Hca/240 Blood Disorders
Blood Disorders
Elizabeth Martinez
HCA/240
December 19, 2010
Melvina Brandau
Some blood disorders can be prevented while there are others that are out of a person’s hands and have to live with a blood disorder for a life time. It is essential to know the causes of hereditary disease and know how to treat them. It is also important to know what can be done to “cure” other blood disorders and what preventive measures need to be taken in order to stop history from repeating itself. Iron deficiency anemia, sickle cell anemia, and purpura simplex are just a few blood disorders that people suffer from that are either inherited or can be prevented. Iron deficiency anemia, one of the most common types of anemia, is a blood disorder where the body does not absorb enough iron for proper function (HealthCentral Network, 2010). If the body is not getting enough iron, then the production of hemoglobin is also affected because iron is needed in order to produce hemoglobin (HealthCentral Network, 2010). Along with less hemoglobin in the body, the amount of red blood cells and oxygen in the body also goes down (HealthCentral Network, 2010). Iron deficiency anemia can be caused by multiple reasons like heavy menstrual bleeding in women, improper diet with proper iron consumption, proper absorption in the body, and internal bleeding due to ulcers, cancer, or hemorrhoids (HealthCentral Network, 2010). Iron deficiency anemia can be diagnosed by a complete blood count to see how good or bad a person’s red blood cell count is and by an iron test, to see how much iron is in a person’s blood (HealthCentral Network, 2010). Treatments for iron deficiency anemia can be very simple like taking oral iron supplements which must be taken for six to twelve months after diagnosis so the body has the opportunity to rebuild its iron (HealthCentral Network, 2010). If a patient is unable to take oral supplements, they can get iron intravenously or through an IV (HealthCentral Network,
Elizabeth Martinez
HCA/240
December 19, 2010
Melvina Brandau
Some blood disorders can be prevented while there are others that are out of a person’s hands and have to live with a blood disorder for a life time. It is essential to know the causes of hereditary disease and know how to treat them. It is also important to know what can be done to “cure” other blood disorders and what preventive measures need to be taken in order to stop history from repeating itself. Iron deficiency anemia, sickle cell anemia, and purpura simplex are just a few blood disorders that people suffer from that are either inherited or can be prevented. Iron deficiency anemia, one of the most common types of anemia, is a blood disorder where the body does not absorb enough iron for proper function (HealthCentral Network, 2010). If the body is not getting enough iron, then the production of hemoglobin is also affected because iron is needed in order to produce hemoglobin (HealthCentral Network, 2010). Along with less hemoglobin in the body, the amount of red blood cells and oxygen in the body also goes down (HealthCentral Network, 2010). Iron deficiency anemia can be caused by multiple reasons like heavy menstrual bleeding in women, improper diet with proper iron consumption, proper absorption in the body, and internal bleeding due to ulcers, cancer, or hemorrhoids (HealthCentral Network, 2010). Iron deficiency anemia can be diagnosed by a complete blood count to see how good or bad a person’s red blood cell count is and by an iron test, to see how much iron is in a person’s blood (HealthCentral Network, 2010). Treatments for iron deficiency anemia can be very simple like taking oral iron supplements which must be taken for six to twelve months after diagnosis so the body has the opportunity to rebuild its iron (HealthCentral Network, 2010). If a patient is unable to take oral supplements, they can get iron intravenously or through an IV (HealthCentral Network,
References: HealthCentral Network. (2010). Iron deficiency anemia. Retrieved from http://www.healthcentral.com/ency/408/000584.html Mulvihill, M. L., Zelman, M., Holdaway, P., Tompary, E., & Raymond, J. (2006). Human diseases: A systemic approach (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall WebMD. (2010). Sickle cell disease symptoms, causes, treatments. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/pain-management-sickle-cell-disease WrongDiagnosis. (2010). Purpura Simplex. Retrieved from http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/p/purpura_simplex/intro.htm