What to do if women have low hemoglobin

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Hemoglobin is the main component of red blood cells, which provide oxygen to tissues. Its level is necessarily determined in any blood test. Fluctuations in one direction or another are a signal that there are serious problems in the body. We will find out which pathological processes are evidenced by low hemoglobin in women.

Causes of the condition

Blood loss most often leads to a sharp decrease in the concentration of hemoglobin. They can be visible and hidden. Let's take a look at each type.

Obvious blood loss can be observed with such conditions:

• heavy menstruation that lasts more than 5 days;
• trauma, wounds;
• postoperative complications;
• inflammation of hemorrhoids;
• abortion;
• spontaneous miscarriage;
• complications after natural childbirth.

Latent forms of bleeding lead to:

• some diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
• pathology of the reproductive system of women.

Often, low hemoglobin in women indicates that erythrocytes have too short a life span. In this case, an autoimmune disorder can be suspected, as evidenced by other signs.

Whether this or any other condition caused the blood loss, and what needs to be done must be decided solely by the doctor.

Among the reasons for the decrease in hemoglobin are also called unbalanced and unhealthy nutrition. Due to errors in the composition of the diet, the body does not receive the necessary daily intake of nutrients, minerals, vitamins.

Some women fear gaining excess weight during pregnancy. To avoid this, they start dieting. But even taken multivitamin complexes are not able to restore the disturbed balance.

Norm, permissible deviations

Before claiming that a woman has low hemoglobin in her blood and trying to understand what this means, you need to know which indicators are the norm, the corridor of permissible deviations. For this category of patients in a healthy state, a value of 120-155 g / l is considered the norm.

During the period of childbearing, these figures decrease slightly and reach 105-120 g / l. This is due to the fact that during pregnancy, the body actively consumes iron, which comes from food.

In women who are professionally involved in sports, the normal hemoglobin level is 160 g / l. This condition is considered normal and cannot indicate a problem. An increase in the concentration of the substance up to 150 g / l is also noted in smokers.

Clinical picture

In women, low hemoglobin indicates a variety of problems. Clinical signs may indicate the development of the pathological process:

• a feeling of chronic fatigue (what this threatens, today is known to many);
• weakness;
• drowsiness;
• increased fatigue;
• heart rhythm disturbance;
• headache;
• violation of taste preferences.

In some cases, a decrease in hemoglobin is caused by a lack of iron. In this case, a woman may experience the following pathological conditions:

• cracks in the corners of the lips;
• dry skin;
• fragility of nails, hair.

Testing will help to confirm the condition.

Danger of condition

It is important to understand not only what low hemoglobin in women means, what kind of condition it is, what to do, but also what is the danger. If the indicator drops critically, the tissues of the body experience a lack of oxygen.

This leads to the fact that the normal functioning of organs and systems is disrupted. The brain and nervous system withstands the first blow. This manifests itself in the form of fatigue, dizziness, drowsiness.

A critical decrease in hemoglobin leads to the fact that the work of the immune system deteriorates sharply. Because of this, a person becomes susceptible to all kinds of infections. If the condition occurs during gestation, the baby may be born with a low birth weight. There is also a high risk of intrauterine hypoxia, delay in the physical and mental development of the fetus.

Treatment of the condition

If the decrease in hemoglobin is confirmed by tests, the woman is recommended to follow a certain diet. The following foods should be introduced into the diet:

• millet;
• dried fruits and nuts;
• freshly squeezed juices (especially apple juice);
• high quality cheeses;
• rosehip broth;
• strong beef broth;
• vegetables.

In addition to adjusting the diet, you will need to take special medications. For example, Aktiferrin, Hemofer, Tardiferon and others. Pregnant women may be given folic acid.

With a reduced hemoglobin, some products should be abandoned:

• fatty food;
• sweet pastry;
• carbonated drinks;
• coffee, black tea.

For the period of treatment, you should stop drinking milk. It contains calcium, which interferes with the normal absorption of iron. The same applies to drinks containing caffeine.