Blood Disorders

There are many different types of blood disorder people can be affected by. Some are caused by inheriting certain traits from family members, other may be caused by a person's nutrition or vitamin intake. If someone knows that certain blood disorders run in their family they should go to their doctor and voice their concerns to their physician. The following scenarios have different symptoms and situations.
Amy, a 4-year-old Caucasian female, has been complaining of being tired all the time. She is pale and a picky eater. Her mother is a single mom with a small budget to feed a large family. Amy only eats pasta, breads, and hot dogs, and drinks only artificial fruit punch. Based on Amy's symptoms and diet I believe she is suffering from Pernicious Anemia, also known as Primary Anemia and B12 Anemia (WebMD, 2010). This is because Amy's symptoms coincide with the symptoms of the disorder, which are weakness, pale skin, and fatigue (WebMD, 2010). Pernicious Anemia is generally caused by an inadequate diet. Since she only eats a few things, she has become B12 deficient. B12 is a major part in producing red blood cells, which carry oxygen to different parts of the body(WebMD, 2010). Amy physician can easily diagnose her with blood work. Treatment is also fairly simple, she would need to take B12 supplements and improve her diet, then her symptoms would be resolved.
Marcus is a 5-year-old African-American male who has just moved to New York City, and is visiting his new pediatrician for a kindergarten physical. His mom tells the nurse that she carries the “trait” and wants Marcus screened for it. Based on Marcus's situation and from what his mother said I believe Marcus could have Sickle Cell Anemia. Sickle Cell Anemia is considered to be a genetic disorder which is common in African Americans, Hispanics, Mediterranean's, and people of Indian decent(MayoClinic, 2009). Since Marcus is African American and his mother said she carried the train this diagnosis would...