Non-cancerous blood disorders

Jan 15, 2023 News

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Health Facts…

Rehanna Ramsay

Kaieteur News – Blood disorders are conditions that keep parts of your blood from doing their jobs. You may have a blood clotting disorder or a bleeding disorder. With treatment, most blood disorders become chronic illnesses that don’t affect people’s life spans. Treatment includes managing symptoms and treating any underlying conditions.

Blood disorders may be cancerous or non-cancerous. This article focuses on non-cancerous blood disorders.

You may inherit a non-cancerous blood disorder or develop one because you have an underlying condition that affects your blood.

Some blood disorders may not cause symptoms or require treatment. Others are chronic (lifelong) illnesses that require treatment but typically won’t affect how long you’ll live. Other blood disorders are serious illnesses that can be life-threatening.

Healthcare providers treat blood disorders by managing symptoms and treating any underlying conditions.

How do blood disorders affect the body?      

In general, noncancerous blood disorders are conditions that affect your blood cells and platelets and cause issues that may: Increase your risk of blood clots. Factor V Leiden, an inherited blood disorder, is an example of a blood clotting disorder.

Some blood disorders may make you bleed more than normal because your blood doesn’t form blood clots. Inherited hemophilia is an example of a bleeding disorder.

Common blood clotting disorders

A blood clotting disorder affects your platelets or your clotting factors (coagulation factors). Clotting factors are proteins in your blood. Your platelets and clotting factors make blood clot, which control bleeding. Blood clotting disorders may be called a hypercoagulable state or thrombophilia. Blood clotting disorders include:

Prothrombin gene mutation: This inherited disorder increases your risk of developing abnormal blood clots in your veins (deep vein thrombosis) and lungs (pulmonary embolism).

Antiphospholipid syndrome: This rare autoimmune disorder, which often affects people who have lupus, can cause blood clots in several areas of your body.

Protein S deficiency: Protein S is a natural anticoagulant in your blood. Anticoagulants prevent blood from clotting. Protein S helps keep other proteins from making too many blood clots. This is a rare inherited disorder.

Protein C deficiency: Like protein S, protein C is a natural anticoagulant that protects you from developing too many blood clots.

Antithrombin deficiency: This inherited disorder increases your risk of deep vein thrombosis.

Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria: This rare blood disorder happens when your immune system attacks your red blood cells, increasing your risk of blood clots.

Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC): DIC is a rare blood clotting disorder that may cause uncontrollable bleeding or clotting.

Some people with blood clotting orders have an increased risk of stroke and heart attack. Call 911 if you think you’re having a pulmonary embolism because you have chest pain and difficulty breathing. Heart attack and stroke are other medical conditions that need emergency treatment.

Anemia represents is the most common type of noncancerous blood disorder. Anemia happens when you don’t have enough healthy red blood cells. Some types of anemia are inherited, but people may also acquire or develop them.

 Acquired anemias

Pernicious anaemia: Pernicious anemia, one of the causes of vitamin B12 deficiency, is an autoimmune condition that prevents your body from absorbing vitamin B12.

Iron-deficiency anaemia: As its name implies, iron-deficiency anaemia happens when your body doesn’t have enough iron to make haemoglobin. Red blood cells need haemoglobin to carry oxygen throughout your body.

Megaloblastic anaemia: Megaloblastic anaemia is a type of anaemia that can happen when you don’t get enough vitamin B12 and/or vitamin B9 (folate).

Aplastic anaemia: This anaemia happens when stem cells in your bone marrow don’t make enough blood cells.

Autoimmune hemolytic anaemia: In autoimmune hemolytic anaemia, your immune system attacks your red blood cells.

Macrocytic anaemia: This anaemia happens when your bone marrow makes unusually large red blood cells. Macrocytic anaemia may be caused by myelodysplastic syndrome, low folate, low B12 vitamin, liver disease, alcohol use and certain medications.

Other anemia types

Some types of anaemia may be inherited but can also be acquired:

Hemolytic anaemia: In this anaemia, where your red blood cells break down or die faster than usual.

Sideroblastic anaemia: Sideroblastic anaemia results from abnormal iron use during red blood cell development.

Microcytic anaemia: This anaemia happens when your red blood cells don’t have enough haemoglobin so they’re smaller than usual. Microcytic anaemia occurs with iron deficiency, thalassemia, sideroblastic anaemia, and in some cases anaemia of chronic disease.

 Treatment

In general, healthcare providers focus on identifying and treating underlying conditions that cause blood disorders. They also treat blood disorder symptoms. Treatments may include:

Blood and platelet transfusions: Providers may use blood transfusions to boost red blood cell levels for people with severe forms of anaemia. They may use platelet transfusions to help with blood-clotting issues.

Anticoagulants: These medications help with blood clotting disorders by keeping your blood from clotting too easily.

Growth factor supplementation: This treatment stimulates your bone marrow so it makes additional red and white blood cells. Erythropoietin-stimulating agents (ESA) are examples of growth factor supplements.

Corticosteroids: This treatment suppresses your immune system. Providers may use steroids to treat autoimmune hemolytic anemia.

Some blood disorders don’t cause noticeable symptoms. If that’s your situation, your provider will monitor your overall health, paying close attention to any new signs or symptoms that you’re developing a blood disorder.

These treatments have different side effects. Ask your provider about treatment side effects. They’ll help you manage them.

 

 

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• Common blood clotting disorders, Health Facts, Non-cancerous blood disorders

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