Low hemoglobin - causes

A decreased level of hemoglobin is a condition in which the number of red blood cells (erythrocytes) decreases in the blood. Hemoglobin is an iron-containing protein present in erythrocytes, it provides binding of oxygen and its transport to tissues, and also gives blood red color.

Symptoms of a decreased level of hemoglobin

The normal level of hemoglobin for women is 120-150 g / mol, for men - 130-170 g / mole.

If, for any reason, the hemoglobin level falls below the lower limit of normal, organs and systems lose oxygen, and as a result, a number of characteristic symptoms appear.

At a low hemoglobin can be observed:

• general and muscle weakness;
• increased fatigue;
• drowsiness;
• dizziness and fainting;
• shortness of breath ;
• heart palpitations and noises in the heart;
• blanching of the skin and mucous membranes;
• lowering of temperature of extremities (arms or hand and legs or foots time freeze);
• the appearance of strange taste preferences (maybe, for example, there is chalk to draw).

What causes low hemoglobin levels?

Iron deficiency

The most common and safest cause of low hemoglobin level, as it is easily compensated by the use of certain products and the intake of iron-containing drugs.

Blood loss

Anemia caused by blood loss can be observed after wounds and injuries with heavy bleeding, acute ulcer of the stomach or intestine, chronic bleeding hemorrhoids. Another common reason why women can have low hemoglobin is the pathology of the menstrual cycle (long periods with heavy bleeding). In the case of factors acting for a limited time (operations, monthly, donor), the hemoglobin level is restored quite easily. If blood loss is provoked by diseases, then the treatment will be much more difficult and more lasting.

Pregnancy

During pregnancy, a decrease in the level of hemoglobin is observed in a fairly large number of women, since the body must provide all the necessary substances, not only the mother, but also the child. The condition is adjusted usually by selection of a correct diet, and only in severe cases it is medicamentous.

Also, lowering the level of hemoglobin in the blood is affected by:

• inflammatory diseases of the digestive tract (chronic atrophic gastritis, chronic enteritis);
• infectious diseases of the long course (hepatitis, acute inflammation of the kidneys, tuberculosis, gastroenterocolitis, etc.);
• leukemia and malignant tumors of internal organs.

Usually, the hemoglobin level decreases gradually, and the development of the disease can be stopped in the early stages. The cause of a sharp decrease and a very low level of hemoglobin most often serve either extensive bleeding, or malignant factors.

High ESR at low hemoglobin

ESR (sedimentation rate of erythrocytes or erythrocyte sedimentation reaction) - a non-specific laboratory indicator demonstrating the ratio of different fractions of plasma proteins. An increase in this indicator usually means the presence of a pathological (inflammatory) process in the body. In anemia, this indicator is sometimes used as an auxiliary in determining the cause of anemia.

If the cause of a low level of hemoglobin is a lack of iron, bleeding during menstruation or pregnancy, the ESR index rises moderately (by 20-30 mm / h). The reasons for which high ESR (more than 60) and low hemoglobin are observed, can be infectious diseases and malignant processes (cancer, leukemia).