I want to ask... is bout blood...

[yeng]

'There is a mild microcytic hypochromis anaemia. the red cells show an occasional target and several elloptocytes.

the blood flim is suggestive of thalassaemia trait and/or iron deficiency.'


wat is a flim ?
wat is mild microcytic hypochromis anaemia?
wat is occasional target?
wat is elloptocytes?

wat does the whole passage means?

Do tell me pls, doctos and doctor-will be...

(it is my own blood test)

[Zeroth]

Perhaps Youngyew is more pro to explain this but here's what I understand so far:

Your blood results have shown a possible condition called thalassaemia. BUT, it is not confirmed until you get more tests done, such as a genetic test.

Thalassaemia is a condition where your haemoglobins do not form properly due to a defect in either the genes coding for your alpha or beta chains. Your red blood cell contains haemoglobin molecules which helps carry oxygen around your body. The haemoglobin molecule in turn is made up of 2 alpha and 2 beta chains. In a patient with thalassaemia, either the alpha or beta chains are not produced properly, therefore your haemoglobin cannot be produced properly. So your oxygen transport is reduced. Leading to anaemia.

In a nutshell, if you have thalassaemia, you are likely to get anaemia because of disrupted haemoglobin production.

The good news is, what you are suspected to be having is thalassaemia trait, which means it's a milder form of the disease. You'll probably not feel anything unless you overexert yourself by exercising or in conditions where oxygen may be low.

In more severe form, called thalassaemia major, you would have felt the symptoms much earlier and suffers from anemia, etc. But I won't dwell into that now as it's not really relevant to you.

Iron deficiency is a condition where your total iron in the body is low. Iron is also part of the haemoglobin molecule and is involved in oxygen transport as well. Therefore, when you are iron deficient, you have low oxygen in the body --> anaemia.

The terms microcytic and hypochromic is unimportant for you as it makes no difference whether you understand it or not. But anyway:

microcytic --> your red blood cells are smaller than usual
Hypochromic --> your haemoglobin in the red blood cells are lower than usual.
target cells--> your red blood cells look like a target in dart

target cells is a characteristics of thalasaemia (and other diseases).

Lastly, the film simply means the blood slide.

So in conclusion: you have nothing too serious to worry about at this point in time as the thalassaemia trait (minor) is quite benign.

However, you'll have to seek treatment for the anaemia, get another diagnostic test done to confirm the thalassaemia (and to know which thalassaemia you've got) and lastly get genetic counseling as the disease is hereditary.

You can PM me or Youngyew if you want to ask anything in private. Otherwise consult the person that ordered the test for you or your general practitioner.

Hope it helps.

[ElansarGelmir]

Uhmm... what I gathered from your post is that microcytic hypochromis anemia means that you have red blood cells that are below the average level in terms of quantity and size and you are already lacking of iron... and you say not to worry? Hmmm... Also, wouldn't the change of shape in your red blood cells affect the oxygen transportation system in your body like sickle anemia does?

[Zeroth]

Not to worry because the condition (thalassaemia trait) is largely asymptomatic except for exertion.

However, the iron deficiency has to be treated.

The red blood cells' shape doesnt really change, it's the haemoglobin content and distribution that changes.

In sickle cell anaemia, an amino acid was substituted in the beta chain, causing the formation of an abnormal haemoglobin called HbS. HbS tend to polymerise when deoxygenated causing the red blood cells to deform.

In thalassaemia, either the beta or alpha chain is completely missing, therefore the other chain tends to precipitate and damaging red blood cell membranes causing haemolysis (cell break down).

Although they are both diseases of the blood ,they are quite different.

Again, so that the digression doesn't confuse you, my recommendations are:

1. seek treatment for the current anaemia
2. confirm the diagnosis of thalassaemia and iron deficiency
3. if thalassaemia is confirmed, seek genetic counselling as the disease is hereditary.

[youngyew]

Elliptocyte means an abnormally oval or elliptical red blood cell.

By the way don't worry too much, even if you have thalassemia it's likely to be minor, assuming that you never really noticed much anemic symptoms throughout your life. Thalassemia is a relatively common disease, and it is not life-threatening. The most significant effect of a minor thalassemia is reduced stamina.

Some online resources:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Thalassemia/Thalassemia_WhatIs.html
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000587.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalassemia

By the way, if you know Chinese language, this disease is called 地中海贫血症.

[yeng]

sorry, i hv an typing error..
that's an "or" missing at "thalassaemia trait and/ '-here-'

thankyou for the information.
would it be possible i m just iron deficiency but no thalassaemia?
because sometimes i feel dizzy -like 2 faint bu never faint-
this never happens when i m still living wit my parent
(current i m in PJ, my hometown is in ipoh)

yes, my doc explained some of the terms 2 me but i hv no idea wat is he saying about so i post it here hopefully get a clearer answer...

when i ask him d i need som medicine he jus tell me eat more green vege -any vege that is green in colour.-
that's all. needn't any extra medicine.
n i realy eat less vege these days.

what lead 2 do my blood test is
tuesday, i go 2 KLCC by LRT. i feel dizzy even i go bac 2 my hostel.
the next day, dizzy again. + fever.
fever last for a few days, quite a long time.
so , i go 2 the clinic downstairs 2 c doctor,
but they say i hv fever a long time (due to my termometer inaccuracy) better check for denggi.

then i checked.
the result come out is all normal except haemogoblin, jus like wat post in this thread.

so..
i should get a genetic test, check for thalassaemia -trait-
does it means i m a carrier?
and oes it mean my parents got 2 check too?

[yeng]

so izit iron deficiency oso affect the shape haemogoblin?
frm the shape of cells, d we noe tat it is alpha or beta?

i try 2 cope wit the iron defficiency.
thx alot.

[Zeroth]

I believe the doctor asked you to eat green veges is to increase your folate levels, which I believe may increase your blood cell levels (taking this off my head, might be wrong). The more accurate description of what he wants you to eat is 'green leafy vegetables', rich in folate.

I kinda noticed the "/" after posting the first one, lol!

The dizziness is probably the result of the anaemia.

Your problem is not the shape of the haemoglobin, rather, it's the lack of it if you have thalassaemia. The thalassaemia was suggested by the target cells but it doesn't accurately diagnose you as having thalassaemia. To be sure you'll need to get a test called haemoglobin electrophoresis.

However, if you have iron deficiency anaemia, you just need to work on your iron through diet. Red meat is a good source of iron, as with some other foods. Again, it's a suspect, to confirm, another blood test called the plasma iron study may be used.

According to my book, iron deficiency anaemia can distort your cells too.

[yeng]

oic, thx alot!
then...
if i hv never done the blood test, it didn't affect me alot anyway?

hahaha
but it is a big problem 4 me 2 find some "green leafty vege" and red meat -infact i do not eat beef and don't like lamb n pork is expensive...(13.50 per person 1 bak kut teh downstaris of my hostel!) unless i cook on my own.

i ady spend rm55 in blood test.

but i will try my best.

so how long d i take 2 cope my iron defficiency if i follow a lifestyle eating leafty vege on lunch and dinner?

quantity is normal (1 scoop from the economy rice?)

[Zeroth]

Unfortunately dietary advice is something I am uncapable of, I suggest you consult a dietician for that :P

For the iron deficiency, I believe your doctor resorted to dietary intake probably because your iron levels are not critically low, but that's an assumption as we don't have your actual values. If you really cannot increase your food intake, you might think of consulting with the same doctor again regarding iron tablets (but they are associated with some side effects if overdosed, or when the iron in your blood is excessive).

Lol, you are feeling the anaemia, so I reckon the blood test is well worth it to see what's happening. Again, we're not 100% sure that you have thalassaemia yet as it might just be a simple iron deficiency anaemia.

By the way, pork is white meat i think.. lol!

What i can do for you is limited as i'm just a student :P

[yeng]

pork is red meat la..........

later i post my blood composition value.
i jus post the description of flim.

better have a check up, plan 2 ( but where i m staying - bandar utama have a lot of rich ppl... so ....planing 2 go hoe 2 check at IPoh.-hometown!)

of course la! u have patient consult u even b4 bcom a doc!
Great!

[youngyew]

Hi yeng, for privacy reasons, I would recommend that you send your blood composition values through private message / email to zeroth if you want his opinions. You could also send it to me if you'd like to, but I might be less experienced in this regard since I haven't been exposed to much clinical stuff yet. But regardless, it's better if you get a professional opinion in addition to opinions from any of us.

For pork, actually it could be considered as either white or red, depending on who you talk to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pork#Nutrition
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_meat

Basically the old definition of whether something is red or white meat was based on the colour when it's raw, as well as whether it's a mammal's meat. However, since we brought in the topic of red meat because of our concern about iron content, I would just like to quote this particular paragraph from wiki:

The main determinant of the color of meat is the concentration of myoglobin. The white meat of chicken has under 0.05%; chicken thigh has 0.18-0.20%; pork and veal have 0.1-0.3%; young beef has 0.4-1.0%; and old beef has 1.5-2.0%.
Myoglobin is the main iron source in meat, by the way.

So it's actually between chicken meat and beef, and to be fair let's just call it "pink meat". :)

[yeng]

Hi yeng, for privacy reasons, I would recommend that you send your blood composition values through private message / email to zeroth if you want his opinions. You could also send it to me if you'd like to, but I might be less experienced in this regard since I haven't been exposed to much clinical stuff yet. But regardless, it's better if you get a professional opinion in addition to opinions from any of us.

tq i almost 4 got.

[Zeroth]

lol! good one on the myoglobin :)

I think even if u send us the results i'll just refer to my pocket book so i can't really help u in that regard. it's better if u consult a more qualified individual to clarify your questions.

[Al-Bert]

I have learned a fact that vegetarian people are less likely to be deficiency in iron. There was also a study ( forget the website ), showing that iron deficiency anaemia is relatively common among omnivore women...

Compared to omnivores, vegetarians could absorb more iron from the food they consumed and loss lesser iron from their intestines....

So, instead of eating more red meat, i think a patient that having iron deficiency anemia should take in more iron rich plant products like cereal, flake, soya bean and nuts.... The high consumption of green leafty vegetable is imperative too since it contains high amount of vitamin C that could enhances the absorption of iron into our intestines....

[yeng]

memang. i eat a lot of meat recently........
lack of vege.....

on the other words-dunno how 2 take of myself.
now, i fell sick again. coughing 1 2 die.
haha.

[ElansarGelmir]

Drink less tea, coffee, wines, soft drinks, and eat less chocolate or whole grain products. They contain chemicals that inhibit the absorption of iron in your stomach. Eat more vegetables and drink more juice

[yeng]

ya..
thx a lot.