Quite often, when contacting a doctor, a blood test for hemoglobin is performed. What is this and what does the body need, not everyone imagines. But in fact, many diseases, even elementary fatigue and a bad mood can be associated with a lack of hemoglobin in the blood. When doing tests, many do not realize how important its level is for health. It is necessary to notice its deficiency in time and take measures to adjust its content in the blood. This is especially necessary for children and pregnant women.
What is hemoglobin?
It is a complex blood protein. It is contained in red blood cells - red blood cells. Hemoglobin contains an iron ion surrounded by a globin protein.
This education performs many important functions in the body:
- binds oxygen and transfers it from the lungs to all tissues and organs;
- transfers carbon dioxide to the lungs;
- normalizes the acid-base balance of the blood.
Oxygen is an essential element that is necessary for the existence of every cell. And without the help of hemoglobin, he can not get to them from the lungs. Even the slightest decrease in its level affects the life of the body. Therefore, it is so important to know what hemoglobin is, what is needed for its formation and how to maintain a sufficient level in the blood.
Deviations from the norm
It is the presence of hemoglobin that explains the red color of the blood. Its level depends on the age and gender of the person and is measured in grams per liter. On average, it is considered normal when the hemoglobin in the blood is contained in an amount of 110 to 170 g / l. But there are deviations:
- If a person has hemoglobin below normal, anemia develops. This disease affects the condition of the whole organism and in severe cases is very dangerous, especially for children and pregnant women.
- The level of hemoglobin above the norm can be both in healthy people and in certain diseases.
Hemoglobin forms
During the life of a person, this protein undergoes some changes. And even if you know what hemoglobin is, it is difficult for an ordinary person to understand its various forms. True, such deviations from the norm are not common. In addition to the usual molecule, which is associated with red blood cells, primary hemoglobin, which is formed in newborns and disappears by the year, may be present in the blood of an adult. This may be evidence of various diseases. There is also glycated hemoglobin. What it is is known to patients with diabetes, because such a form is formed precisely with this disease. This combination of a hemoglobin molecule with glucose indicates a violation of carbohydrate metabolism and shows whether diabetes treatment is effective. Therefore, all diabetics should regularly donate blood for glycated hemoglobin. What is it and what is it for, the doctor explains to them. Sometimes hemoglobin is not in red blood cells, but in blood plasma. This disease is called hemoglobinemia and is caused by serious health problems. It is quite dangerous, since hemoglobin in a free state becomes toxic to humans. This can occur with hemolytic anemia, poisoning or transfusion of incompatible blood.
Increased hemoglobin
This condition is not considered a separate disease and is quite rare.
Usually,
hemoglobin in the blood rises with strong physical exertion, among smokers and people living in the mountains. A short-term increase can be in a person in the morning or in pregnant women. In these cases, the hemoglobin level does not affect well-being. But sometimes its increase can indicate the presence of serious diseases:
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease;
- heart failure;
- severe dehydration;
- cancerous tumors.
In severe cases, this condition leads to impaired blood circulation and blood coagulation, varicose veins and bleeding. A person may increase pressure, blush skin. But artificially lowering hemoglobin is not worth it: when getting rid of the diseases that lead to this, he himself comes back to normal. The only thing you need to follow the diet, excluding from the diet all fatty foods and limiting animal proteins.
What threatens anemia
This is a disease in which hemoglobin is lower than normal in human blood. Anemia can be caused by large blood loss, malnutrition, cancerous tumors, intestinal dysbiosis, or helminthic invasions. In all these conditions, there is either a violation of the absorption of iron, or a low level of red blood cells, and, accordingly, hemoglobin. If this happens, then not all body cells begin to receive oxygen. They experience oxygen starvation and gradually die. First of all, the brain suffers from this and immunity decreases. Therefore, anemia is very dangerous for children, as their development slows down and they become susceptible to various infections.
Symptoms of low hemoglobin
- headaches, weakness, even fainting;
- drowsiness and other sleep disorders;
- lowering blood pressure;
- heart palpitations or heart failure;
- appetite disorders, up to the appearance of anorexia;
- fragility and change in the structure of nails;
- dryness and pallor of the skin and various skin diseases;
- hair loss, their fragility and the appearance of dandruff;
- mucosal disease, the appearance of ulcers;
- violation of reproductive functions.
What increases hemoglobin
Many believe that patients with anemia need to consume more foods rich in iron. But the main thing is not the quantity of this substance, but the quality of its absorption. For example, there are foods rich in iron, but completely useless to raise hemoglobin levels, because it is absorbed only under certain conditions. These are sea kale, buckwheat, blueberries, apples, spinach and others. Iron is best absorbed from animal products: red meat, liver, egg yolks and oily fish.
Some vegetables and fruits can also serve as its source, but they need to be eaten better in raw or minimally processed form. What improves hemoglobin better? The most useful in this regard are beets, honey, legumes, dried fruits, wheat bran, nuts and chocolate. But in some cases, the iron contained in these products is not absorbed, so hemoglobin does not form. Coffee and tea, oxalic acids and dairy products interfere with its absorption. In addition, low hemoglobin levels may be due to a lack of vitamin A or folic acid.
Why hemoglobin analysis is needed
Doctors recommend that even healthy people donate blood every year. Thus, it is possible to recognize a developing disease in time.
And the hemoglobin level is very important in this regard. It indicates a lack of certain vitamins or minerals, the development of tumors or bowel obstruction. And the onset of diabetes can be determined by the amount of glycated hemoglobin. Having received the results of blood tests, not every person will be able to understand their meaning. Doctors do not consider it necessary to explain this to patients. But it’s pretty easy to understand what hemoglobin is in a blood test. If you know what a person should be like at this age, you can understand whether his level is elevated or lowered. And then it will become clear why the malaise appears.