May 22, 2025

What Women Should Know About Anemia

What Women Should Know About Anemia

Anemia is a common health problem, especially in women and older adults.

It happens when your body doesn’t have enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen. This can make you feel tired, weak, or out of breath.

 

 

What Causes Anemia?

Anemia has three main causes: blood loss, lack of red blood cell production, and high rates of red blood cell destruction. Conditions that may lead to anemia include ¹:

  • Heavy periods
  • Pregnancy
  • Ulcers
  • Colon polyps or colon cancer
  • A diet that does not have enough iron, folic acid or vitamin B12
  • Blood disorders such as sickle cell anemia and thalassemia, or cancer
  • Aplastic anemia, a condition that can be inherited or acquired
  • G6PD deficiency, a metabolic disorder

 

Symptoms of Anemia

You might have anemia if you notice:

  • Feeling very tired or weak
  • Pale skin
  • Dizziness or light-headedness
  • Cold hands and feet
  • Shortness of breath
  • Headaches
  • Irritability

These symptoms can come on slowly, so it’s easy to miss them. That’s why regular checkups and lab tests are important. If anemia gets worse, severe symptoms may include ²:

  • Blue color to the whites of the eyes
  • Brittle nails
  • Desire to eat ice or other non-food things (pica syndrome)
  • Lightheadedness when you stand up
  • Pale skin color
  • Shortness of breath with mild activity or even at rest
  • Sore or inflamed tongue
  • Mouth ulcers
  • Abnormal or increased menstrual bleeding
  • Heart failure

 

Lab Tests for Anemia

To find out if you have anemia, your doctor may order:

  • Complete Blood Count (CBC): This test checks your red blood cell counts
  • Iron test: Measures how much iron is in your blood.
  • Vitamin tests: Checks for low vitamin B12 or folate, which can also cause anemia.

These tests can also be purchased conveniently online through HNL Lab Tests Direct. Our anemia profile is a great way to get all of these tests completed at the same time.

No doctor’s order is required – simply select and pay for your tests, and visit any HNL Lab Medicine Patient Service Center to complete your lab work.

 

Who Gets Anemia

Anemia becomes more common as people get older, especially in women who are pregnant, of childbearing age, or older. Over 20% of people over age 85 have anemia, and about half of people in nursing homes do too ³. People managing chronic diseases are at higher risk of anemia.

In older adults, anemia is often caused by not getting enough iron, folate, or vitamin B12, or by health problems like kidney disease or long-term inflammation. In younger women, it’s usually due to low iron from heavy periods or not eating enough iron-rich foods.

 

Choose HNL Lab Medicine

If you're feeling more tired than usual, or if you have heavy periods, are pregnant, or managing a chronic disease, talk to your doctor about anemia.

Your healthcare provider may order blood work to check for this condition. You can also purchase your own lab tests, like the anemia profile, using HNL Lab Tests Direct.

HNL Lab Medicine makes it easy to get your lab work done. With quick results and many convenient locations, we’re here to help you stay on top of your health.

 

REFERENCES
¹ National Library of Medicine. (2016, July 29). Anemia. National Institutes of Health. https://medlineplus.gov/anemia.html.
² National Library of Medicine. (2024, March 31). Anemia. National Institutes of Health. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000560.htm.
³ Turner, J., Parsi, M., & Badireddy, M. Anemia. (2023, August 08). In: StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499994/.