Anemia and Its Treatment

 Anemia and Its Treatment

If you have anemia, your blood does not carry enough oxygen to the rest of your body. The most common cause of anemia is not having enough iron. Your body needs iron to make hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is an iron-rich protein that gives the red color to blood. It carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. Anaemia can have many causes, including: dietary deficiency – lack of iron, vitamin B12 or folic acid in the diet. malabsorption – where the body is not able to properly absorb or use the nutrients in the diet, caused by conditions such as coeliac disease. inherited disorders – such as thalassaemia or sickle cell ...

 

Your iron might be too low because of

Heavy periods

Pregnancy

Ulcers

Colon polyps or colon cancer

Inherited disorders

A diet that does not have enough iron, folic acid or vitamin B 12

Blood disorders such as sickle cell anemia and thalassemia, or cancer.

Aplastic anemia, a condition that can be inherited or acquired

Anemia can make you feel weak, cold, dizzy and irritable. It is confirmed with a blood test. Treatment depends on the kind of anemia you have.

Homeopathic treatments are available for

Anemia

           Iron poor blood

Anemia due to B12 deficiency

           Macrocytic anemia

Anemia due to folate deficiency

           Anemia due to iron deficiency

Anemia of chronic disease

           Anemia of inflammation

Hemolytic anemia

Idiopathic aplastic anemia

megaloblastic anemia

pernicious anemia

            Congenital pernicious anemia

             juvenile pernicious anemia

             macrocytic achylic anemia

             vitamin B12 deficiency (malabsorption)

Secondary aplastic anemia

             acquired aplastic anemia

Sickle cell anemia

              Hb SS

              hemoglobin SS disease

              sickle cell disease

Thalassemia

               alpha thalassemia

               beta thalassemia

               cooley's anemia

               mediterranean anemia

Treatment:

Taking iron supplement pills and getting enough iron in your food will correct most cases of iron deficiency anemia. You usually take iron pills 1 to 2 times a day. To get the most benefit from the pills, take them with vitamin C (ascorbic acid) pills or orange juice. Vitamin C helps your body absorb more iron.

First, your healthcare provider will find out if the anemia is being caused by a poor diet or a more serious health problem. Then, you can be treated for both the anemia and its cause. Iron-deficiency anemia is treated with:

Iron supplements taken by mouth.

Foods high in iron and foods that help your body absorb iron (like foods with Vitamin C).

Iron given through an intravenous (IV) infusion. (This is often a choice if you have chronic kidney disease, or CKD.)

Transfusions of red blood cells.

If your anemia is caused by internal bleeding, your provider may need to do surgery to stop it. Surgical repair has been used to cure anemia in people with the paraesophageal type of hiatal hernias, with or without ulcers (called Cameron’s ulcers).

Other types of anemia may require other types of treatment. For instance, genetic disorders (like beta thalassemia and sickle cell anemia) may require bone marrow transplant.

If CKD is causing your anemia, in addition to iron supplementation (through oral or IV means), treatment could also include injections of erythropoietin (EPO). EPO is a hormone that tells the bone marrow to make red blood cells.

Anemia is also linked to cancer in some cases — both in terms of anemia being a symptom and in terms of cancer treatment. Both radiation and chemotherapy can cause anemia. It might be necessary to stall further cancer treatment until the anemia is improved by iron, blood transfusions, getting necessary B vitamins and/or getting shots of drugs to stimulate your body to produce EPO.

Anemia is also linked to cancer in some cases — both in terms of anemia being a symptom and in terms of cancer treatment. Both radiation and chemotherapy can cause anemia. It might be necessary to stall further cancer treatment until the anemia is improved by iron, blood transfusions, getting necessary B vitamins and/or getting shots of drugs to stimulate your body to produce EPO.

Some kinds of anemia, such as those that are inherited, cannot be prevented. However, you can prevent anemia caused by iron deficiency, vitamin B12 deficiency and vitamin B9 deficiency by eating well. This includes eating a diet with enough foods that provide iron and these vitamins, along with vitamin C food sources to help with the absorption. Make sure that you drink enough water.