”Confessions of anemia” When it comes to me – “anemia” – I am well known and everyone knows it. When someone feels dizzy, when they see a pale face, when they feel tired and weak, they will say is it anemia? Should I see a doctor? Yes, we need to see a doctor! Although I am very famous, everyone knows me. However, my origin is not fully understood. Many people think that I am a common disease, but it is not that simple. Anemia is not a separate disease, but a clinical syndrome as doctors often say. My appearance is a common denominator of many diseases, masking different illnesses and even life-threatening malignancies lurking beneath my surface. Many diseases develop first as me, although under the guise of anemia, but at the same time I am a common warning sign that you may have a disease. The medical definition of me is the state when the number of red blood cells and hemoglobin content per unit volume of circulating blood is lower than normal. According to the amount of reduction, I have been further classified as mild, moderate, severe and very severe. In Chinese medicine, there is no name for me, but I am classified as “blood deficiency” according to my pale complexion, weakness, palpitations, shortness of breath, and dizziness. I appear in different degrees of mildness and severity, which not only implies potential pathology, but also affects all physiological functions of the body and hinders the normal work and life of the body. I may be the manifestation of a chronic disease that appears quietly without you noticing, or may suddenly appear after a large amount of bleeding, so that you can not be defended. So, what are those aspects of the problem that will make me make an appearance? Broadly speaking, there are three conditions, one is the reduction of bone marrow red blood cell production, such as aplastic anemia, pernicious tumor, chronic kidney disease caused by erythropoietin deficiency caused by renal anemia, hematopoietic substance iron deficiency caused by iron deficiency anemia, vitamin B12, folic acid deficiency caused by megaloblastic anemia, etc.; second is the destruction of too many red blood cells in the body, resulting in hemolytic anemia. Third, the body loses a lot of blood directly due to blood loss, trauma, etc., resulting in acute hemolytic anemia. Gastrointestinal diseases such as gastric ulcers that reduce iron absorption, long-term chronic blood loss from hemorrhoids and blood loss from menstrual cycles in women can cause iron deficiency, often manifesting as malnutritional iron deficiency anemia. Don’t blame me for being out of the limelight with potential diseases, after all, my presence also provides you with an early warning of disease. Therefore, hematologists are aware of my history and are able to find traces of me and uncover the foxes of potential diseases. Take iron deficiency anemia as an example, about 600-700 million people worldwide suffer from this disease, especially children and women of childbearing age are the most common. The reason is that children need more iron for growth and development, and women of childbearing age lose iron due to excessive menstruation, which cannot be replenished effectively and timely, resulting in anemia caused by iron deficiency in the body. The onset of multiple myeloma, for example, is hidden and not easily detected, but thanks to my early warning, it can be followed by physicians. Iron deficiency anemia in the elderly is most likely due to a malignant tumor of the digestive tract that is lurking behind the anemia. So don’t ignore my presence, and don’t lose your guard once I make my appearance.