Q: Is it possible for a person to have too much blood in the system? My doctor has found I have a high hemoglobin level. Can you please tell me more about it? I am a 45-year-old female.
A: The normal range of hemoglobin levels in the blood is between 120 and 160 units. Women are usually closer to the bottom end of the scale and men have slightly higher levels. If you are female and your level is higher than 160, you should have more tests to rule out two conditions.
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Hemochromatosis, sometimes known as bronze diabetes, is due to an excessive amount of iron in the blood. This can make the skin look darker, or sun-tanned, hence the name. It is a hereditary disorder affecting three to five people per thousand of northern European descent. As many as one in 10 people may be carriers, making it the most common recessively inherited disease in North America.
This disease results in increased absorption of iron from the diet by the intestines. The excess iron cannot be digested and so it collects in the liver at first, and later on in the skin, heart and glands.
The main symptoms are weakness, weight loss, pain in the joints and abdomen, and palpitations. To confirm a diagnosis, the doctor should measure your iron level. If it is high, you should see a blood specialist who may do other tests including perhaps a biopsy of the liver. If you are found to be suffering from hemochromatosis, you may want your relatives to be tested for the mutated gene, as they could be carriers.
Luckily the treatment is relatively simple. You need to get rid of some blood at regular intervals, so donate blood every three or four months.
The other, but much rarer condition, polycythemia rubra, is a disease of the bone marrow, where the body manufactures too many stem cells resulting in too many red blood cells. In this case you will have an increased volume of red blood cells, and may also have an enlarged spleen, which can be felt by the doctor on physical examination. There will also be abnormalities in the bone marrow.
Breath test for diabetes
Isotechnika, an Edmonton-based biotech research company, has recently unveiled a new test designed to diagnose type II diabetes. This is the milder, late onset type, which is often linked with obesity and an inactive lifestyle. It is usually treated with diet and/or medication and there is often no need to be given insulin injections.
“Diatest represents a new way of diagnosing and monitoring the progress of the diabetic condition,” said Dr. Joseph Koziak of Isotechnika.
The company has applied for a licence to market this product, but it is not yet available.
