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Sorry, you have to go see your family physician and get your blood drawn. Anemia is low blood count (not enough). We look at your hemoglobin & hematocrit. Your tests should come back with a reference range so that if you're below the lower limit of normal, you're considered anemic. The next step then is to figure out why.
We look at the MCV (mean corpuscular volume) to determine the size of the red blood cells. Low MCV (small red blood cells) is consistent w/iron deficiency (common in menstruating young women or in elderly w/colon cancer or bleeding from a stomach ulcer). High MCV (large red blood cells) is consistent w/not enough vitamin B12 and/or folate.
What if you're low in iron, B12 & folate? Then your MCV is normal but your RDW (red cell distribution width) is elevated indicating a mix of both small & large red blood cells.
By the way, some inherited anemias have low MCV w/normal iron. This is common in Asians and those Mediterranean descent. And of course, there's sickle cell anemia (or trait) which is common in African Americans. Sorry, probably a bit more information than you wanted.
Best thing to do is to go see your family physician. BTW, low thyroid function can also make you tired. So can depression. Mononuclelosis. Lots of things. Go see your family physician!
We look at the MCV (mean corpuscular volume) to determine the size of the red blood cells. Low MCV (small red blood cells) is consistent w/iron deficiency (common in menstruating young women or in elderly w/colon cancer or bleeding from a stomach ulcer). High MCV (large red blood cells) is consistent w/not enough vitamin B12 and/or folate.
What if you're low in iron, B12 & folate? Then your MCV is normal but your RDW (red cell distribution width) is elevated indicating a mix of both small & large red blood cells.
By the way, some inherited anemias have low MCV w/normal iron. This is common in Asians and those Mediterranean descent. And of course, there's sickle cell anemia (or trait) which is common in African Americans. Sorry, probably a bit more information than you wanted.
Best thing to do is to go see your family physician. BTW, low thyroid function can also make you tired. So can depression. Mononuclelosis. Lots of things. Go see your family physician!
