What is a condition resulting from decreased red blood cells or hemoglobin?
Aplastic anemia is a decrease of blood cells caused by various diseases and chemotherapy or irradiation. Various parasites can cause anemia, i.e. hookworms and cause a dramatic decrease in the erythrocyte level and reduce the hematocrit to levels below 20 (about half normal). Any bleeding can reduce the blood cell count. Certain drugs have been known to cause this condition (such as Chloramphenicol) and it is not always reversible. The reverse condition is polycythemia or a thickening of the blood and may be caused by vomiting or dehydration or as an actual disease. Lack of hemoglobin causes anemia and may be caused by several conditions, such as hemolytic anemia where the number of erythrocytes being produced is smaller than the number being destroyed. Women tend to have a lower hemoglobin level than men because of menses, and the normal regimen is either oral or parental iron.
