Symptoms of Anemia - written by Scott Gillespie

What is Anemia? Anemia is caused by a low amount of red blood cells. These cells carry oxygen through the blood and are vital to a cat's health. A serious and sometimes fatal condition, anemia can indicate another illness. Cats with this disorder become oxygen starved and have a decreased appetite, increased respiration and pale gums.

What about bad breath? Bad breath is a common sign of another ailment, which can include diabetes, cancer, tooth decay, or gum disease. If your cat has very bad breath, take him to the vet for a dental exam.

In this article, we will discuss symptoms of anemia.

Fatigue

Fatigue is a common symptom of people with anemia which causes less oxygen being transported to the tissues of the body because of low count of red blood cells in bloodstream.

Weakness

Since the bloodstream cannot provide enough oxygen as well as nutrition to our body tissues, it interferes with normal function of organs resulting in weakness in anemia patients.

Shortness of breath

Since there are never enough oxygen in the bloodstream, it causes the reaction of our lung to breath faster so it can get enough oxygen to our body tissues causing shortness of breath.

Heart palpitations

People with anemia have less oxygen in their bloodstream. In order to provide enough oxygen to nourish our body's cells, their heart has to work harder resulting in heart palpitation.

Pale complexion

Pale complexion is caused by iron deficiency. Iron is vital for our blood cells reproduction for replacing the break down of the old ones. Deficiency of iron causes low red blood cells in the bloodstream resulting in a pale color in our skin.

The most common causes of anemia are a result of a poor diet, which includes a lack of vitamins, minerals, and protein deficiencies. Causes that are more common are acute and chronic bleeding. Anemic conditions can also be caused due to a blood transfusion, congenital or autoimmune disorders, or kidney disease. Unfortunately, if one is eating a proper diet and still experience setbacks with anemia, the body might be unable to absorb the adequate nutrients it require

Treatment of Anemia

Treatment should be directed at the cause of the anemia. In some cases, blood transfusions and the medication erythropoietin will correct anemia. For example, treatment for sickle cell anemia is different than treatment for a diet low in iron or folic acid. Talk to your HCP about the best treatment for the cause of your anemia. Other Treatment Injectable EPO (e.g., PROCRIT�, EPOGEN�) is an alternative to blood transfusion to treat critically ill patients with anemia. Exogenous EPO is identical to the natural hormone in its role of stimulating the bone marrow to produce red blood cells. EPO has been used safely in many clinical settings, including chronic renal failure, oncology, and surgery. In the ICU, use of EPO has been shown to reduce the amount of blood transfused by almost 50%, at the same time significantly increasing hemoglobin levels.