Wife got some blood work done recently, and three results (MCH, MCV, RDW) were slightly out of range and doctors started talking about anemia. I’ve heard the word plenty of times, but it’s never really explained or talked about. What is it, how serious is it, how common is it, etc?
In: Biology
anemia is a low amount of red blood cells or amount of hemoglobin (which is the molecule that carries oxygen in your blood). It can be from many different causes, such as blood loss, iron deficiency, certain vitamin deficiencies, or from your blood cells being damaged for some reason. The lab values you mentioned can give a clue as to what it might be from. Other tests will probably be needed to find out the exact cause. It really depends on the cause and how off the values are as to how serious it is. But you need to talk to your doctor, and not try to get advice about your specific issue from the internet
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