What Is Anemia?
What Is Anemia?
What Is Anemia?
What is anemia?
Anemia happens when your blood doesn't have enough hemoglobin (he-mo-GLOBE- in).
Hemoglobin helps red blood cells carry oxygen from your lungs to all parts of your body.
anemia, a type of autoimmune disease. B-12 deficiency may also be more common in
people with other autoimmune diseases, like Crohn's disease. Not getting enough B-12
can cause numbness in your legs and feet, problems walking, memory loss, and problems
seeing. The treatment depends on the cause. But you may need to get B-12 shots or take
special B-12 pills.
Underlying diseases. Certain diseases can hurt the body's ability to make red blood cells.
For example, people with kidney disease, especially those getting dialysis (takes out
wastes from your blood if your kidneys can't), are at higher risk for developing anemia.
Their kidneys can't create enough hormones to make blood cells, and iron is lost in
dialysis.
Inherited blood disease. If you have a blood disease in your family, there is a higher risk
that you will also have this disease. One type of inherited blood disease is sickle cell
anemia. Instead of having normal red blood cells that move through blood vessels easily,
sickle cells are hard and have a curved edge. These cells cannot squeeze through small
blood vessels and block the organs from getting blood. Your body destroys sickle red
cells quickly, but it can't make new red blood cells fast enough. This causes anemia.
Another inherited blood disease is thalassemia. It happens when the body is missing
certain genes or when variant (different from normal) genes are passed down from
parents that affect how the body makes hemoglobin.
Aplastic anemia. This rare problem happens when your body doesn't make enough red
blood cells. Since this affects the white blood cells too, there is a higher risk for
infections and bleeding that can't be stopped. This can be caused by many things:
fatigue
weakness
not doing well in work or school
low body temperature
pale skin
rapid heartbeat
shortness of breath
chest pain
dizziness
irritability
numbness or coldness in your hands and feet
headache
Talk to your HCP about taking iron pills (supplements). Do NOT take these pills without
talking to your health care provider first. These pills come in two forms: ferrous and
ferric. The ferrous form is better absorbed by your body. But taking iron pills can cause
side effects, like nausea, vomiting, constipation, and diarrhea. Reduce these side effects
by taking these steps:
Start with half of the recommended dose. Gradually increase to the full dose.
Take the pill in divided doses.
Take the pill with food.
If one type of iron pill is causing problems, ask your HCP for another brand.
If you are a non-pregnant woman of childbearing age, get tested for anemia every 5 to 10
years. This can be done during a regular health exam. Testing should start in adolescence.
If you are a non-pregnant woman of childbearing age with these risk factors for iron
deficiency, get tested every year:
heavy periods
low iron intake
previous diagnosis of anemia
teenage girls/women of childbearing age (who have heavy menstrual losses, who
have had more than one child, or use an intrauterine device [IUD])
older infants and toddlers
pregnant women
These groups of people should be screened periodically for iron deficiency. If the tests
show that the body isn't getting enough iron, iron supplements may be prescribed. Many
health care providers prescribe iron supplements during pregnancy because many
pregnant women don't get enough. They can help when diet alone can't restore the iron
level back to normal. Talk with your HCP to find out if you are getting enough iron
through your diet or if yo u or your child needs to be taking iron supplements. Please see
the chart below to see how many milligrams (mg) of iron you should take every day.
Age
7 to 12 months
11 mg
1 to 3 years
7 mg
4 to 8 years
10 mg
Pregnant
Breastfeeding
9 to13 years
8 mg
27 mg
10 mg
14 to18 years
15 mg
27 mg
10 mg
19 to 50 years
18 mg
27 mg
9 mg
51+ years
8 mg
Make sure you get 27mg of iron every day. Take an iron supplement (pill). It may
be part of your prenatal vitamin. Start taking it at your first prenatal visit.
Get tested for anemia at your first prenatal visit.
I am taking hormone therapy (HT). Does that affect how much iron I should take?
It might. If you are still getting your period while taking HT, you may need more
iron than women who are postmenopausal and not taking HT. Talk to your health
care provider.
fatigue
weakness
weight loss
abdominal pain
joint pain
arthritis
amenorrhea
early menopause
loss of sex drive
impotence (repeated inability to get or keep an erection firm enough for sexual
intercourse)
shortness of breath
arthritis
liver disease, including an enlarged liver, cirrhosis, cancer, and liver failure
damage to the pancreas, possibly causing diabetes
chronic (ongoing) abdominal pain
severe fatigue
weakening of the heart muscle
problems with your heart rate or rhythms
heart failure
abnormal skin color, making it look gray or bronze
Treatment depends on how severe the iron overload is. The first step is to get rid of the
extra iron in the body. The process is called phlebotomy (fle-bot-o-me), which means
removing blood. It is simple and safe. A pint of blood will be taken once or twice a week
for several months to a year, and sometimes longer. Once iron levels go back to normal,
you will give a pint of blood every 2 to 4 months for life. Although treatment cannot cure
the problems caused by hemochromatosis, it will help most of them. Arthritis is the only
problem that does not improve after excess iron is removed.
Get check ups. Have the amount of iron in your blood tested regularly.
Get your blood removed. Make sure to get phlebotomies when you need them.
Watch the food you eat. Don't eat raw fish or raw shellfish.
Limit your alcohol intake. If you choose to drink alcohol, drink very little.
Women should have no more than one drink a day. Men should have no more
than two a day. But if you have liver damage, do NOT drink any alcohol.
Don't take iron pills. Don't take iron pills, supplements, or multivitamin
supplements that have iron in them. But eating foods that contain iron is fine.
Watch your vitamin C intake. Vitamin C increases the amount of iron your body
absorbs. So don't take pills with more than 500mg of vitamin C per day. Eating
foods with vitamin C is fine.
Exercise. You can exercise as much as you want. Try to get 30 minutes of
exercise every day to stay fit and healthy.