Anemia in Children

Anemia in children is usually detected by the family physician during routine blood work at a regular baby check up.

Signs and symptoms of Anemia in children:

• Lethargy
• Irritability
• Feeling tired
• Pale skin, tongue, gums, and nail beds
• Feeling dizzy
• Headache
• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain
• Loss of concentration
• Poor appetite

Screening and diagnosis of Anemia in children

Anemia in Children

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), screening for anemia in children should be done between the ages of 9 to 12 months with additional screening between the ages of 1 and 5 years for patients at risk.

The diagnosis of anemia in children is done by conducting the following tests:

• Complete blood count (CBC)

• Mean corpuscular volume (MCV) to find out whether anemia in children is microcytic, macrocytic or normocytic.

• Examination of the blood smear
  
  
• Blood iron level

• Hemoglobin electrophoresis for the diagnosis of thalassemia or sickle cell anemia in children

• Bone marrow aspiration to see normal or abnormal production of blood cells in the bone marrow and to exclude leukemia.

Common causes of Anemia in children

1) Deficiency of Iron, leading to iron deficiency anemia in children.
2) Decreased production of red blood cells by the bone marrow.
3) Increased destruction of red blood cells (RBCs) leading to hemolytic anemia in children.
4) Increased blood loss from the body.

Prevention of Anemia in children

Iron deficiency anemia in children can be prevented by avoiding cow's milk for infants and encouraging iron-fortified formula or cereal for children over 6 months. American Academy of Pediatrics rather recommends the use of iron-fortified infant formulas right from the birth until the age of 12 months, especially for the infants who are not breastfed. For infant who are breastfed right form the birth, iron supplementation can be started at about four months of age.

Treatment of Anemia in children

Iron deficiency anemia in children is treated with supplemental iron. Iron drops or (newly developed) iron sprinkles are recommended for infants. If anemia in children is due to inadequate dietary intake of iron, B12 or folic acid, then modification of the diet is necessary. This can done by including more iron-rich foods like red meat, poultry, sea foods, green vegetables, whole grains, beans, and iron-fortified breads and cereals. To boost the absorption of iron, increased Vitamin C intake is known to be helpful.

Red blood cell transfusion may be required in severe cases of anemia in children, which fail to respond to any other therapy.