Iron deficiency anemia- how to recover?
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Hello, my wife is 35 year old woman. She is seen with easy fatigue for many months. She is now 24 weeks pregnant with her 2nd child in 2 years. She does not see any obstetrician and does not take any vitamins. Lately, she has developed a taste for eating ice. She has no other complaint. Family and past history are negative. She does not smoke or drink. Physical examination is positive for pale conjunctiva, mild spooning of nails, and a II/VI systolic murmur at left lower sternal border. Stools are negative for occult blood. Complete blood count (CBC) - Hg 7.1 gm/dl, Hct 23%, WBC 5,400/mm3 (differential is normal), platelets 450,000/mm3; Mean Corpuscular volume (MCV) is 74 fl (normal 85-95 fl); Red cell Distribution Width (RDW) is 17.1% (normal 13-15). She has been diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia. What should we do to recover from this?
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@deepan Your doctor may recommend over-the-counter iron tablets to replenish the iron stores in your body. Your doctor will let you know the correct dose for you. Iron is also available in liquid form for infants and children. To improve the chances that your body will absorb the iron in the tablets, you may be instructed to: Take iron tablets on an empty stomach. If possible, take your iron tablets when your stomach is empty. However, because iron tablets can upset your stomach, you may need to take your iron tablets with meals.
Don't take iron with antacids. Medications that immediately relieve heartburn symptoms can interfere with the absorption of iron. Take iron two hours before or four hours after you take antacids.
Take iron tablets with vitamin C. Vitamin C improves the absorption of iron. Your doctor might recommend taking your iron tablets with a glass of orange juice or with a vitamin C supplement.