Nursing Care Plan for Anemia

The normal level of blood count in male adults has to be 13.8 to 17.2 grams per deciliter. In females, it should be 12.1 to 15.1 g/dL. Anemia is having a lower than normal count of healthy red blood cells or hemoglobin levels needed to carry oxygen to all parts of your body. When you develop anemia, you’re said to be “anemic”. If you’re so, you would be showing symptoms like- fatigue, weakness, dizziness, pale or yellowish skin, shortness of birth, drowsiness, headaches.

The most common cause of anemia is a deficiency in Iron, Folate, Vitamin B12, and Vitamin A.

Types of Anemia

There are more than 400 types of anemia. Here are some of those -

Iron and Vitamin Deficiency Anemia - This is caused when your diet doesn’t possess enough Iron, Folate, Vitamins B12 and A. Your bone marrow needs iron to produce hemoglobin, and folate and other vitamins are needed to produce red blood cells. Even when you intake nutritious food containing these nutrients, your body could not absorb such nutrients.

Anemia due to chronic illness or inflammation - This anemia is caused to the insufficient secretion of red blood cells as a result of any kind of infection, cancer, rheumatic arthritis, heart disease, chronic kidney disease, and obesity. It lasts for more than 3 months. 

Thalassemia - It is a genetic disorder passed from parent to child. It is a condition in which your body produces insufficient or no hemoglobin. It is classified as Alpha Thalassemia and Beta Thalassemia, ranging from normal to life-threatening.

Sickle-cell anemia - This affects mainly the African American population which is a genetic disorder in which the body produces sickle-shaped red blood cells, that tend to rupture quickly.

Aplastic anemia - It is serious anemia, in which your bone marrow ceases to produce RBC, which is accompanied by failure in WBC and platelet production too. It could be fatal if left untreated. 

Who is more prone to anemia?

Anyone having hemoglobin deficiency in the blood is said to be anemic. However, the following group is more vulnerable -

• Women are generally anemic as they have heavy blood loss during periods and childbirth. Women suffer from uterine fibroids - non-cancerous tumors that grow in and on the uterus, get heavy menstrual bleeding and back pain.

• Infants and toddlers suffering from iron deficiency

• People over 60 normally have chronic diseases and couldn’t intake iron-rich foods.

• People take blood thinner drugs like aspirin, warfarin, or heparin to prevent blood clots. 

Iron deficiency in women

Iron deficiency is most common in women globally. This is because the average adult woman eats less than the average adult man. During pregnancy, women lose an average of 2 mg of iron per day and must absorb an equal amount of that to maintain equilibrium. Women at the premenopause stage and younger or adult women with gastrointestinal disease, menometrorrhagia - the condition of prolonged and abnormal uterine bleeding, users of aspirin and antacids are more prone to have iron deficiency.

Anemia in the elderly 

Initially, Anemia in the elderly wasn’t given prominence like any other illness. However, it’s now recognized as a life-threatening factor that could include hospitalization, morbidity, and mortality. Your elderly loved one gets anemic, not always due to Iron and vitamin deficiency. It’s often misunderstood and they are treated wrongly with these supplements. The problem associated with elderly anemic can be categorized as “problem producing RBC” and “problem losing RBC”.

Problems producing RBC are related to bone marrow that fails to make red blood cells. These are mainly due to

• Chronic illnesses like cardiac disease, stroke, cancer, Alzheimer’s, influenza

• Iron and vitamin deficiency

• Bone marrow disorder

• Side effects due to chemotherapy and other medications

• Myelodysplastic syndrome(MDS), which is a disease associated with decreased production of blood cells. 

Problems losing RBC are related to excess blood loss that is mainly caused by

• Gastrointestinal bleeding

• Injury and trauma

• Menstrual bleeding and blood loss during childbirth

Nursing care for anemia in the older adults

If any of your older dear ones or acquaintances suffer from anemia, and if they want nursing care treatment at their homes, we, the Antara Senior Care Services team are ready to offer home Pathology and diagnostic services, advanced testing solutions through our NABL certified laboratory. We use comfortable blood checkup accessories like butterfly needles and vein finders on their tender skins. Moreover, we provide one-time use kits to safeguard them from getting infected. 

We conduct CBC(complete blood count) test on WBC count, RBC count, hemoglobin level, and platelet count. We also check the 

• Ferritin level for iron storage in their body

• Folate, vitamins B12 and A level 

• GFR(glomerular filtration rate) for kidney function

• Reticulocyte count to ensure whether the bone marrow is producing the essential red blood cells 

• Urine to ensure whether the protein associated with any blood cell disorders

• Stool for symptoms of any microscopic blood loss

Get in touch with us to keep your elderly loved ones stay away from chronic anemia.