Anaemia is a reduction in the concentration of haemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying substance in the red cells, in the blood. The most common form is iron-deficiency anaemia, usually caused by a lack of sufficient iron in the diet, but sometimes caused by blood loss such as heavy periods, repeated nosebleeds, or bleeding in the gut.
Other, more unusual, forms are haemolytic anaemia, a hereditary condition where the blood cells are shorter lived than usual; pernicious anaemia, where vitamin B12 is not absorbed due to the lack of a certain enzyme, interfering with red cell production; and aplastic anaemia, a failure of red cell production.
Sickle cell anaemia is a hereditary anaemia caused by abnormal red blood cells, and in Britain is most common in people of African and Caribbean origin.
Some conditions such as thalassaemia and leukaemia may present initially as anaemia.
Iron deficiency anaemia is very common, especially in young children who are faddy eaters or who drink a lot of milk, which is very low in iron. One paediatrician from a London teaching hospital estimates that if you took 100 normal toddlers, 70 of them would be borderline for iron-deficiency anaemia.
Symptoms
Because a good supply of oxygen in the red blood cells is vital to the body, anaemia has widespread effects, causing weakness, fatigue, and breathlessness. The skin may appear pale and there is lowered resistance to infection. A child who is iron deficient may become listless and often will not want to eat. A rare symptom of anaemia is pica - a craving for unusual food.
Treatment
In most cases of anaemia, the solution is to increase the amount of iron in the diet. This is most easily done through eating more red meat, especially liver and kidney - although egg yolks, peas, beans, pulses, chocolate and shellfish also contain good quantities of iron.
Where the anaemia is more severe or doesn't appear to be related to the child's diet, blood tests will be needed to check for the more rare kinds of anaemia. Tests may also be done for traces of blood in the stools.
