What Is Microcytic Anemia?

By james

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Our red blood cells are essential to us. They help perform the role of transporting fresh oxygen from the lungs to where they are needed in the body. This is achieved with the help of hemoglobin, which is a substance that allows oxygen to bind to the red blood cells.

Hemoglobin is produced with iron but, in some people, there may not be enough iron available for the production of hemoglobin. This is one of the main causes of anemia, which is a condition that means the body does not have enough blood vessels. There are other potential causes of anemia, and there are also different types of anemia.

1. Microcytic Anemia

If your red blood cells are smaller than usual, it is known as microcytosis. Anemia is a condition when there is a lower than usual number of blood vessels in the blood. As the name suggests, microcytic anemia is the two conditions combined. This means there are too few blood cells and those that do exist are too small.

Microcytic anemia is not necessarily a dangerous condition and it can usually also be treated relatively easily. It is sometimes caused by potentially serious underlying causes, however, so it is something that should be checked out. There are several different types of microcytic anemia.