Anemia (Normocytic Anemia)
What is normocytic anemia?
Normocytic anemia is the most common type
of anemia. It is a blood problem. It means you have
normal-sized red blood cells, but you have a low number of
them. The presence of normal-sized red blood cells tells your
doctor that you have normocytic anemia rather than another
kind of anemia. For example, when anemia is caused by having
too little iron in your diet, you have small red blood cells.
What causes normocytic anemia?
Normocytic anemia can be a
problem you were born with (called congenital) or it can be
caused by an infection or disease (called
acquired).
Congenital normocytic anemia is
caused by the breaking up of red blood cells. Sickle cell
disease is a congenital disorder of red blood
cells.
The most common cause of the
acquired form of normocytic anemia is a long-term (chronic)
disease. Chronic diseases that can cause normocytic anemia
include kidney disease, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and
thyroiditis. Some medicines can cause you to have normocytic
anemia, but this does not happen often.
What are the signs of normocytic anemia?
Normocytic anemia
usually starts slowly. It doesn't have many signs at first.
You may find yourself getting tired easily. You may look pale.
If the anemia starts suddenly or gets really bad, you might
feel dizzy or weak.
How does my doctor find out that I have
normocytic anemia?
Most often, normocytic anemia is
found on routine tests that are part of a physical exam. It
might be found on a blood test you get for some other reason.
A complete blood count (also called a CBC) can show if you
have normocytic anemia.
If your CBC shows a low number of
normal-sized red blood cells, your doctor might want you to
get more tests to see what is causing the anemia. If you were
born with it, other family members may also need to be
tested.
How is normocytic anemia treated?
When possible, fixing the
condition that is causing the anemia is the most important
part of treating it. This might mean you would stop taking a
particular medicine, or your doctor might treat a chronic
illness or look for something that is causing you to lose
blood.
If your normocytic anemia is very
bad, you might get shots of erythropoietin (brand name:
Epogen, Procrit). Erythropoietin (say: "air-rith-ro-po-et-in")
helps your bone marrow make more red blood cells.
Talk to your doctor before you
take extra iron pills or vitamins. Too much iron is not good
for you.
Source
Normocytic
Anemia (American Family Physician November 15, 2000,
http://www.aafp.org/afp/20001115/2255.html)
