What does it mean on my blood test says rdw- high 15.6 & hemoglobin low & hematocrit low ?

Anaemia: Sounds like mild iron deficiency anaemia. Try an oral iron preparation and repeat the test in three months. Good Luck

RDW: I never got much help from the red cell distribution width value. Abnormally low hgb and hct indicates anemia. To start,helpful values in determining the type and cause would be serum iron and IBC, B12 and folic acid levels, reticulocyte count, serum protein electrophoresis, MCV,MCHC, MCH,testosterone level in older males, stools for occult blood testing. See a hematologist if unclear of diagnosis

Anemia : While iron deficiency anemia is a common cause of anemia I suggest asking your doctor to do further testing. I have seen patients who have several types of anemia at the same time, for example, from deficiency to vitamin B12 and iron. There several other types of anemia can cause these results. I always teach the residents (doctors in training) to never assume iron deficiency anemia prove it.

See below: If you are a women take oral iron and multivitamin supplements and retest in 3-6 months. If you are a male see your doctor to rule out internal bleeding.

Anemia: Abnormal RDW (red cell distribution width) means not all your red cells are the same size. This happens in patients with anemia because if you have anemia, your body creates more red cells, and at the beginning those are bigger than the rest of your cells. That why you would have different sizes of red cells. Also, if some nutrient deficiencies can make you have some smaller or bigger cells, and t