Aplastic anemia symptoms and signs

Symptoms of aplastic anemia are caused by low numbers of blood cells. The severity of a person's symptoms depends on the number of blood cells person has.

• Low numbers of red blood cells can cause a person to feel fatigue (feeling tired or weak), also can cause shortness of breath; dizziness, especially when standing up; headache; coldness in your hands or feet; pale skin, gums and chest pain.
• Low numbers of white blood cells can lead to fevers, frequent infections that can be severe, and flu-like illnesses that linger.
• Low numbers of platelets can lead to easy bleeding or bruising and pinpoint red bleeding spots on the skin, or bleeding that is hard to stop.

Other symptoms may include a waxy pallor to the skin and mucous membranes, bleeding gums, a lack of energy during exercise, and tinnitus (ringing in the ears), nausea (feeling sick to your stomach) and skin rashes. Premenopausal women may have an increased menstrual flow and duration. Massive bleeding is unusual.

For a person with moderate aplastic anemia, these symptoms may be mild or moderate. For a person with severe or very severe aplastic anemia, infections or bleeding can be life-threatening.

Signs and tests of aplastic anemia:
A complete blood count (CBC) show low hematocrit and hemoglobin levels (anemia).
The reticulocyte count is low.
The platelet count is low.
The white blood cell count is low.
A bone marrow biopsy shows very few cells.