

Symptoms or signs of anemia vary from with each person, but could include:

• Fatigue or tiring easily
• Weakness
• Brittle nails
• Pale or yellow skin
• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain
• Palpitations or irregular heartbeat
• Dizziness or lightheadedness
• Cognitive difficulty
• Headache
• Leg cramps
• Insomnia
• Cold hands and feet
• Ringing in the ears (tinnitus)
• Abnormal menstruation
• Irritability or mood swings
• Sore tongue
• Decreased appetite
• Low blood pressure

Other symptoms could include:

• Loss of hair
• General sense of feeling unwell
• Sexual dysfunction
• Desire to eat ice or strange food cravings (known as pica)
• Change in stool color
• Upward curvature of the nails (koilonychias)
• Tingling sensation in hands or feet
• Minimized sense of touch
• Brown or red urine
• Severe pain in joints
• Leg ulcers
• Swelling in arms or legs
• Vague bruises
• Chronic heartburn
• Increased Sweating
• Vomiting
• With chronic anemia, the symptoms generally start out mild and the body may slowly adjust to the lower oxygen levels. This usually results in many of the symptoms going unnoticed until the anemia becomes so severe that your body can no longer compensate. In acute anemia, the anemia happens quickly and the symptoms develop rapidly and are apparent to the patient. Many of the symptoms are dependent on the kind of anemia the patient has.

   

  A sure sign of anemia is proven by a blood test. Men are considered anemic when their hemoglobin level is less than 13.5 gm/100 ml, and women are anemic with a hemoglobin level less than 12.0 gram/100 ml.

  Get more health tips and inspiration from the blog of MonaVie.