Medical Questions » Blood Questions » Question No. 142
| Question: | I went to my doctor because I was very tired, and had no energy, and after a blood test he told me I had pernicious anaemia. Now he wants to give me a series of injections. Is that right? What causes pernicious anaemia? |
| Answer: | Anaemia occurs when the body lacks haemoglobin. Haemoglobin is the red substance in blood that is essential for transporting oxygen around the body from the lungs. New haemoglobin is constantly being made and the old destroyed by the liver and spleen.
The formation of new haemoglobin requires vitamin B12. If this essential vitamin is lacking from the system, new haemoglobin cannot be made and the patient becomes anaemic.
Vitamin B12 is rarely lacking in the diet, but for it to be absorbed from the stomach into the blood stream, a special chemical is required in the stomach. Many older people fail to produce this chemical, and so are unable to absorb sufficient vitamin B12 for the synthesis of haemoglobin. Because this process occurs gradually over many years, the disease is called pernicious anaemia.
It is obviously useless to give additional vitamin B12 by mouth, and so to ensure that the anaemia is controlled, these patients are given regular injections of the vitamin every few months. This must continue for the rest of the patient' s life. With these injections, the normal production of haemoglobin within the body can recommence, and the anaemia will be controlled. |
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