Anemia, often referred to as the condition where the red blood cells reduce in the blood stream is not something new to many. We all have been there advising to our fellows about anemia at least once in our lifetime. But hey, have you ever given thought to what might underline anemia?

We here would present the other side of the story as we seek through the connection between anemia and diabetes. It’s not to say that every anemia case induces diabetes, though. It’s something we want to assure beforehand. It’s that we want to look into how diabetes and anemia closely resembles and are hand-in-hand with each other in our today’s entry.

Join in as we look through the aforementioned case in our ‘Diabetes and Anemia: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment of Anemia in Diabetes.

The Relation Between Diabetes and Anemia

Let’s start off with what anemia really means. Anemia on its part is often termed to the blood-related disorder where the red blood cells decrease in our body. Such decrease of red blood cells further induces reduced levels of oxygen in the blood. While in a good many cases anemia also results in lower levels of hemoglobin in our blood cells.

For patients suffering from diabetes, a regular blood checkup is most prioritized so as to seek whether anemia is induced or not. Many diabetic cases show that anemia is a common theme and thus it’s important to spot the case early enough. An early diagnosis of the anemia will lead to better management.

The Causes of Anemia

Kidneys have a great role to perform in balancing the red blood cells in the body. Healthy kidneys are known to release the hormone called erythropoietin (EPO) which helps in the formation of red blood cells via the bone marrow. For patients suffering from kidney disorders, which is a common theme for the diabetic case, red blood cells cannot be generated enough. That, in turn, causes anemia.

Diabetes also causes the inflammation in the blood vessels of the body and that too stops the bone marrow from making more of the red blood cells in the body. A few other peculiar reasons for the cause of anemia during diabetes is the medication provided for the diabetic patients. The drugs provided for the treatment of diabetic patients might risk the body for anemia.

Symptoms of Anemia

We’ll look to list the symptoms down below for a better viewing. Let’s head downstairs, shall we?

• Tiredness and Weakness
• Breath Shortness
• Headache and Dizziness
• Paleness of the skin
• Chest Pain
• Lower body temperature
• Feeling of cold in feet and legs

Diagnosis Procedure for Anemia

Anemia is generally diagnosed by a blood count test where the levels of hemoglobin and blood volume are looked through. The blood count will help showcase your red and white blood cells along with the platelets. That shall provide a better picture as for whether your blood has lesser number of red blood cells than required.

Many doctors further look into the hemoglobin count where if the levels show low count, then the patient may be suffering from anemia. A normal range for a male is in between 14 to 17.5 while for a female is in between 12.3 to 15.3.

Further tests may be done to find more about anemia in the patient like iron deficiency test, kidney test, bone marrow health, vitamin deficiency and internal bleeding.

The Treatment Procedure for Anemia

For patients suffering from anemia as a result of reduced iron levels, the doctors generally advise on to intake iron-rich foods for the body. As for the patients with anemia because of kidney dialysis and more, iron is directly injected into a vein to balance it out.

Anemia is also caused by the reduction in EPO hormone which we talked about in brief in above passage of Causes of Anemia’. For patients with this condition, a synthetic hormone of the same will be injected at a timely interval of a week or two. Although this will help increase the levels of the hormone in the body it may also risk you for heart stroke. Always seek proper advice while going through this.

And for the severity cases where anemia is almost at its highest reach, blood transfusion remains the only viable option.

The Prevention Guide for Anemia

Anemia isn’t something that you should be totally petrified of. You can manage and even lower your risk for anemia with a proper prevention guide. The prevention method generally includes proper diet, ample exercise, and healthy lifestyle.

A good bet would be to up your iron intake for the day. A man generally needs about 8 milligrams of iron every day while a woman requires about 18 milligrams of it. You can top of your iron count with iron fortified food like

• Bread and Cereals that are iron-fortified
• Lentils and Beans
• Green vegetables
• Red Meat
• Fish and Oysters
• Livers
• Tofu
• Dry Fruits

Furthermore, a body properly absorbs iron if the Vitamin C levels are on a good note. Try and include Vitamin C based fruits and foods along with it. Also, do tend to lessen or avoid drinks like tea, coffee and inputs like calcium as that might reduce your ability to absorb iron sufficiently.

Complications with Anemia during Diabetes

Anemia, a blood condition where red blood cells reduce substantially isn’t deathly on its own terms. It’s what it carries ahead of it in forms of complications that might harm your health. Such reduction in red blood cells will cause complications like eye and nerve related issues in the long run. Without proper management and care, it can further worsen the case for diabetic patients.

The Bottom line

Anemia isn’t something that one should mess around with as it may create quite a complication in the future. However, it isn’t something that cannot be managed at all. You can change your lifestyle and diet and that may work wonders for your health. Always look to include iron-rich foods in your diet and pair it with ample exercise. That way you’d be in the best of condition going ahead.

That’s all from us on this one. We will be back with another one next time around. Adios.