Anemia is a
condition when the amount of red blood cells is low. Pernicious anemia is one
of the anemia caused by vitamin B-12 deficiency. This causes your body's
inability to absorb vitamin B-12, which is necessary to make healthy RBCs.
This type ofanemia is called 'fatal'. The reason for this is that earlier due to lack of
treatment, it turned into a deadly disease. But today the disease can be easily
treated with B-12 injection or its supplements. If this disease is left
untreated, vitamin B-12 deficiency can cause a very serious condition.
How common is Pernicious Anemia?
Pernicious
anemia is a fairly rare disease. According to the Journal of Blood Medicine,
0.1% of this disease is found in general and 1.9% in people over 60 years of
age. Discuss with your doctor for more information.
What are the symptoms of Pernicious Anemia?
The
development of anemia is very slow, so its symptoms are difficult to identify.
You may feel constantly uncomfortable. Commonly overlooked symptoms include:
- Great weakness,
- Having a headache,
- Chest pain
- Weight loss.
In some rare
cases of the disease, neurological signs and symptoms may appear in people.
These may include:
Shaky pace,
Spasticity,
muscle stiffness and stiffness are called,
Peripheral
neuropathy is called numbness in hands and feet,
Having
progressive spinal cord,
Memory loss
Other signs
and symptoms of B-12 deficiency, which can overlap with severe anemia, include:
- Nausea and vomiting,
- Feeling uncomfortable at the head,
- Feeling stressed,
- Having constipation,
- Loss of appetite,
- Feeling angry
Learn the causes of Pernicious Anemia
Vitamin B-12
deficiency: Vitamin B-12 plays an important role in making red blood cells.
Therefore, it is necessary to add sufficient amount of Vitamin B-12 to the
body. Vitamin B-12 is found in our daily diet such as meat, eggs, etc.
Deficiency of
IF: IF (intrinsic factor) is a type of protein that enables your body to absorb
vitamin B12. This protein is made by cells in the stomach. When you consume
vitamin B-12, it is delivered to your stomach, where it prepares with IF. Both
are then absorbed in the last part of your small intestine. If your cells are
exhausted due to your immune system, the body cannot make IF and absorb vitamin
B-12.
Macrocytes: Without
sufficient vitamin B-12, the body will not produce abnormally large red blood
cells, called macrocytes. This type of anemia is called macrolytic anemia. This
is sometimes referred to as megaloblastic anemia due to the unusually large
size of red blood cells.