How Can You Diagnose Vitamin B12 Deficiency and Anemia?

What is Vitamin B12 Deficiency Anaemia?

Vitamin B12 is an essential nutrient that helps keep your body’s nerves and blood cells healthy. You may have heard of anemia before–as a condition in which your body does not have enough healthy red blood cells. Red blood cells help your body to get the oxygen it needs to stay healthy. Vitamin B12 deficiency anemia is a lack of red blood cells that may cause you to feel tired and weak and breathe faster than normal. These cells transport oxygen throughout your body. When you do not have enough red blood cells, your body does not get the oxygen it needs. Learn what vitamin B12 deficiency anemia is and how to treat it.

What Causes Vitamin B12 Deficiency Anaemia?

Having enough vitamin B12 in your diet is important for your body to work properly, from the nerves to the blood cells. Vitamin B12 deficiency anemia can happen when you are older and do not eat foods that provide enough vitamin B12 or if you have a condition that makes it hard for your body to use this vitamin.

You can get vitamin B12 deficiency anemia from a diet low in B12, which is mostly found in red meat and dairy products like milk and eggs. It is also possible to develop the condition with age, especially for those who follow vegetarian diets. You could also be deficient if your body does not absorb enough B12.

Vitamin B12 deficiency anemia is common in older people. It is caused when you do not get enough vitamin B12 in your diet to make red blood cells. Vitamin B12 works with folic acid and iron to help make red blood cells, which carry oxygen all over your body. If you do not have enough, you cannot use the oxygen you breathe and you may feel tired and weak.

Vitamin B12 is a water-soluble vitamin that your body needs for good health. Your intestines absorb it from the foods you eat, and your digestive system changes it into its active form. Vitamin B12 deficiency anemia is caused when you do not have enough of this vital vitamin in your intestines to be converted into its active form.

You can get pernicious anemia if:

You need vitamin B12 to make red blood cells and prevent anemia. People with pernicious anemia can not make enough intrinsic factors to digest vitamin B12 properly, so they need injections of the vitamin to make up for it. They also need other iron-rich foods, like red meat and leafy green vegetables.

Your body also might not absorb enough vitamin B12 if:

Vitamin B12 deficiency anemia is a condition in which you do not have enough red blood cells. This can happen when your body does not absorb enough vitamin B12 from food. Normally, reducing your symptoms does not require making major changes in your diet, but following a special diet may help. As we grow older, our bodies might not absorb enough vitamin B12. That could cause us to have anemia, a condition that causes pale skin and tiredness. And it could also happen if you take certain medicines, such as antibiotics or anti-seizure drugs. To be safe, if you have not already, talk with your doctor about getting tested for B12 deficiency.

How Can I Find Out If I Have It?

You may think that the signs of anemia only include having less energy, feeling tired, and being short of breath. While those are common signs of anemia, they are also symptoms of other health problems. If you have any of these symptoms, see your doctor right away: – Pale skin or yellow color in your eyes. – Feeling dizzy, lightheaded, tired, weak, or tired all the time without getting enough sleep. – Skin rash or dark urine. – Changes in mood or personality and confusion. You may have anemia if you have any of these symptoms. It is important to see your doctor or other health care provider to find out what is causing them. You should not wait until you are tired or have trouble breathing to get a check-up.

If you have always felt tired and are pale, it is important to know that these can also be symptoms of other conditions. Visit your doctor for a diagnosis. He/she will examine you and might order one or more of these tests:

• Vitamin B12 level- How much Vitamin B12 you have in your blood may be a deciding factor in whetheryou are anaemic. This blood test measures the level of Vitamin B12 in your blood.

• Complete blood count- A complete blood count (CBC) can be used to check for vitamin B12 deficiency anaemia. If you have this type of anaemia, your red blood cells will not look normal. Instead of being round, they will look like little doughnuts.

• Methylmalonic acid level (MMA) – A high level of methylmalonic acid in the blood can signal vitamin B12 deficiency. This test is performed to help diagnose this condition if you have symptoms and have not responded to a treatment plan that includes vitamin B supplements and/or diet changes.

• Schilling test- The Schilling test uses a radioactive form of vitamin B12 to see if your body has enough intrinsic factor, which helps vitamin B12 get absorbed.

• Intrinsic factor antibodies- You have a type of anaemia called pernicious anaemia. Your doctor has ordered blood tests to find out if your problem is due to vitamin B12 deficiency or something else. Doctors call this type of anaemia intrinsic factor antibodies positive.

How Is It Treated?

Vitamin B12 deficiency anaemia is easy to treat with diet and vitamin supplements. Follow this eating plan to help increase the amount of vitamin B12 in your diet, which may lessen or cure your anaemia:

• Eggs
• Beef, liver, and chicken
• Fortified breakfast cereal
• Low-fat milk, yogurt, and cheese
• Fish and shellfish such as trout, salmon, tuna fish, and clams

Vitamin B12 deficiency anemia, also called pernicious anemia, can be treated in several ways. Taking vitamin B12 shots or taking pills containing this vitamin are the most common treatments for this condition. Vitamin B12 may be effective when given in larger doses than normal, so your doctor may recommend taking high-dose vitamin B12. Take your medicine as directed to avoid side effects such as headaches and heartburn. If you have low levels of stomach acid, you might need to take vitamin B12 with food. If you have vitamin B12 deficiency anemia, your doctor might recommend that you take a vitamin B12 supplement. It comes in pills or a nasal spray. If you are very low in this vitamin, you may need to get higher-dose vitamin B12 shots. Your doctor will also likely recommend treating the condition that caused your anemia in the first place.

If you have vitamin B12 deficiency anemia, it is important to find out how to treat it so you can get rid of your symptoms. A vitamin B12 deficiency can cause symptoms like fatigue, weight loss, and pale skin. The good news is that once you start getting the right treatment for anemia, you should feel better and start to see some improvement within a few months. Can you get anemia from a vitamin B12 deficiency? Vitamin B12 is important for normal red blood cell development and function. It is one of the main reasons people get anemia. And, if left untreated, it can cause long-term damage to your organs. So, it is important to get your levels back up as soon as possible. How do people prevent vitamin B12 deficiency? But increasing your vitamin B12 levels is a key thing you can do. If you let it go for too long, it can damage your heart, brain, nerves, bones, and other organs in your body. With treatment, you should feel better and avoid any long-term problems.