
When
something is wrong with your blood, it can affect your total health.
That is why it is important for you to know about some of the common
blood disorders that may affect you.
People may be affected by many different
types of blood conditions and blood cancers. Common blood disorders
include anaemia, bleeding disorders such as hemophilia and blood clots;
and blood cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma.
Talking to your doctor is the first step
to take if you believe you may have a blood condition. If you are
diagnosed with a blood disorder, your doctor may refer you to a
haematologist.
Anaemia
Anaemia is the most common blood
disorder. When you have anaemia, your body lacks oxygen, so you may
experience one or more of the following symptoms: weakness, shortness of
breath, dizziness, fast or irregular heartbeat, pounding or “whooshing”
in your ears, headache, cold hands or feet, pale or yellow skin, and
chest pain.
At-risk group
Many people are at risk for aanemia
because of poor diet, intestinal disorders, chronic diseases,
infections, and other conditions. Women who are menstruating or pregnant
and people with chronic medical conditions are most at risk for this
disease.
The risk of anaemia increases as people
grow older. People who engage in vigorous athletic activities, such as
jogging or basketball, may develop anaemia as a result of red blood
cells breaking down in the bloodstream.
If you have any of the following chronic
conditions, you might be at greater risk for developing anemia:
rheumatoid arthritis or other autoimmune disease, kidney disease,
cancer, liver disease, thyroid disease, and inflammatory bowel disease
(Crohn disease or ulcerative colitis).
Symptoms
The signs and symptoms of anaemia can
easily be overlooked. In fact, many people do not even realise that they
have anaemia until it is identified in a blood test.
Bleeding disorders
Bleeding disorders are a group of
conditions that result when the blood cannot clot properly. In normal
clotting, platelets stick together and form a plug at the site of an
injured blood vessel. Proteins in the blood, called clotting factors,
then interact to form a fibrin clot, which holds the platelets in place
and allows healing to occur at the site of the injury while preventing
blood from escaping the blood vessel.
While too much clotting can lead to heart
attack and stroke, the inability to form clots can be very dangerous as
well, as it can result in excessive bleeding.
Haemophilia is perhaps the most
well-known bleeding disorder, although it is relatively rare. It affects
mostly males. Many more people are affected by von Willebrand disease,
the most common bleeding disorder in America. Von Willebrand disease can
affect both males and females.
Who is at risk?
Bleeding disorders such as haemophilia
and von Willebrand disease result when the blood lacks certain clotting
factors. These diseases are almost always inherited, although in rare
cases they can develop later in life if the body forms antibodies that
fight against the blood’s natural clotting factors.
Individuals and pregnant women with a
family history of bleeding disorders should talk to their doctors about
detection and treatment. Symptoms of bleeding disorders may include easy
bruising, bleeding gums, heavy bleeding from small cuts or dental work,
unexplained nosebleeds and heavy menstrual bleeding.
Blood cancers
Blood cancers affect the production and
function of the blood cells. Most of these cancers start in the bone
marrow where blood is produced. Stem cells in the bone marrow mature and
develop into three types of blood cells: red blood cells, white blood
cells, or platelets.
In most blood cancers, the normal blood
cell development process is interrupted by uncontrolled growth of an
abnormal type of blood cell. These abnormal blood cells — or cancerous
cells — prevent the blood from performing many of its functions, such as
fighting off infections or preventing serious bleeding.
There are three main types of blood cancers:
Leukemia: A type of cancer found
in the blood and bone marrow, is caused by the rapid production of
abnormal white blood cells. The high number of abnormal white blood
cells is not able to fight infection, and they impair the ability of the
bone marrow to produce red blood cells and platelets.
Lymphoma: This is a type of blood
cancer that affects the lymphatic system, which removes excess fluids
from the body and produces immune cells. Lymphocytes are a type of white
blood cells that fight infection. Abnormal lymphocytes become lymphoma
cells, which multiply and collect in the lymph nodes and other tissues.
Over time, these cancerous cells impair the immune system.
Myeloma: This is a type of blood
cancer that specifically targets the plasma cells. Plasma cells are
white blood cells that produce disease- and infection-fighting
antibodies in the body. Myeloma cells prevent the normal production of
antibodies, leaving the body’s immune system weakened and susceptible to
infection.
Adapted from hematology.org
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