Last Updated on May 26, 2025 by

Anemia treatment:

Anemia treatment in Adolescents : Reduced ability of blood to carry oxygen because of a lack of hemoglobin in the red blood cells for a specific age and sex.

How does Anemia in Adolescents impact the individual?

• Diminished physical growth
• Deficiency in sexual and reproductive development
• Decreased cognitive growth

Types of anaemia :

• Folate or vitamin B12 deficiency anemia
• Iron deficiency anemia
• Dimorphic anemia
• Anemia from various causes
• Anemia from inflammation

The Effects of Adolescent Malnutrition : Anemia treatment

Inter-generational cycle of anaemia

• Malnourished girls

• Likely to develop pregnancy complications
• This vicious cycle of iron deficiency anemia persists since an adolescent girl who enters the reproductive age with low iron reserves and becomes pregnant during adolescence or later is more likely to give birth to a low birth weight and preterm baby.
• The baby is also born with low iron reserves, and because of poor infant feeding practices, is more likely to enter adolescence with low iron reserves in the body.

Other negative outcomes of malnutrition – Anemia treatment

• In general, poor health
• Slows down your ability to succeed academically
• Studying poorly
• Productivity of a person reduced with capacity of job
• Generally due to malnutrition, growth slows and also sexual maturity development being late.

Common signs of malnutrition in adolescents include: Anemia treatment in Adolescents

• Inadvertent weight loss
• Constant fatigue Not gaining weight that is typical for that age group
• Sunken eyes
• Getting tired more readily than others
• Irritable
• A buildup of body fat or weight that wasn’t intended.
• Frequent suffer sick and also taking longer to recover the illness

Impact of Anaemia on Adolescents :

a. Impact on boys and girls

• Stunted growth
• Not feeling well and low energy
• Lacking the concentration level
• Signs of poor school performance
• Breathlessness

b. Changes in reproductive health of girls

• Irregular menstruation
• Miscarriage may be more chance
• Low birth weight babies
• Before time labor starts
• Prepartum/postpartum hemorrhage
• Puerperal sepsis
• Risk of MMR – maternal mortality and also morbidity may increases

What aspects increase the risk for a majority of people to have anemia? Anemia treatment

Deficiency : Anemia treatment

When pregnant, anemic moms – (Anemia treatment)

• Inadequate iron stores from birth
• Childhood deficits, and teenage anemia
• Folic acid and B12 deficiency
• Disorders connected to blood that are inherited or acquired

Dietary :

• Improper Infant Young Child Feeding, particularly with regard to complementary feeding methods
• We are taking too many Iron inhibitors viz. tea, coffee, foods high in calcium, but not taking enough Iron enhancers viz. Vitamin C, etc.
• 50% of the population consumes less than 50% of the recommended daily allowance for dietary iron
• We have no knowledge about locally available, affordable, accessible and nutrient-dense foods.

Loss of Iron :

• Because of worm infection by roundworms or hookworms.
• Whether it’s an inflammation brought on by acute or chronic illnesses.
• Living in a place where more cases of malaria is seen.
• Poor environmental sanitation, impure drinking water with contamination, improper personal hygiene maintenance etc.

Maternal Anemia : (Anemia treatment)

• Loss of iron due to postpartum hemorrhage
• Increased iron need during pregnancy as a result of tissue, blood development and energy needs
• Pregnancies during adolescent period
• Pregnancies in early stage of teenage
• Pregnancies occurring within less than two years of one another

Haemoglobinopathies :

A class of inherited blood illnesses and diseases known as hemoglobinopathy mostly affects red blood cells.

Consist of two major groups:

• Thalassemias
  • Thalassemia Major (TM) and its severe version, Thalassemia Inter-media (TI) are the important primary burden of disease and both of which require iron-chelation and lifelong blood-transfusions for treatment purpose.
• Sickle Cell syndromes
  • Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) which is causing & enhacing morbidity and mortality in infants and children, always needs to be managed throughout one’s life period.

Deficiency – Vitamin-B₁₂ :

Adolescents and adults with a vitamin B12 deficiency become more prone to anemia together with hemoglobinopathies.

Importance :

A healthy nervous system and red blood cell production rely on it.

Causes of Deficiency : (Anemia treatment)

• Diet deficient in Vitamin B12
• Cause pernicious anemia.
• This is the most common type of B12 deficiency anemia in humans because there is a substance, called intrinsic factor, that is absent because the immune system wrongfully makes antibodies against that.
• A low diet of meat, eggs and milk could also give rise to vitamin B12 deficiency.
• Specifically target stomach cells, this type of cells that secrete this substance. It is called pernicious anemia.
• In the absence of intrinsic factor — a protein produced in the stomach that attaches itself to vitamin B12 in the stomach, directing it to the small intestines to be absorbed into the bloodstream — vitamin B12 is absorbed not at all and is simply passed from the body as waste, Cantoreggi said.
• Vitamin B12 is also necessary for the formation of red blood cells and when levels of the vitamin do not get replenished, neurological symptoms can appear, including feeling unsteady or having a feeling of tingling in the hands or feet.
• Vitamin B12 is a very important element for normal functioning of brain where deficiency of vitamin B¡2 leads to mental confusions and even amnesias.
• If left untreated, the complications of neurological disease might not go away.
• Sound nervous system in human.

Consequences of deficiency :

• Neurological issues may occur
• May make humans feel confused and forget things
• Many neurological issues may become prominent, if we will not identify & management early

Appropriate food : Anemia treatment in Adolescents

A. A person’s Body Mass Index is meant as a basic sign of their weight. You get the result by dividing meters squared of height by kilograms of weight.

B. An outcome of 18.5 to 24.9 points to an average weight for the individual, according to their height.

• Balanced nutrition: Balanced diet is consisting of a variety foods which provides adequate amounts of the nutrients essential for health improvement. Elements in a balanced diet are such as enough water, sufficient energy, helpful nutrients & proper distribution of carbohydrates, fat & protein.
• It was (and is) advised that 50 to 60 percent of total calories be complex carbohydrates (starch from cereals, millet, pulses and roots and tubers; and glycogen from animal foods), 10 to 15 percent proteins (milk, meat and fish and eggs; and plant foods as well, including pulses and legumes) and 20 to 30 percent visible (oils and fats like butter, ghee and vanaspati) and invisible (from both plant and animal foods) fat.

C. Age group wise hemoglobin level to identify anemia in human:

Foods are shown in the food pyramid in a balanced way, so you know how much of each group to eat.

Balanced diet : Relative amounts of each food types are shown above in the food pyramid.

• Since the bottom part of the pyramid is wider, the amount of main food we have helps give us energy.
• Meals high in fats (oils) and sugar are found at the tip of the pyramid.
• Even though they are a part of energy sources, you can observe that they should not be eaten too often as part of your daily diet.
• It is crucial to build a diet on locally sourced foods.

Ways to Eat Healthier :

• Slowing down your eating and chewing your food properly are good ways to eat healthy.
• We must avoid watching Television while reading or eating.
• Have a regular eating routine and don’t forget or eat too much.
• Taking food moderately at right time schedule
• Maximum intake of drinking water may be 8 to 10 glasses daily basis
• Avoiding junk food on a regular basis
• We should maintain daily timing of our eating and not to skip at any cost.

Working with family members to promote the followings:

• Make your meal look attractive so guests are interested. (Anemia treatment)
• Choice of adolescent may be preferred as much as you can, when you are preparing meals at home.

Millet ragi can be found easily in lots of areas across India and is a great source of calcium. Iron is abundant in gram (chana) and jaggery

• Locally available and accessible resource may be promoted
• Gender based discrimination may be identified and solved.
• Advise on how to prevent anemia
• Guide families to help their adolescents take IFA every week at schools or at Angan Wadi Centres
• Recommend using deworming tablets twice a year with albendazole and try not to collect water for malaria, filaria and dengue.
• Using footwear and latrines can stop hookworm infestations.

Encouraging a good sanitation & hygiene with a proper balanced diet:

• Cleaning of fruis and vegetable before eating or cooking may be ensured.
• Always clean your kitchen and look at the manufacturing, expiration and MRP dates on packaged foods before buying them.
• Equipment made from iron
• Cooking greens in an open container
• Keeping food covered
• Ensure washing of hands prior to taking food & also soon after using the restroom or bathroom, toilet

Common iron rich foods

• Meat
• Seafood
• Chicken
• Lamb
• Eggs
• Chana saag
• Kantewali chulai
• Mustard leaves
• Mint
• Spinach
• Onion stalks
• Nutrition and Anaemia in Adolescents
• Fenugreek leaves (methi)
• Arvi ka saag
• Lentil
• Bengal gram (whole)
• Soybean
• Gingelly seeds (Til)
• Black gram dal (urad dal)
• Red gram dal (arhar)
• Plantain green (unripe kela)
• Watermelon
• Seetaphal

Common Vitamin C rich foods (Anemia treatment)

• Lemon, Oranges, Kiwi
• Peppers
• Amla
• Adding Vitamin C to one’s diet can help in the absorption of iron

Spread Knowledge in the Community on the Causes of Anemia treatment and Malnutrition

1. Identify carriers in teenagers by screening before to marriage
2. Awareness programme to be initiated addressing different myth & stigma associated with illness, gender-bias & mis-conceptions about how diseases are spreading.
3. Give all thalassemia and sickle cell disease patients the best care possible.
4. Provide day care centers at district hospitals for transfusion patients.
5. Alignment and linkage with other health initiatives to aware among public & communities
6. Organisation of different types of quizzes, institutional based seminars/meetings & print out educational leaflets
7. Screening of B12 deficiency may be encouraged and awareness to be raised for its management in holistic manner.

Many Sources of Vitamin B12 rich foods in our society:

• Eggs
• Fish
• Mutton
• Chicken
• Mushrooms
• Milk and any dairy-based foods

Key points : Anemia treatment in Adolescents

• NUTRITION processing food as a solvent for sustenance More broadly, malnutrition is an insufficiency, excess or imbalance of nutrients.
• Malnutrition means children, adolescents and pregnant and lactating women are more vulnerable to illness — and death.
• Micronutrient deficiency in the top five disease burden risk factors worldwide Rank during adolescence, humans begin transitioning to their next independent phase of life and this alters dietary habits.
• When they get to reproductive maturity and conceive — a state that can happen much later in life, and yes, during adolescence itself.
• Women with low stores of iron are more likely to have a preterm, low-birth-weight infant.

A small video from youtube on this topic is as mentioned below: https://www.youtube.com/embed/tG4b3eU1Nzc?si=gd-591rczQK5JLor

FAQs:

Q1. Does Anemia describes a medical condition that affects many teenage individuals?

Ans. A deficient amount or insufficient number of healthy red blood cells and hemoglobin exists in the body during anemia. The condition affects adolescents prominently among girls during their growth phase as well as during menstruation.

Q2. What leads to anemia development in teenage patients?

Ans. As below:

• Iron deficiency (most common)
• Poor diet lacking in nutrients
• Heavy menstruation
• Chronic diseases
• Parasitic infections viz. different types of hookworm

Q3. Determine the ways anemia manifests itself through symptoms in teenage populations.

Ans. Fatigue, weakness, pale skin, dizziness, poor concentration, shortness of breath, and cold hands and feet.

Q4. Medical professionals detect anemia in teenagers through testing their blood with a Complete Blood Count (CBC).

Ans. Medical diagnosis of anemia in teenage patients requires blood tests with Complete Blood Count (CBC) and laboratory testing for hemoglobin and ferritin measures.

Q5. What selections do medical experts provide for treating anemia in adolescent patients?

Ans. As below:

• Iron supplements of different types
• Teenagers need to modify their diet to eat foods that contain high iron values.
• Medical practitioners must treat both current health problems along with suspected infections and menstrual-related illnesses.
• Anemia treatment requires supplementation of Folic acid and Vitamin B12 whenever deficiency occurs.

Q6. For anemia prevention and treatment which foods should be consumed?

Ans. In order to address anemia patients should consume spinach along with lentils while adding red meat and fortified cereals to their diet. Combining orange juice, guava and tomatoes helps iron travel better into your blood cells. Consuming tea or coffee at mealtime will reduce iron absorption in the body.

Q7. How does the condition of anemia create connections to the nutritional state of adolescents?

Ans. The condition of anemia develops because adolescents fail to consume adequate food which serves as a fundamental indication of malnutrition. Undernourished children are prone to more infections, tender muscles, a reverse in height and weaker school performance.

Q8. Does anemia cause any impact on mental functions of teenage individuals?

Ans. The symptoms of anemia include poor memory along with a short attention span and irritability that also lead to deteriorating academic results.

Q9. Prevention strategies today can help adolescents learn what they can do to keep anemia from occurring in them?

Ans. A balanced diet, proper deworming and school or health screenings Regular use of iron-folic acid supplements suggested by public health programs

Q10. What duration does it take for someone to recover from anemic conditions?

Ans. The treatment time for mild to moderate anemia goes from 1 to 3 months while prolonged treatment is necessary to rebuild iron stores.

Guideline of WHO for Anemia treatment in Adolescents and its link as mentioned below: https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/205656/B4770.pdf.;jsessionid=C7B4AA567B2F84174F67D8E1B04F5AF4?sequence=1

Thanks and Regards

Note: This information is suggestive only and not a replacement for medical advice. For more details please visit to my website as mentioned below:

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