Niloufer Hospital Assistant Professor Dr V. Janaki has appealed to the State government and NGOs to create awareness on Anemia among the women in the State.
Speaking at an awareness program on Anemia conducted by Merck Serono Pharma Company here today, Dr Janaki appealed to the State government and NGOs to come forward to conduct screen tests at high schools and junior colleges to detect Anemia among girls at an early stage. She also appealed to the women and girls to voluntarily come forward to undergo Hemoglobin test to detect Anemia.
She said that one of the common medical conditions that affects women was Anemia. Anemia is a condition in which the body does not have enough healthy Red Blood cells. When the body has no enough iron, it will make less number of Red Blood Cells as iron is an important building block for Red Blood Cells. She said that National Family Health Survey-3 has revealed that prevalence of Anemia is 70 to 80 percent in children, 70 per cent in pregnant women and 24 per cent in adult women. She said that prevalence of Anemia in the country was high because of low or insufficient dietary intake, absorption and iron loss due to menstruation, hook worm infection, malaria, stomach ulcer, suppression by chemotherapy drugs.
Dr Uma Jaiswal of Jaiswal Super Specialty Hospital, said that Iron-deficiency Anemia (IDA) was the most common form of Anemia. Especially, pregnant women suffer from IDA as their body’s iron requirement increases greatly and they were not able to absorb enough iron through their diet alone. Low iron level in a pregnant mother can pose a significant risk to the foetus, including increased risk of foetal deaths, premature birth and low foetal, birth –weight among others. IDA was characterized by lethargy, irritability, fatigue and tiredness. Problems in concentration, brittle nails, light-headedness and shortness of breath or a sore tongue were also associated with IDA.
To increase Haemoglobin levels, iron supplements should be taken as recommended by the doctor and eating well-balanced diet with more iron-rich foods like beans, leafy vegetables, spinach, Soya beans, jaggery, beet root, red meat and so on.
Merck Serono Pharma Company Area Manager, Women’s Health N. P. Shukla also spoke. (NSS)