Hca 240

Blood Disorders

HCA/240

Blood disorders can be caused environmental factors, genetics, and by the

person who has the disorder. People have no control over getting genetic blood

disorders but most types of blood disorders are caused by how a person and this can

be prevented. Gaining knowledge on what types of blood disorders there are and how

to control them is extremely important to our overall health.

Anabelle is a four year old girl who only eats foods that are rich in carbohydrates

such as pasta and bread. Her mother has to work on a small budget to feed a large

family and this could be why Anabelle’s diet is lacking healthier foods. Along with only

eating hot dogs, bread, and pasta Anabelle refuses to drink anything other than artificial

fruit punch that is very high in sugar. Anabelle started to feel tired all the time and this

caused her mother to worry enough to take her to the doctors to find the cause. The

doctor determined Anabelle has iron deficiency anemia. Iron produces hemoglobin,

which carries oxygen through the body. “Without enough iron, your body can't produce

enough of a substance in red blood cells that enables them to carry oxygen

(hemoglobin).” (Mayo clinic, 2014, P. 1) This causes a person to fell exhausted and

have shortness of breath like the symptoms Anabelle is showing. Testing for iron

deficiency anemia is done through blood tests. There are four different tests that may

be run when looking for this type of blood disorder. Those tests are; red blood cell size

and color, hematocrit, hemoglobin, and ferritin. Red blood cell size and color can show

if the patient has this blood disorder because with iron deficiency anemia the blood

cells will be small and paler than healthy cells. Hematocrit is to determine a person’s

blood volume that is made up by red blood cells. Testing for hemoglobin levels can

show if a person has lower levels than normal which would indicate anemia. Ferritin is

a protein in...