Treatment

Mild Anemia

Mild anemia is typically treated with prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter) iron tablets. Oral iron therapy usually corrects mild anemia within 2 to 3 months; however, healthcare professionals often recommend an additional 6 months of treatment in order to replenish the iron reserves in the body. This can help to prevent the iron deficiency anemia from recurring.

It is always important to include iron-containing foods in your diet. For a list of some iron-rich foods, click here.

More Severe Anemia

If left untreated, iron deficiency anemia can have serious health consequences. It can lead to an enlarged spleen or liver, angina, or a rapid or irregular heartbeat. For moderate-to-severe iron deficiency anemia, oral iron may not be sufficient and intravenous iron therapy may be necessary. Intravenous therapy can restore your iron levels and correct anemia more rapidly than oral therapy.

The traditional approach to treating iron deficiency anemia has been to rely on oral iron supplementation or blood transfusions. However, both treatments have serious disadvantages. Oral iron is limiting due to low intestinal absorption and lack of compliance while transfusions expose patients to possible risk of contaminated blood products and should be considered only as a last resort for young and otherwise healthy patients.