Aplastic Anemia: Symptoms Related to This Disease

The symptoms of aplastic anemia are somewhat vague which make it difficult to diagnose yet doctors are more aware and educated about this blood disease than they have ever been before. Aplastic anemia affects only two to six of every one million people in the United States yearly. Though with more and more findings of people being unknowingly exposed to toxic chemicals like benzene, health care physicians are more likely to test for the disease when associated symptoms arise.

Aplastic anemia is normally suspected when test results show that all three blood cell levels are at an extremely low level, even if the cells themselves are somewhat normal in appearance. A lack of energy and extreme fatigue may result when a patient has a low red blood cell count. People suffering from aplastic anemia may also feel a shortness of breath and abnormal dizziness due to a lack of oxygen in the blood that then causes the heart to work harder to circulate the reduced amount of oxygen.

In addition to a low blood cell count, there are other aplastic anemia symptoms that can serve as evidence of the disease. Abnormally pale skin, multiple bruises, bleeding gums and a rapid pulse can all be common symptoms of aplastic anemia.

Other Aplastic Anemia Symptoms

Although the symptoms above are the more common signs of aplastic anemia, there are other symptoms that can oftentimes impact patients such as:

• Headache
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Shortness of breath
• Enlarged liver
• Sinus tenderness

Children With Aplastic Anemia

Children can suffer from aplastic anemia symptoms just like adults, but with children the condition could be due to a previous infection or illness. However, according to statistics, an estimated 50 to 75 percent of childhood aplastic anemia cases in children are from unknown causes.
Among the more commonly found causes of aplastic anemia in children are:

• A history of infectious diseases like hepatitis, HIV, or Epstein-Barr
• A history of taking medications
• Exposure to benzene and other harmful chemicals
• Exposure to radiation

Children can also inherit some other type of disorder that could increase the risk of developing aplastic anemia. Disorders that have been found to increase the risk of a child experiencing aplastic anemia symptoms and being diagnosed with the disease, include:

• Fanconi Anemia: One of several inherited anemias which leads to bone marrow failure
• Dyskeratosis Congenita: A rare disorder in which three types of symptoms occur — darkening or unusual absence of skin color; progressive nail degeneration; and slowly changing characteristics of mucous membranes in the anus, urethra, lips, mouth and the eye area
• Schwachman-Diamond Syndrome: A rare disease that mainly involves the pancreas, bone marrow and skeleton

If you or someone you know are experiencing aplastic anemia symptoms and believe you have been wrongly exposed to benzene, please contact a trustworthy benzene attorney who will give you the legal guidance you need and deserve.

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