The blood is the most important liquid in the body of all the living beings it is running the health is good. Blood the life-giving force which carries oxygen to all minute tissues of organs and also carries waste products from tissues to the lungs or excretory organs to expel out of the body. Blood vessels along with the heart as a system, is termed the Cardio-Vascular System and is an extremely important system. Sometimes, these systems malfunction due to some kind of foreign antigen or pathogens which may cause life-threatening infections and cause the entire system to be deranged.
The condition in which the blood, don’t have enough of healthy red blood cells. Medically, it is defined as decrease in the amount of red blood cells or Haemoglobin or a lowered ability of the blood to carry the oxygen. RBC’s are a kind of cells which carry or deliver oxygen to the body tissues—via blood flow through the circulatory system, whereas Haemoglobin is a protein found in the red blood cells that carry oxygen in your body.
Reasons
It itself hints at some infectious process or any metabolic or nutrients derangement such as lowered levels of B-vitamins, iron level imbalance. Let’s understand the significant root causes of anemia
The reasons behind the anaemia include:
1. Dietary Deficiency of Iron, Vitamin B complex, Folic Acid
2. Increased Destruction of RBCs: Hemolysis due to infection, etc.
3. Lowered production of RBC: Bone Marrow disorders
4. Loss of blood: Hemorrhagic conditions
5. Immune system disorder: Immune-mediated haemolysis
6. Mal-absorption of dietary compounds
7. Infections
Dietary Deficiency & Mal-absorption
It is also termed iron deficiency anaemia which occurs due to insufficient iron. Your body needs iron to make Haemoglobin which is a protein that helps carry fresh oxygen to various tissues and other gases such as carbon dioxide out of the tissues to the lungs to expel out. It majorly occurs when your body doesn’t have enough iron in your diet, and without enough iron, your body can’t produce enough Haemoglobin in RBCs that enables them to carry oxygen, resulting health issues.
Due to an ulcer in the gastrointestinal tract which can cause inflammation of the stomach lining resulting in blood loss, which again could be due to many reasons or due to acute blood loss, such as from haemorrhage.
The body also needs folate and vitamin B-12 to produce good and healthy RBCs deficiency of any of these compounds in diet may lead to anaemia.
The issue could also be due to mal-absorption of the compounds from the intestines, which leads to a condition termed pernicious anaemia.
1. INCREASED DESTRUCTION OF RBCs
The increased destruction of RBCs are pathogens or blood parasites such as Babesia, Ehrlichia which are known to cause a disease commonly called Tick Fever or may be due to an autoimmune problem in which the immune system sees your own RBCs as foreign substances and destroys them. Certain chemicals or toxins, e.g., zinc, rat poisons, onions, or garlic, can cause immense haemolysis and thus increase the level of RBCs destruction.
2. LOWERED PRODUCTION OF RBCs
RBCs are produced in the bone marrow of long bones.
Diseases and conditions that cause your body to produce less amount of red blood cells include Any severe, i.e., long-lasting disease such as chronic kidney or liver disease, aplastic anaemia, or Cancer, chemicals or toxins autoimmune disease, hypothyroidism may lead to decreased RBCs production
3. BLOOD LOSS
It could be due to ulceration or viral disease, which attacks the intestine cells and cause bleeding due to invasive processes, for example, Parvo-viral diarrhea pr hemorrhagic conditions.
4. IMMUNE-MEDIATED DISORDERS
IMHA or immune-mediated hemolytic anaemia is a disease in which the immune system reacts against red cells and causes the untimely destruction of RBCs. The immune system is actually responsible for the killing of non-self-invader cells, but due to some deranged mechanism, the immune system acts on self RBCs. As a result, red cells are destroyed, thus resulting in anemia, causing the oxygen delivery to be greatly reduced.
SIGNS
Anaemia is a disorder that can’t be quickly noticed due to the subtle nature of the disease process. Observe the signs in the initial phase of a disease process.
1. Tiredness & Lethargy
Lethargy is a lack of energy and enthusiasm, which can be a non-specific sign as many of the disease processes do make your pet tired and dull.
Also, your pet may exhibit signs of getting tired quickly and may seem to be a bit dull after short walks or, in general, exhibit signs of lack of enthusiasm to play with toys, etc.
2. Pale Mucous Membranes and associated CRT
Your vet on check-up may check the mucus membranes of your pet, like, for example, the gums or inner ear or conjunctiva to check its color. A Pink colored mucus membrane is considered to be normal and healthy. The pale mucus membrane hints at the anaemia.
3. Your pet may also experience headaches due to anaemia, but again, we rely on the mucus membranes and non-specific signs to understand the reason behind them. If your pet has some infection, they may exhibit signs of:
· vomiting
· Diarrhea
· Anorexia etc.
FIGHTING ANAEMIA:
The veterinarian will consult blood tests: CBC [complete blood count], which gives an idea about the red blood cells [RBCs], white blood cells [WBCs], platelets [thrombocytes]. Any decreased in PCV, or packed cell volume can give an indication of the disease or metabolic process.
Apart from history taking, your veterinarian shall also carry out the CRT or the capillary refill time test and will also check the mucus membranes such as the gums or ear pinna or the conjunctiva.
Treatment Protocols: Medicines & Supplements
By treating the root cause of anaemia, curing disease at the grassroots level, will cure the entire disease, which manifests on a much larger scale. The treatment for anaemia is thus different for different kinds of anaemia.
When a firm diagnosis is made, the treatment may include antibiotics, the treatment protocol is altered based on the requirement.
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