Hemoglobin too low

and Eva Rudolf-Müller, doctor

Eva Rudolf-Müller is a freelance writer in the medical team. She studied human medicine and newspaper sciences and has repeatedly worked in both areas - as a doctor in the clinic, as a reviewer, and as a medical journalist for various specialist journals. She is currently working in online journalism, where a wide range of medicine is offered to everyone.

More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.

Hemoglobin (Hb) enables the transport of oxygen and carbon dioxide in our body. If the hemoglobin is too low, this can trigger corresponding symptoms. In order to clarify how a low Hb value comes about, the doctor must order further laboratory tests. Read here what it means when there is too little hemoglobin in the blood.

Hemoglobin Too Low: What It Means For The Body

The ability of our blood to carry oxygen depends on the amount of hemoglobin. When hemoglobin is low, the body is supplied with fewer oxygen molecules. This can be noticeable with the following complaints:

Inefficiency
fatigue
Shortness of breath (dyspnoea)
Pallor, especially on the mucous membranes
Racing heart (tachycardia)
Dizziness, drowsiness

However, all of 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 level too low?

In women, the hemoglobin value is too low if there are less than 12 grams per deciliter (g / dl) in the blood, in men it is below 14 g / dl. However, you have to consider individual factors such as age. Older people can definitely have Hb values that are slightly below these limits without this being pathological.

Hemoglobin Too Low: Causes

If the Hb level is too low, this is also known in medicine as anemia. You can read everything about the possible causes of anemia in the article Anemia.

Hemoglobin Too Low: What's Next?

If the hemoglobin level is too low, the doctor must find the cause of the anemia. To do this, he needs further laboratory values, for example the mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) or the mean corpuscular volume (MCV).

Once you have found out why the hemoglobin is too low, you can treat accordingly and thus normalize the Hb level again. If the Hb drop is very sudden and severe, blood reserves may be necessary.

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