Anemia occurs when there aren’t enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen to your body’s organs. As a result, it’s common to feel cold and symptoms of tiredness or weakness. There are many different types of anemia, but the most common type is iron-deficiency anemia. You can begin to ease symptoms of this type of anemia by adding iron to your diet.
What is anemia?
Anemia happens when you don’t have enough red blood cells or your red blood cells don’t work as they should. Your red blood cells carry oxygen throughout your body. Oxygen powers your cells and gives you energy. Without healthy red blood cells that do their job, your body doesn’t get the energy it needs to function. While some types of anemia are short-term and mild, others can last for a lifetime. Left untreated, anemia may be life-threatening.
How does anemia affect my body?
When someone develops anemia, they’re said to be anemic, meaning they have symptoms of anemia, like being very tired or feeling cold all of the time. Anemia affects different people in different ways:
- Newborns: Some infants are born with low red blood cell counts. Most newborns don’t need medical treatment for anemia, but some with severe anemia may need blood transfusions.
- Infants: Infants may get less iron than they need when they start eating solid food. That’s because the iron in solid food isn’t absorbed as easily as iron in breast milk or formula. Infants with anemia may appear lethargic.
- Children: Children do a lot of growing between birth and age 2. Children going through growth spurts need more iron. Children with anemia may develop related problems such as delayed development of motor skills and issues with learning.
- Women who are pregnant: Women who are pregnant may develop iron-deficiency anemia, which may increase the chance of complications such as premature birth or giving birth to babies with low birth weight.
