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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffAnemia treatment depends on the cause:
- Iron deficiency anemia. This form of anemia is treated with iron supplements, which you may need to take for several months or longer. 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. Pernicious anemia is treated with injections — often lifetime injections — of vitamin B-12. Folic acid deficiency anemia is treated with folic acid supplements.
- Anemia of chronic disease. There's no specific treatment for this type of anemia. Doctors focus on treating the underlying disease. Iron supplements and vitamins generally don't help this type of anemia. However, 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. You may need immune-suppressing medications to lessen your immune system's response and give the transplanted bone marrow a chance to start functioning again.
- Anemias associated with bone marrow disease. Treatment of these various diseases can range from simple medication to chemotherapy to bone marrow transplantation.
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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. Short courses of treatment with steroids, immune suppressant medications or gamma globulin can help suppress your immune system's attack on your red blood cells.
If the condition has caused an enlarged spleen, you may need to have your spleen removed. Your spleen — a relatively small organ below your rib cage on the left side — filters out and stores defective red blood cells. Certain hemolytic anemias can cause your spleen to become enlarged with damaged red blood cells. Sometimes, the spleen contributes to hemolytic anemia by removing too many 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.
- 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 commonly use 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 in adults.
- Anemia. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/anemia/anemia_whatis.html. Accessed Dec. 8, 2008.
- Pernicious anemia. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/prnanmia/prnanmia_all.html. Accessed Dec. 10, 2008.
- Schrier SL. Patient information: Iron deficiency anemia. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 25, 2008.
- Schrier SL, et al. Anemia of chronic disease (anemia of chronic inflammation). http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 25, 2008.
- Schrier SL. Aplastic anemia: Pathogenesis; clinical manifestations; and diagnosis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 25, 2008.
- Schrier SL. Approach to the diagnosis of hemolytic anemia in the adult. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 25, 2008.
- Hemolytic anemia. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/ha/ha_all.html. Accessed Dec. 10, 2008.
- Sickle cell anemia. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/ha/ha_all.html. Accessed Dec. 8, 2008.
- Schrier SL. Aplastic anemia: Prognosis and treatment. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 25, 2008.
- Schrier SL. Causes and diagnosis of anemia due to iron deficiency. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 25, 2008.
- Mechanisms of Anemia. In: Hoffman R et al. Hematology: Basic Principles and Practice. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2005. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/114764765-5/786318263/1267/208.html#4-u1.0-B0-443-06628-0..50032-8--cesec2_821. Accessed Dec. 19, 2008.
- Linker CA. General Approach to Anemias. In: McPhee SJ et al. Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment 2009. 48th ed. San Francisco, Calif.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2009. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=5476&searchStr=anemias. Accessed Dec. 19, 2008.
