Normally they last for about 120 days in the circulation. Common causes of hemolysis include reactions to drugs, congenital conditions such as ferracystosis and sickle cell disease, and infections such as malaria. Other symptoms may be present according to the cause of the anemia. Patients with hemolysis may develop yellow jaundice of the skin and eyes. Tests for anemia are simple and logical.
Red cells have characteristic appearances according to the specific deficiency.
More than the usual number of these in the blood indicates a rapid turnover of red blood cells in response to hemolysis or blood loss. Blood levels of iron, folate, and B12 are measured as appropriate. When they are discovered, further investigations can determine the precise cause of any deficiency. The finding of iron deficiency anemia, particularly in men and in women who are not menstruating, should prompt the investigation for chronic bleeding into the bowel. These then lead logically to examination of the lining of the intestine to seek a local bleeding lesion.