10 Reasons to Visit a Hematologist

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A hematologist is a physician who is trained and specializes in the diagnosis, treatment and/or prevention of a variety of blood disorders, both benign and malignant. The most common blood disorders treated by a hematologist that are considered benign include anemia and bleeding or clotting disorders. Malignant blood diseases include leukemia, multiple myeloma, Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

You will be referred to a hematologist if your primary care doctor or family doctor suspects or diagnoses you with a blood disease or disorder. Consulting the advice and expertise of a hematologist will hopefully give you some assurance.

10 Reasons to Visit a Hematologist

1. Easy Bruising

Easy bruising occurs when blood vessels burst and leak blood under the skin’s surface. Bruising can be the result of disorders affecting the surrounding skin and subcutaneous tissues, platelet function and number, coagulation cascade function or the blood vessels. Blood thinners or drugs that decrease the blood’s clotting ability may cause easy bruising. Chemotherapy can also decrease the number of platelets in your body. A low platelet count increases the risk of easy bruising. In rare cases, easy bruising can be an early sign of blood or bone marrow cancer

Differentiating between bruising that is considered normal and one that is clinically significant can be a difficult task. For this reason it is best to consult a hematologist who can evaluate your symptoms and rule out any blood-related disorders

2. Swollen and Painless Lymph Nodes

Lymph nodes are tiny, bean-shaped organs which help the body to fight infections. There are many causes of swollen lymph nodes. Most commonly, lymph nodes become swollen when the body is combating infections and foreign bodies that have found their way into the lymphatic system. In rare cases, the swelling can be caused by cancer. Lymph nodes are present all over the body. Certain groups of them can be found in the groin, underarm area and under the skin of the neck.

Swollen lymph nodes do not always necessitate an immediate visit to a physician. If, however, your doctor suspects lymphoma, leukemia or blood cancer, he will refer you to a hematologist who will carry out additional tests and examinations.

3. Determine your HIV Status

Being sure of your HIV status is another important reason you might want to visit a hematologist. Testing at least once a year for HIV is a good sexual health practice for everyone who is sexually active, even if you know you haven’t put yourself at risk of infection. If you have had unprotected sex with someone who is HIV positive or whose status is unknown, shared needles, syringes or other injecting equipment or think that infected blood has gotten into your body, then you should visit your doctor who will refer you to a hematologist.

4. To Determine your full Blood Count

A full blood count is a routine blood test needed to evaluate your overall health and detect a wide range of medical conditions, including anemia, infections (bacteria, viral, parasitic) and blood cancer.

A complete blood count test measures several components of your blood, including:

• red blood cells
• hemoglobin
• white blood cells
• platelets and hematocrit (fraction of red blood cells to the plasma in your blood)

A hematologist may perform a complete blood count for a variety of reasons:

• To diagnose a medical condition: If your doctor suspects you have an infection or if you are experiencing symptoms such as weakness, high body temperature, fatigue, bruising or bleeding, a complete blood count may help diagnose the exact cause of these signs and symptoms.
• To monitor the effectiveness of a medical treatment: A complete blood count may be used track your health if you are taking any drugs or therapy that may affect blood cell count.
• To monitor a medical condition: Your doctor may request a complete blood count to monitor your medical condition, especially if it affects your blood cell counts.

5. Recurrent Infections

Recurrent bacterial infections are among the most frequent symptoms seen in people with blood malignancies, those undergoing high-dose chemotherapy, and rare genetic disorders that affect the body’s ability to fight infection such as X-linked agammaglobulinemia.

6. Blood Donation

Donating your blood may be another reason you might want to visit a hematologist. Every day, thousands of people all over the world rely on receiving donated blood and blood products to stay alive. Donating blood can be a great gesture of giving back to your community. Besides, donating blood also has its own benefits and they include:

• Stimulates the bone marrow to produce new blood cells
• Free health screening.
• Minimizes the risk of cardiovascular diseases
• Refresh the blood system.
• Burns calories

7. Anemia

Anemia is the most common blood disorder, and iron deficiency anemia is the commonest of them all. Depending on the presenting symptoms and severity of your anemia, your doctor may recommend some tests to determine the type of anemia before referring you to a hematologist for necessary treatment.

8. Blood Cancer

An abnormal finding on your blood test may cause your doctor to suspect a blood malignancy such as leukemia. In order to confirm the diagnosis, a hematologist will need to perform a bone marrow biopsy.

9. Bleeding Disorder

If you have a history of excessive bleeding after a minor cut or if you are not sure if your child has a similar condition, your doctor might suspect an underlying hemostatic disorder like hemophilia or von Willebrand’s disease. You will be referred to see a hematologist for diagnosis and treatment.

10.Genotyping and Blood Group Compatibility

Another reason you may want to visit a hematologist is to know your hemoglobin genotype and blood group. Reasons why should know your blood group includes:

• In cases of emergency situations where a quick blood transfusion is required, knowing your status will help prevent complications like transfusion reaction due to blood incompatibility, blood clot or even death.
• It guides you in your choice of a life partner, help to avoid having blood disorders like sickle cell anemia in your children.

References

Benefits of Donating Blood | National Blood Transfusion Service. (2018). Retrieved from http://nbts.gov.jm/benefits-of-donating-blood/

Benign Blood Disorders: Symptoms & Treatment | Cleveland Clinic: Health Library. (2018). Retrieved from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/16777-benign-hematology

Janis, M. (2012). Iron Deficiency Anemia in Cancer Patients. Oncology & Hematology Review (US), 08(02), 74. doi: 10.17925/ohr.2012.08.2.74

Yoo, J. (2015). 2102541 Cervical Lymph Nodes Focused on the Characteristic Findings of Benign and Malignant Lymph Nodes. Ultrasound In Medicine & Biology, 41(4), S173-S174. doi: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2014.12.661