Anemia is a medical condition that causes a decrease in the number of red blood cells in the body, affecting the flow of oxygen to the tissues. The lack of blood flow results in patients feeling tired and weak. Let’s look at the main types of anemia one should know about

• Aplastic anemia
  This type of anemia makes the body incapable of producing sufficient new red blood cells. It is a serious condition that can occur suddenly or develop over a period. It can be a result of chemotherapy and radiation treatment, toxic chemical exposure, certain drug use, autoimmune diseases, viral infections, pregnancy, or other unknown reasons. The symptoms of this type of anemia include fatigue, shortness of breath, irregular heart rate, pale skin, prolonged infections, easy or unexplained bruising, nosebleeds, bleeding gums, prolonged bleeding from cuts, skin rash, dizziness, headache, and fever.
• Iron-deficiency anemia
  One of the main types of anemia, it causes the number of red blood cells in the body to decrease due to a lack of iron in the body. This deficiency can be a result of blood loss, a diet low in iron, the body’s incapability to absorb iron, or pregnancy. The symptoms of this type of anemia are extreme fatigue, weakness, pale skin, chest pain, rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, headache, dizziness, lightheadedness, cold feet and hands, inflammation of the tongue, brittle nails, cravings for non-nutritive materials like dirt, ice, or starch, and a lack of appetite.
• Sickle cell anemia
  This is an inherited condition and causes the red blood cells to be sickle-shaped, which stops them from traveling freely in the bloodstream. This shape of the red blood cells hampers blood flow and causes blockage in the small blood vessels. Sickle cell anemia is a genetic disease, but if only one of the parents transfers the defective gene, the child becomes a carrier and can pass it to the next generation, even if they do not show any symptoms. The child develops the condition if both the parents are carriers, and the symptoms include pain, frequent infections, swelling of the hands and feet, delayed puberty, and vision problems.
• Thalassemia
  It is one of the main types of anemia and causes a blood disorder that results in a lack of hemoglobin in the body. And without hemoglobin, red blood cells cannot carry oxygen. This medical condition is a result of DNA mutations that the patients inherit from their parents. Thalassemia has different types with a variety of symptoms, and the most common symptoms are fatigue, weakness, yellowish skin, deformities of facial bone, slow growth, abdominal swelling, and dark urine.

Most of the main types of anemia cannot be prevented, but following a diet rich in iron sources can help prevent iron-deficiency anemia.