Nursery World - Anaemia

What is it? Anaemia is a reduction in the concentration of haemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying substance in the red cells, in the blood. The most common form is iron-deficiency anaemia, usually caused by a lack of sufficient iron in the diet, but sometimes caused by blood loss such as heavy periods, repeated nosebleeds, or bleeding in the gut.

Anaemia is a reduction in the concentration of haemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying substance in the red cells, in the blood. The most common form is iron-deficiency anaemia, usually caused by a lack of sufficient iron in the diet, but sometimes caused by blood loss such as heavy periods, repeated nosebleeds, or bleeding in the gut.

Other, more unusual, forms are haemolytic anaemia, a hereditary condition where the blood cells are shorter lived than usual; pernicious anaemia, where vitamin B12 is not absorbed due to the lack of a certain enzyme, interfering with red cell production; and aplastic anaemia, a failure of red cell production.

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