Hemoglobin too low: what it means for the body
The ability of our blood to carry oxygen depends on the amount of hemoglobin. If the hemoglobin is low, the body is consequently supplied with fewer oxygen molecules. This can manifest itself with the following symptoms:
- Weakness in performance
- Fatigue
- Shortness of breath (dyspnea)
- Paleness, especially of the mucous membranes
- Palpitations (tachycardia)
- Dizziness, lightheadedness
However, all these symptoms are very general complaints that can also occur in the context of many other diseases. Therefore, their occurrence does not necessarily mean that the Hb level is low.
When is the hemoglobin value too low?
Hemoglobin too low: Causes
When the Hb value is too low, this is also known in medicine as anemia. You can read all about the possible causes of anemia in the article Anemia.
Hemoglobin too low: What happens next?
If the hemoglobin value is too low, the doctor must find the cause of the anemia. To do this, he needs other laboratory values, for example the mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) or the mean corpuscular volume (MCV).
Once it has been found out why the hemoglobin is too low, it can be treated accordingly and thus the Hb value returned to normal. If the drop in Hb is very sudden and severe, blood units may be needed.
