Conditions We Treat: Multiple Blood Disorders

Multiple Blood Disorders FAQs

What are blood disorders?

Blood disorders are diseases that affect one of the four substances that make up your blood:

Red Blood Cells
Red blood cells deliver oxygen to your tissues.

White Blood Cells
White blood cells fight infections from viruses, bacteria, and other potentially harmful organisms.

Platelets
Platelets are cells that assist in blood clotting when you’re injured and support the healing process.

Plasma
Plasma is the liquid element of blood.

Multiple blood disorders can have a significant impact on your overall health and present with various symptoms.

What symptoms are common with multiple blood disorders?

Some of the common symptoms of multiple blood disorders include:

• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Bruising easily
• Shortness of breath
• Problems concentrating
• Mental fog
• Frequent infections
• Slow-healing sores
• Blood clots
• Frequent nose bleeds

If you have symptoms like these, they could be due to multiple blood disorders or may have another cause, so it’s important to find out what’s wrong.

What multiple blood disorders are there?

Anemia is one of the most common blood disorders. It develops when your blood doesn’t have enough healthy red blood cells to deliver oxygen around your body effectively. Different types of anemia include iron and vitamin deficiency anemias, aplastic anemia, and sickle cell anemia.

Conditions that affect how your blood coagulates (thickens) are also common multiple blood disorders. These diseases either make your blood clot too easily or not enough. Examples of coagulation disorders include:

• Hemophilia
• Von Willebrand disease
• Platelet dysfunction
• Factor V Leiden
• Antithrombin III deficiency
• Disseminated intravascular coagulation
• Prothrombin gene mutation
• Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome

Hemochromatosis is a type of genetic blood disorder in which your body absorbs too much iron. The iron builds up in your heart, liver, and pancreas, potentially leading to serious complications.

To diagnose multiple blood disorders, the Hunterdon Hematology Oncology team runs tests, including a complete blood count and blood coagulation analysis, and looks for proteins produced by cancer cells and other diseases.

It might be necessary for you to undergo a bone marrow biopsy if your provider wants to check for or rule out conditions like multiple myeloma and other forms of blood cancer.

How are multiple blood disorders treated?

The hematology team at Hunterdon Hematology Oncology provides you with a customized treatment program to tackle multiple blood disorders. Depending on what’s causing your blood disorder, you might benefit from:

• Dietary changes
• Iron supplements
• Vitamin B12 injections
• Folic acid supplements
• Immunosuppressant medication
• Blood transfusions
• Hormone treatments
• Bone marrow transplants
• Oxygen therapy

Coagulation disorders could also benefit from blood-thinning or clotting regulation medications.

The physicians at Hunterdon Hematology Oncology take a proactive approach to treating both benign and cancerous blood disorders. They take all conditions very seriously and research them thoroughly to maximize each patient’s outcomes.

Find out more by calling Hunterdon Hematology Oncology, today, or book an appointment online.