Common Causes of Anaemia:

Iron Deficiency

Reduced Vitamin B12 / Folate in Diet

Chronic Disease

Kidney Disease

Bleeding Disorder

Blood Loss from Injury, Menses or Ulcers

Cancer

Thalassemia

How do I know if I'm Anaemic?

  • If you have the risks (causes as mentioned), have signs and symptoms, please check your blood for the level of Haemoglobin (Hb).
  • A Hb of below 13g/dL (male) or 12g/dL (female) could indicate you have anemia

Signs & Symptoms of Anaemia

  • Accelerated heartbeat
  • Fatigue / tiredness
  • Paleness
  • Dizziness
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Hairloss

Dangerous Signs of Anaemia:

  • Chest pain
  • Difficulty breathing
  • Fainting

How to treat Anaemia?

Address underlying cause

Iron

  • Essential in building red blood cells
  • Important for innate immune system
  • Diagnosis of Iron Deficiency: Serum Ferritin <30ng/mL

Management options with medication:

Iron tablets / liquid formulation should contain at least 100mg iron per serving

  • Only 10% of the iron is absorbed
  • 6-12 months of continuous treatment
  • To be taken on empty stomach, with water or Vitamin C rich fruit juice (no coffee, tea or milk)
  • 30-50% may suffer from gastrointestinal side effects (constipation / diarrhoea)
  • Advise your doctor of side effects early / to switch to IV iron

Intravenous (injected into veins to the bloodstream)

  • Correction with a single infusion for most patients
  • Functional improvements within 48hours
  • Safe and no gastrointestinal side effects

Vitamin B12 & Folic Acid

  • Important vitamins that also stimulate red blood cell production

Oral tablet

  • Folic acid
  • Vitamin B12

Intramuscular or subcutaneous injection (injected into the muscle or below the skin)

  • Vitamin B12
  • More effective than oral tablet especially if there are digestive problems

Erythropoietin

  • Hormone that stimulates production of red blood cells in bone marrow

Subcutaneous injection (injected below the skin)

  • Acts as accelerator with iron as the fuel

Nutritional Tips for treating Anaemia

Iron Rich Diet

  • Meat: beef chicken fish, lamb, oysters, liver
  • Beans: peas, soybeans, baked beans
  • Dried fruits: apricots, prunes, dates
  • Enriched grains

It is recommended to consume iron rich food in combination with Vitamin C:

  • Spinach, broccoli
  • Lemon, orange, lime
  • 100% juices of: mango, papaya, kiwi, tomato

Drugs & food that can decrease iron absorption:

  • Tea
  • Milk
  • Calcium Supplementation

Food Rich In Vitamin B12:

  • All meat, liver and dairy

Food Rich in Folic Acid:

  • Green Vegetables
  • Oranges
  • Cabbage