What Is Aplastic Anemia?
What Are the Symptoms of Aplastic Anemia?
Symptoms may include:
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Shortness of breath
• Bruising
• Lack of energy or tiring easily (fatigue)
• Abnormal paleness or lack of color of the skin
• Blood in stool
• Nosebleeds
• Bleeding gums
• Fevers
• Sinus tenderness
• Enlarged liver or spleen
• Oral thrush—white patches on a red, moist, swollen surface, occurring anywhere in the mouth
The symptoms of aplastic anemia may resemble other blood disorders or medical problems. Always consult your doctor for a diagnosis.
What Causes Aplastic Anemia?
• History of taking certain medications, such as antibiotics and anticonvulsants
• Exposure to certain toxins, such as heavy metals
• Exposure to radiation
• History of an autoimmune disease, such as lupus
• Inherited condition
In addition to a complete medical history and physical examination, diagnostic procedures for aplastic anemia may include:
• Blood tests
Including blood chemistries, evaluation of liver and kidney functions, and genetic studies
• Bone marrow aspiration and/or biopsy
A procedure that involves taking a small amount of bone marrow fluid (aspiration) and/or solid bone marrow tissue (called a core biopsy), usually from the hip bones, to be examined for the number, size, and maturity of blood cells and/or abnormal cells.
Specific treatment for aplastic and anemia will be determined by your doctor based on:
• Your age, overall health, and medical history
• Extent of the disease
• Your tolerance for specific medications, procedures, or therapies
• Expectations for the course of the disease
• Your opinion or preference
Aplastic anemia is a serious illness and treatment usually depends on the underlying cause. For certain causes, recovery can be expected after treatment, however, relapses can occur. To treat the low blood counts, initially treatment is usually supportive, meaning that it is necessary to treat the symptoms but not possible to cure the disease.
Bone Marrow Transplantation is the way to re-build hematopoietic function. For more information about bone marrow transplantation please click here.
Supportive therapy may include:
• Blood transfusion (both red blood cells and platelets)
• Preventative antibiotic therapy
• Meticulous hand washing
• Special care to food preparation (such as only eating well-cooked foods)
• Avoiding construction sites which may be a source of certain fungi
• Medications (to stimulate the bone marrow to produce cells)
• Immunosuppressive therapy
•Hormone therapy
(The content above extract from stanfordhealthcare.org)
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Diseases ·
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