In outpatient clinics and emergency departments, we sometimes encounter patients with symptoms of dizziness or weakness, and before the doctor finishes asking, the patient himself tells the doctor with certainty that “I am anemic”; or when a patient comes to see a cold or cough, the doctor asks if he has any previous illnesses, and he also says with understanding that “I am anemic”. “. Is it really “anemic”? When they have their blood tests, the majority of them are normal, so it is necessary to give “anemia” a proper name. When it comes to “anemia”, you must be familiar with it. First of all, let’s talk about what exactly is anemia. Anemia is a syndrome that occurs when the volume of peripheral blood cells is reduced below the lower limit of the normal range and cannot transport enough oxygen to the tissues. In layman’s terms, this means that the red blood cells that carry oxygen are reduced, which is usually determined by the hemoglobin (Hb) concentration in the blood routine, so the presence of anemia cannot be based on self-perception alone, but must be determined by the blood routine. The current diagnostic criteria in China are hemoglobin <120g/L for adult men, hemoglobin <110g/L for adult women (not pregnant), and hemoglobin <100g/L for pregnant women, which can be diagnosed as anemia (the normal value may be slightly higher in highland areas). What are the general symptoms of "anemia"? I believe many people will say "dizziness", "lack of energy" and "pale face", which are all symptoms of anemia. Our body relies on red blood cells to carry oxygen to all organs to ensure normal operation, if anemia occurs, the oxygen carried will naturally decrease, and various symptoms of oxygen deficiency will occur, which can be manifested as headache, blurred vision, insomnia, panic, shortness of breath, tinnitus, memory loss, lack of concentration, poor digestion, etc. Serious cases can affect the heart, brain, lungs, kidneys and other important organs, and even endanger For infants and children, severe anemia can affect growth and development. However, it is important to emphasize that many different diseases can have the same symptoms in clinical practice, such as anemia, neurological diseases, ear diseases, etc. Therefore, it is not possible to say for sure that it is a certain disease simply by virtue of one symptom, and a doctor needs to make a comprehensive judgment. When patients see that their blood count indicates anemia, they often ask the doctor, "Is it serious?" Whether it is serious or not, we can refer to the clinical symptoms and the following classification criteria: hemoglobin concentration >90g/L for mild anemia, hemoglobin concentration 60-90g/L for moderate anemia, hemoglobin concentration 30-59g/L for severe anemia, and hemoglobin concentration <30g/L for very severe anemia. Some people may ask here, they usually don't feel anything, only their family members feel bad, why is anemia more serious when they are examined? This is related to the speed of anemia occurrence. If a normal person has anemia due to acute hemorrhage, although the examination is mild to moderate anemia, the organism is too late to react due to acute blood loss, and discomfort or even shock coma already occurs; if the anemia occurs more slowly (such as iron deficiency anemia), the organism has a certain compensatory mechanism, and the patient may not even be aware of moderate anemia at this time. Here we have to remind everyone of the importance of daily medical checkups. Strictly speaking, "anemia" is only a symptom, not a diagnosis, because there are dozens of diseases that can cause anemia, such as iron deficiency anemia, megaloblastic anemia, aplastic anemia, leukemia, thalassemia, hemolytic anemia, blood loss anemia, renal anemia, etc., the first two of which are the most common in clinical practice. Blood count can only be used to initially determine whether a patient has anemia and the severity of anemia, and further detailed examination by a specialist is required to make a diagnosis. How to treat anemia? Perhaps the first thing that comes to your mind is "blood supplementation", do you really need to "supplement what is missing"? The answer is certainly not that simple! As mentioned earlier, the diagnosis of anemia varies widely, but regardless of the type of anemia, it is most important to find the cause of the anemia. For example, if a woman suffers from iron deficiency anemia due to excessive menstruation, if she is treated with iron without solving the gynecological menstruation problem, even if the anemia is corrected, the anemia will soon be caused by blood loss again; if the anemia caused by leukemia is not treated with chemotherapy or transplantation, no matter how much blood is supplemented, it will not solve the fundamental problem. Therefore, it is crucial to clarify the diagnosis, identify the cause and target the disease. Finally, there are some points to emphasize: 1. People who are prone to anemia: infants and adolescents during growth and development; pregnant women; people with bad habits of partial and picky eating; long-term heavy drinkers; women of childbearing age with irregular menstruation. 2. Elderly people who are found to be anemic need to be extra vigilant, sometimes gastrointestinal malignant tumors can be overlooked due to small amount of chronic blood loss leading to iron deficiency anemia. 3. Thalassemia gene carriers 4. The impact of anemia on the human organism should not be ignored, and anemia should be treated by a doctor in time.