Very often, with complaints of ill health or during a routine examination, the attending physician prescribes tests to check the level of hemoglobin in the blood. However, not everyone has an idea of what kind of protein it is, what role it plays in the human body, and what to do if hemoglobin is low.
What is hemoglobin and its norm in the body?
Hemoglobin is an iron-based protein whose main goal is to combine with oxygen and carry it throughout the body. Moving in the opposite direction, it collects carbon dioxide and carries it to the lungs through the blood vessels, and is already released through them. Before you think about what to do if hemoglobin is low, you need to know the norm of the indicator in the blood.
There is an indicator of the norm of hemoglobin, in which the body functions normally:
- for men, the normal level of hemoglobin in the blood is from 130 to 170 g / l;
- for women from 120 to 150 g / l;
- for pregnant women and women during breastfeeding 120-140g / l;
- for infants up to 3 months 160-240 g / l;
- 3-12 months - hemoglobin is significantly reduced and the level of 100-150 g / l is considered the norm;
- from the first year of life, depending on the gender of the child, approximate or the same indicators as an adult are considered the norm.
Causes of Anemia
If we talk about the causes of anemia in infants, it is important to emphasize that infants are practically not able to make up for iron-containing protein. With intrauterine development, the baby's body accumulates hemoglobin, which completely explains its high rate at birth, it is more than enough in the first months of life. However, later its level drops sharply due to physiological factors.
If this indicator is below the permissible norm, most likely this is due to:
- lack of nutrition;
- congenital anemia;
- various neoplasms;
- bone marrow disease;
- blood loss;
- lack of vitamin B;
- childhood rickets.
If the indicator is significantly higher than normal, this may indicate a congenital heart defect in the child. Sometimes, if surgical intervention is necessary, parents ask if surgery can be performed with low hemoglobin. Doctors usually recommend a recovery course if the procedure can be postponed.
The cause of anemia in adults is most often iron deficiency in the body. Perhaps this is due to:
- inadequate intake of iron products;
- postoperative period;
- blood loss during menstruation or another nature;
- all sorts of diets;
- lack of vitamin B12;
- intestinal dysbiosis;
- various diseases, including blood diseases.
Symptomatology
The main external manifestations of anemia:
- pallor;
- unhealthy tired look;
- weakness, drowsiness;
- fast fatiguability;
- poor appetite.
At low hemoglobin, they don’t have surgery, because the intervention is stress for the body, which will have complications.
Frequent symptoms include dizziness, including loss of consciousness, low blood pressure, depression, headaches, and palpitations. Cold hands and feet, susceptibility to viral and infectious diseases, as well as muscle pain, often indicate iron deficiency in the blood.
Anemia in children
Anemia is most often observed in babies in the first years of life, at different stages of development can be a rather dangerous disease. In a mild form, the disease is almost always observed in small infants, in more severe cases it requires immediate medical intervention. Therefore, it is important for parents to know what to do with low hemoglobin in the child.
Not infrequently, the cause of anemia is explained by the intensive development and growth of the child. It is much more difficult for young children to provide foods with healthy iron. Therefore, experts advise to introduce complementary foods on time, feed them with mixtures of iron, amino acids and vitamin B12.
Anemia in children is classified into three groups
- Anemia due to major blood loss.
- Iron deficiency and hereditary anemia.
- Hemolytic anemia, the result of which is an increased process of hemorrhage in comparison with the blood-forming process.
Pregnant Anemia
What to do with low hemoglobin during pregnancy, and what causes the condition? In 9 out of 10 cases, anemia in pregnant women occurs against a background of iron deficiency, which is fraught with complications during the bearing of a child and childbirth. If treatment is not started in time, the consequences of the disease can affect the fetus.
During pregnancy, the daily iron norm doubles, if the body does not receive it with food or vitamins, then it expends its own reserves. During the period of carrying and feeding a child, a woman loses about 900 mg of accumulated iron, with a balanced diet, it is replenished within 3.5-5 years. For this reason, during repeated pregnancies earlier than this period, women lack iron.
Consequences of anemia
Depending on the degree of the disease, the effects of anemia appear as follows:
- In children with mild anemia, pallor and dryness of the skin are observed, the hair becomes dull. In more severe forms, cracks appear on the palms and heels, academic performance is reduced, the child is easily susceptible to infectious and colds. In infants, frequent vomiting, anxiety, and poor appetite are possible. Parents must know these symptoms and decide in time what to do with low hemoglobin in the child. The consequences of prolonged anemia can be a lag both in mental and physical development, in addition, with a high probability an exacerbation of chronic diseases is possible.
- In pregnant women, the consequences of anemia can be a difficult or premature birth, an unfavorable course of pregnancy, inhibition in the development of the fetus, preeclampsia, the threat of miscarriage, inflammatory processes, congenital anemia in a child.
- In an adult, anemia is reflected in the appearance and general well-being. The consequences of anemia are manifested in a depressed and depressed state, fatigue, irritability. As external signs - unnatural hair loss, dry skin, brittle nails, cracks in the corners of the mouth.
The effect of walking and regular nutrition on the body
Lack of a normal diet, an unbalanced diet, fast bites and frequent junk food leads to anemia. What if low hemoglobin? Drinking high iron foods from time to time will not fix the situation. It is important to eat right and wholesome daily.
Regular walks help fill the deficiency and saturate the body with oxygen. It is not necessary to walk for a long time and a lot, every day one evening walk after dinner is enough or to go a couple of stops before work and walk. After a couple of weeks, the work of the cardiovascular system will noticeably improve, overall health will normalize, in addition, this is one of the best ways to prevent anemia.
Drug treatment
Mild forms of anemia are successfully treated with special diets that make up for iron deficiency; in case of serious diseases, the doctor prescribes medication.
If a person is in the postoperative period or is waiting for an intervention, then he is wondering if it is possible to perform an operation with low hemoglobin. Usually, doctors recommend normalizing blood parameters, and only then proceed with subsequent treatment.
The most widely used drugs are Actiferrin, Maltofer, Totem, Ferlatum, Heferol, Sorbifer, Ferumlek. These medicines are available in liquid form, in tablets or injections.
Do not self-medicate, especially for pregnant women. Each individual drug and dosage are selected strictly individually.
When taking a drug with iron content, the following points should be considered:
- As a rule, medicines with a high content of iron are taken in the evening, before eating;
- avoid taking medications that interfere with the absorption of iron, for example, “Levomycetin” or “Tetracycline”;
- Better absorption of iron contributes to: ascorbic acid, B vitamins, sorbent, vitamin A and E;
- the course of treatment should last at least 1.5 months.
Hemoglobin Leveling Products
What to do if hemoglobin is low and can it be raised with food?
You can make up for iron deficiency by adding foods high in this element to your daily diet:
- low-fat meat products: pork, lamb, beef liver, tongue, heart, chicken;
- seafood, including red fish and caviar;
- vegetables: beets, carrots;
- fruits: persimmon, apples, dried apricots, pomegranate;
- cereals and beans: buckwheat, bran, lentils, beans;
- berries: blackcurrant, strawberries, blueberries, cherries, gooseberries;
- Nuts: peanuts, pine nuts and walnuts.
Regular use of these products is a prophylaxis of anemia.
Diet and restrictions during treatment
Can I get vaccinated with low hemoglobin? Doctors say that it is undesirable (although this is not considered a contraindication), since the immune system decreases from vaccinations. First you need to cure anemia.
As a treatment for a patient with anemia, a special diet can be recommended that helps to recover and restore the normal level of the indicator.
Diet includes:
- Freshly squeezed juices from pomegranate, apples, carrots and beets with the addition of parsley or dill.
- Compotes and fruit drinks from dried fruits and berries.
- Salads of fresh vegetables, spinach with crushed nuts.
- Side dishes of steamed vegetables: cauliflower, potatoes, mushrooms.
- Buckwheat and millet porridge.
- With such a diet, the first and second dishes of meat are indispensable: beef, pork, turkey, rabbit meat and lamb.
- Significantly saturate the body with iron beef and pork liver.
One of the best recipes for raising hemoglobin is a mixture of dried fruits, honey and walnuts. For cooking, you will need raisins, dried apricots, nuts and honey in equal proportions. Grind the ingredients through a meat grinder and pour honey, the resulting mixture is eaten in 1 tbsp. l., three times a day before meals.
During the diet, you should avoid or minimize the consumption of certain foods:
- strong coffee and tea, as they wash out iron from the body;
- dairy products and cereals interfere with the normal absorption of iron, so they should be consumed at different times with iron-containing products.
Vaccinations and operations for anemia
If the indicators of the general blood test are not normal, then parents are worried whether they are vaccinated with low hemoglobin. Mild anemia is not a contraindication for vaccinations, the reason for the medical withdrawal from vaccination can only be a severe form of the disease.
Do operations with low hemoglobin? Before any operation, the patient must be tested, mainly to establish the level of all indicators in the blood and urine, as well as to determine the condition of internal organs. Surgery is a serious stress for the body, the recovery process, which is partially dependent on hemoglobin, is no less significant. If its level is below the permissible norm, the attending physician will decide on the postponement of the operation and prescribe iron-containing drugs.
Numerous practice proves that in people with reduced hemoglobin, the recovery process is slower, in addition, they are more prone to postoperative complications. Patients with anemia during surgery are more at risk of bleeding, worse anesthesia.
A hemoglobin level below 100 g / l is a contraindication for surgery, surgery is possible only in emergency cases.
To avoid anemia, adults and children are advised to take preventive measures, spend more time in the fresh air, observe a diet, eat only wholesome food. It is important to remember that the disease is easier to prevent than to cure.