Anaemia is a condition in which there is a decrease in the number of red blood cells or haemoglobin content of the red blood cells.
Haemoglobin is the compound which carries oxygen to the body tissues from the lungs. Anaemia itself is not a disease and it is a symptom of some other disease such as deficiency of iron in the diet, excessive loss of blood due to injury or heavy menstrual flow, infection by industrial poisons, kidney or bone marrow disease.
A person may also develop anaemia (hypersensitivity) as a result of allergy to various medicines.
In the simple form of anaemia which is caused by the deficiency of iron in the diet, the symptoms are rarely severe like feelings of fatigue, loss of energy, general lack of vitality.
Deficiency anaemia is common among children and pregnant women and it can be corrected by giving foods which are high in iron content such as liver, lean meat, green leafy vegetables, whole wheat bread, dried peas and beans.
