All You Need To Know About Thalassemia Treatment
What Is Thalassemia • Thalassemia are inherited blood disorders. • This disease causes the body to make fewer healthy red blood cells and less hemoglobin than normal. • People suffering from Thalassemia can have mild or severe anemia.
Thalassemia Test • Thalassemia is diagnosed using blood tests, including CBC and special hemoglobin tests. • People having mild Thalassemia can be diagnosed after a regular blood test shows they have anemia. • If the person is a member of an ethnic group and has anemia, doctors might suspect Thalassemia.
Treatments For Thalassemia • There exists three standard treatments for moderate and severe forms of Thalassemia. • These treatments include – Blood transfusions – Iron chelating therapy – Folic acid supplements.
Blood Transfusions • This is the main treatment for people who have moderate or severe Thalassemia. • This treatment gives you healthy red blood cells with normal hemoglobin. • During the transfusion, a needle is used to insert an intravenous line into one of your blood vessels. • Through this line, you receive healthy blood. • The procedure usually takes 1 to 4 hours.
Iron Chelation Therapy • Regular blood transfusions can lead to a buildup of iron in the blood. This is known as iron overload. • It damages the heart, liver, and other parts of the body. • To prevent this damage, doctors use iron chelation therapy to remove excess iron from the body. • Deferoxamine and Deferasirox are the two medicines used for iron chelation therapy.
Folic Acid Supplements • Folic acid are forms of a water-soluble B vitamin that helps build healthy red blood cells. • Doctors may recommend folic acid supplements in addition to treatment with blood transfusions and/or iron chelation therapy.
Possible Future Treatments • Studies are going on to insert a normal hemoglobin gene into stem cells in bone marrow. • Thalassemia test include Complete Blood Count, Blood Smear, Ferritin, TIBC, UIBC, and Transferrin, Red Blood Cell Count, Hemoglobin, Iron Tests, Hemoglobinopathy Evaluation, Amniotic Fluid Analysis etc
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