Luke’s article analysis – http://www.emedicinehealth.com/anemia/article_em.htm
Author: Siamak T. Tabili MD MPH
This article was written by Siamak T. Tabili, a Doctor of Bio-medical science and has entitled the article “Anaemia Symptoms and treatment”. The article is broken up into sections, for example; overview, causes, treatment, statistics, medications, surgery, follow-up etc. I feel that this article is written to present the basic and complex facts on the topic. Here is an example of the basic statistics that the article puts forward:
“Blood is comprised of two parts; a liquid part called the plasma and a cellular part. The cellular part contains several different cell types. One of the most important and most numerous types and the most numerous cell types are red blood cells. The other cell types are the white blood cells and platelets. Only red blood cells are discussed in this article. The purpose of the red blood cell is to deliver oxygen from the lungs to other parts of the body.”
This article is very informative. It is well over 15 pages long and is straight to the point. It only shows one point of view, and that is the point of view of the author, from a purely scientific view, only the outside facts and no emotional bias from anyone who has actually had the disease, which can be a good or bad thing, as they may not have experience with anaemia first hand.
Here is an excerpt from the article which I think would be important for sufferers of the disease to know as it speaks to them directly and gives them some options:
“Very little can be done to self-treat anaemia and medical treatment is generally needed. It is important to continue to take any medication that is prescribed for other chronic (long-lasting) medical problems. If the reason for anaemia is known, then measures to keep it under control are very important. If anaemia is mild and associated with no symptoms or minimal symptoms, a thorough investigation by a doctor will be done in the outpatient setting (doctor’s office). If any cause is found, then appropriate treatment will be started. For example, if anaemia is mild and is found to be related to low iron levels, then iron supplements may be given while further investigation to determine the cause of the iron deficiency is carried out.”
I feel that this article is not very proactive towards people with the disease. It explains all the facts and statistics and it does it very well, but it has absolutely no empathy towards sufferers, it almost seemed apathetic. It doesn’t explain what it is actually like to have Anaemia. Although, I do believe that this article is very good, as it is the most informative one I have come across.
anaemia 