TREATMENT FOR ANEMIA

Treatment :

Anemia treatment depends on the cause.

·         Iron deficiency anemia. Treatment for this form of anemia usually involves taking iron supplements and making changes to your diet.

If the underlying cause of iron deficiency is loss of blood — other than from menstruation — the source of the bleeding must be located and stopped. This may involve surgery.

·         Vitamin deficiency anemias. Treatment for folic acid and B-12 deficiency involves dietary supplements and increasing these nutrients in your diet.

If your digestive system has trouble absorbing vitamin B-12 from the food you eat, you may need vitamin B-12 shots. At first, you may receive the shots every other day. Eventually, you'll need shots just once a month, which may continue for life, depending on your situation.

·         Anemia of chronic disease. There's no specific treatment for this type of anemia. Doctors focus on treating the underlying disease. If symptoms become severe, a blood transfusion or injections of synthetic erythropoietin, a hormone normally produced by your kidneys, may help stimulate red blood cell production and ease fatigue.

·         Aplastic anemia. Treatment for this anemia may include blood transfusions to boost levels of red blood cells. You may need a bone marrow transplant if your bone marrow is diseased and can't make healthy blood cells.

·         Anemias associated with bone marrow disease. Treatment of these various diseases can include medication, chemotherapy or bone marrow transplantation.

·         Hemolytic anemias. Managing hemolytic anemias includes avoiding suspect medications, treating related infections and taking drugs that suppress your immune system, which may be attacking your red blood cells.

Depending on the severity of your anemia, a blood transfusion or plasmapheresis may be necessary. Plasmapheresis is a type of blood-filtering procedure. In certain cases, removal of the spleen can be helpful.

·         Sickle cell anemia. Treatment for this anemia may include the administration of oxygen, pain-relieving drugs, and oral and intravenous fluids to reduce pain and prevent complications. Doctors also may recommend blood transfusions, folic acid supplements and antibiotics.

A bone marrow transplant may be an effective treatment in some circumstances. A cancer drug called hydroxyurea (Droxia, Hydrea) also is used to treat sickle cell anemia.

·         Thalassemia. This anemia may be treated with blood transfusions, folic acid supplements, medication, removal of the spleen (splenectomy), or a blood and bone marrow stem cell transplant.

DIAGNOSIS

Anemia Test No. 1: Complete Blood Count (CBC)

If you’re experiencing symptoms of anemia , the most common diagnostic test is a complete blood count, known as a CBC. A CBC involves taking a small blood sample and analyzing its components, including the red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. “It tests at all the elements of the blood, but mainly looking at the red blood cells because a low red blood cell count can mean anemia.

The CBC also measures levels of hematocrit (the percentage of red blood cells found in whole blood) and hemoglobin (an oxygen-carrying protein in the blood). Low levels of either hematocrit or hemoglobin can indicate an anemic condition.The complete blood count is the main test used to make a general diagnosis of anemia.

Anemia Test No. 2: Reticulocyte Count

One such diagnostic test is a reticulocyte count, which measures the number of immature red cells in the blood. These cells are produced by bone marrow, and a high reticulocyte count could mean that your symptoms of anemia are due to blood loss, either through hemorrhaging, heavy menstrual periods, or sources of blood loss.

“If your bone marrow is responding very well and producing lots of red blood cells, then the reticulocyte count should be high because the red blood cell factory is working overtime to make up for those lost red blood cells,” said Liu.

A low reticulocyte count, on the other hand, means that your bone marro is not producing enough red blood cells. This is most commonly caused by a nutritional deficiency.  Folate deficiency can also be a cause of a low reticulocyte count, though it’s less common in the Western world because many foods, such as bread, are fortified with folate. People who have cancer or are undergoing radiation therapy may also experience low reticulocyte counts, as well as those whose kidney function is impaired.

Once the cause of the low reticulocyte count has been determined, your doctor can decide how to treat your anemia, Liu said. If a low reticulocyte count is caused by nutritional gaps, you can take supplements of appropriate vitamins, such as iron, B12, and folate. If your reticulocyte production has been suppressed due to kidney problems, a physician may treat you with injections of erythropoietin, a hormone produced by the kidneys that tells the bone marrow to produce more red blood cells.

Anemia Test No. 3: Blood Smear

Another test that helps search for anemia causes is a blood smear. This test, which is performed by spreading a drop of blood on a slide and staining it with a special dye, can detect irregularities in red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Abnormal red blood cells can tell your doctor more about your anemia. For example, unusually large red blood cells can indicate anemia caused by a vitamin deficiency, while crescent-shaped red blood cells can mean you have sickle-cell anemia, an inherited disease.

The treatments that your physician prescribes after a blood smear will depend on the test results. If your blood smear reveals vitamin deficiencies, changes in diet or taking vitamin supplements may be the only treatment you need. There is no cure for sickle-cell anemia, but patients are often told to stay hydrated and in good health because being in less-than-ideal physical condition can cause painful episodes, known as “sickle cell crises” that occur when misshapen red blood cells form clumps in the bloodstream.People with moderate to severe sickle-cell anemia may also be prescribed a drug called hydroxyurea to prevent episodes of pain.

Anemia Test No. 4: Iron Panel

If your doctor suspects that your anemia is due to an iron deficiency, she may order an iron panel, a blood test that measures the level of iron in your blood. This test is often used when your doctor believes that your iron deficiency is caused by blood loss, such as bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract.

Treatment for iron deficiency involves taking iron supplements, usually in pill form. Those who cannot tolerate oral iron supplements can also take it intravenously or by an injection into the muscle.

COMPLICATION OF ANEMIA

WHAT HAPPEN WHEN ANEMIA GETTING WORSE ?

There are many complications when anemia is not being treated. Like some other disease who are left untreated, it may lead into more health disease. In this case :

Anemia may lead into lack of Growth and Development,Infections, Severe Fatigue, Pregnancy complications, Heart Problems and it will be end with with a death.

Growth and Development may be lessen. The patient may get the below normal weight and may caused delayed sexual maturation. As for results and treatment, the patient must be given hormone theraphy.Renal may also get afffected and prolonged to be chronic tubulo-intertitial nephritis. On the other hand, the bones of hip joint may required to be replaced due to vaso-occlusion episodes that may be happening. If it prolonged, it may lead into chronic infarction.

Infection also might happen when there is less immunity being transport throughout the body system. These condition more happen in the common tissue like bone, lungs and kidney which can cause vaso-occlusion. Priapism(painful erection) may also happen due to vaso-occlusion. Eye also may get retinopathy due to the infection.

Severe fatigue can indicate that the patient have a severe condition of anemia. Less task can be done due to the tiredness because lack of oxygen and energy to proceed and complete everyday routine task. This long term fatigue also may eventually leads into clinical depresssion.

Pregnancy complication may happen to the mothers who have folate deficiency anemia. They are more likely to have premature birth and underweight. This is because they will have an impaired placental blood flow, intrauterine growth retardation, preclampsia and fetal death. However if the baby is born with an anemic mother, they themselves may have problems with anemia later on in infancy.

Heart problems may arise awhile after. Arrhythmia (a rapid and irregular heart beat) may arise when the body need to compensate the loss of oxygen and nutrient in the circulation of blood. This will eventually complicate the heart and makes the heart enlarged, happen to have congestive heart failure and leads to cardiac arrest.

Respiratory system also get affected. Shortness of breath, chest pain and hypoxia due to less oxygen circulate in the body may cause death in some times. Death is the final destination if the anemia is not treated. Some anemia such as sickle cell anemia can be serious and lead into life threatening conditions. Losing of blood may lead into acute,chronic anemia and may cause fatal.