I have a question concerning my 74 year old father. Lately I've been noticing some abnormally low numbers on his lab reports. For instance, his latest RBC count is 3.66, with the reference range being 4.2-5.8 Mill/mcL. His hemoglobin level is 11.6 g/dL, with the normal range being 13.2-17.1. Also, his hematocrit level is only 34.4, with the normal range being 38.5-50%. He does tend to tire more easily than he did in past years, and of course that may be simply due to his age. However, these consistently low readings have me wondering if he may be anemic, and if anything can be done to help him. His doctor never discusses these low readings with him, so I am under the impression that he is not concerned about them. I think it troubles me more than it does my father. Any advice and/or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

I have a question concerning my 74 year old father. Lately I've been noticing some abnormally low numbers on his lab reports. For instance, his latest RBC count is 3.66, with the reference range being 4.2-5.8 Mill/mcL. His hemoglobin level is 11.6 g/dL, with the normal range being 13.2-17.1. Also, his hematocrit level is only 34.4, with the normal range being 38.5-50%. He does tend to tire more easily than he did in past years, and of course that may be simply due to his age. However, these consistently low readings have me wondering if he may be anemic, and if anything can be done to help him. His doctor never discusses these low readings with him, so I am under the impression that he is not concerned about them. I think it troubles me more than it does my father. Any advice and/or opinions would be greatly appreciated.
You have to remember that those ranges that are given are taken from the general population, and they're averages. Your father is not typical for the population as he is older, and the numbers that you are seeing are really not THAT low. However, if he is having symptoms like fatigue, shortness of breath, dizziness, lightheadedness, fainting etc. etc., it's probably a good idea to ask your Dr. about it.

Projapoti,

Thanks for the reply. You're probably right. I suppose the doctor would have said something if there was anything to be concerned about. But I'll remind my father to ask the doctor about these readings the next time he sees him, just to see what he says about them.