The Importance of Knowing Your Hemoglobin Count

The world of health care provides us with a myriad of instruments that detect an almost infinite list of medical conditions and one of these important tools is the one which detects how high or low are a particular patient’s blood—hemoglobin—levels are. As a protein that is contained in the body of red blood cells traveling in our plasma, hemoglobin is responsible for the exchange of gas in and out of every single cell in our body—bringing oxygen to such cells and then collecting the waste carbon dioxide from said cells and then send them to our lungs for excretion through exhalation. The molecule within a hemoglobin protein which has iron is the heme molecule and it is the reason why oxygen from the lungs and also carbon dioxide from all other cells of our body can take a ride inside the red blood cell. There will no longer be a smooth exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide within the body of someone who is detected to have red blood cells that have unnatural structure, which is found to be relative to hemoglobin levels. It is best to have hemoglobin meter.

Included in the process of analyzing a patient’s complete blood count is the assessment of such patient’s amount of hemoglobin in the body. Grams per deciliter is the metrical unit that is placed on the hemoglobin level’s numerical value. On how normal or abnormal a person’s measured hemoglobin level is, particular considerations should be made such as determining how old the patient is and whether if such patient is male or female. Anemia, which can be caused by plenty of factors, is most probably diagnosed if doctors find that a particular patient’s amount of bodily hemoglobin is below normal levels. Such causes of anemia are: inadequate nourishment, medication that are used in chemotherapy, abnormalities of the marrow portion of the bone, blood loss, and insufficiency in renal activities.

An abnormally large amount of hemoglobin that determined in a patient’s system is a result of various conditions. An abnormally high count of hemoglobin can be determined, through lab hemoglobin test, in the body of someone who frequently smokes. If you are living in the mountains or cities that are way above the water level, it can be found that your hemoglobin levels will be higher than usual. A lack of fluid in the body may produce hemoglobin values that are above the normal range. These and many more like uncontrolled drug dependency of heart and lung medication can be the culprit of the sudden or gradual rise of hemoglobin levels in the body.

Irregular levels of hemoglobin also indicates sickle cell anemia, one of the more prevalent medical conditions brought about by hemoglobin leves. A resulting irregular shape of the red blood cell’s structure is a sign that there is something wrong with the hemoglobin in the patient’s body, which is most of the time regarded as genetic in nature. The result of producing irregularly shaped blood cells is a situation where these cells are going to have a hard time getting through blood vessels that have a small diameter and this will lead to complications.