Anemia in newborns causes. What you need to know about anemia in children under one year old: doctor's advice

In pediatric practice, a condition is quite common, which is characterized by a decrease in the level of hemoglobin and red blood cells in the blood of an infant - anemia. Anemia can occur in any infant, regardless of weight, height, age, and other indicators. The reasons for its occurrence also vary. Why is anemia dangerous and how to overcome it?

Most often, the following factors lead to the development of anemia in infants:

insufficient amount in the body of a future and / or nursing mother;
lack of folic acid and;
problems with the placenta during pregnancy (structural anomalies, circulatory disorders, etc.);
Rhesus conflict during pregnancy;
intrauterine infections;
prematurity;
the presence in the child of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, in which the absorption of iron is impaired;
artificial feeding and some others.

Under the above conditions, the production of red blood cells may slow down or stop, hemoglobin becomes insufficient for the normal functioning of the body.

There are several types of anemia in children of the first year of life:

physiological anemia of newborns and / or premature infants. This is the most common type of disease;
alimentary anemia, the development of which is due to an unbalanced diet;
anemia as a complication of severe infection;
Yaksh-Gayem anemia.

Anemia of any kind is divided into several degrees:

light;
average;
heavy.

Symptoms

Anemia most often develops slowly, so its signs can be noticed only after some time. First of all, they include a decrease in appetite, pallor of the skin, low muscle tone. The child gets tired faster, sleeps poorly and is more often naughty. The liver may be slightly enlarged, the stool is clay-like in consistency. The immune system also suffers, as a result of which the child may often get colds.

Unlike other types of the disease, Yaksh-Gayem anemia is characterized by a sharp and rapid deterioration in the child's well-being. The pallor of the skin is clearly expressed, the liver and lymph nodes are significantly enlarged, the body temperature rises periodically. In some cases, the baby may suffer from shortness of breath.

If you notice one or more of these signs in your infant, then contact your pediatrician for a referral for a blood test to rule out or confirm the presence of anemia, as well as determine its type and severity.

Hemoglobin: norms

Depending on the age of the child, the lower limit of the hemoglobin norm is in the following values:

130 g / l - from birth to 3 months;
100-110 g / l - from three months to a year;
110 g / l - from one to three years;
115 g / l - from 4 to 12 years;
120 g/l. - from 12 years old.

Although for a child of the first three years of life, a hemoglobin index of 110 g / l is within the normal range, this condition is considered pre-emic by pediatricians.

Anemia treatment

As the name suggests, it is easier to compensate for a mild degree of anemia. Most often, it appears due to poor nutrition and poor lifestyle (lack of sleep, fatigue, rare walks in the fresh air, etc.). In such cases, a nursing mother is recommended to eat regularly, increase the proportion in her diet, walk more often with her baby, and take vitamins. If complementary foods are already being introduced to the child, then it is necessary to focus on iron-containing foods, introducing mashed liver, egg yolk, and vegetables into the diet of crumbs.

In cases of moderate and severe anemia, it is first necessary to identify and eliminate its cause, i.e. complete diagnosis and treatment. In addition, doctors will recommend that a nursing mother and baby take special preparations of iron, enzymes, homeopathic remedies, and vitamin complexes. As in milder cases, walking in the open air is a prerequisite for curing anemia.

Regardless of what causes anemia and how it progresses, don't stop breastfeeding! Breast milk provides the baby not only with nutrients and immune protection, but also with iron in an easily digestible form, which is exactly what a baby needs.

Diet

What foods in the diet of a nursing mother will help eliminate a mild degree of anemia in crumbs?

First of all, these are pork and beef liver, chicken egg yolk, veal kidneys, sesame seeds, seaweed, oysters, legumes, chickpeas (chickpeas), buckwheat, nuts. But, adjusting her menu, a nursing mother should not forget that, in addition to iron, potential allergens can also get into breast milk. For this reason, carefully introduce foods such as beans, peas, nuts, and some others into the diet.

vitamins

Iron deficiency in young children is usually not isolated and is often accompanied by a lack of a number of vitamins and minerals. For this reason, a nursing mother (and sometimes a child) is required to take vitamin therapy. It is almost impossible to get all the necessary substances from only products, while the right one will satisfy all the body's needs for vitamins and minerals.

Preparations

To date, pharmacies offer a wide range of iron preparations from various manufacturers. Most of them are perfectly combined with breastfeeding, but, despite this, you should not buy such products without consulting a doctor. When prescribing an iron preparation, the doctor proceeds from the individual person's need for this element.

Treatment effectiveness

How effective the treatment is can be judged after 12-14 days from the start of therapy by an increase in the number of reticulocytes. Normalization of hemoglobin levels is observed after 6-9 weeks of treatment, however, iron supplements should continue for another 2-4 months.

Anemia is quite common in infants. Depending on its type and severity, various methods of treatment are used: from correcting the diet of a nursing mother to taking special iron preparations in combination with other medicines.

Greetings, dear subscribers and random guests of my blog! You have not yet managed to try on the role of parenthood, and a whirlwind of questions has already arisen around you? Do not worry, together we will try to solve any problem that has arisen) For example, today we will consider with you such a problem as anemia in newborns. In the topic of the article, we will try to deal with the causes and consequences of low hemoglobin.

Anemia in infancy

Anemia in newborns is quite common in the first year of a baby's life. Most often, infants are diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia, which can pose a serious danger to the child and cause undesirable consequences.

What is the main problem with this condition? It is possible to detect a lack of iron in the body in an infant only through a laboratory blood test. And such analyzes without the initiative of the parents are done to the child according to the protocol only 3 times: in the first days of life, the second time during the year, and the third time at the age of one. Agree that this may not be enough. Therefore, mom and dad sometimes need to take the initiative into their own hands and ask for an “unscheduled” test.

Based on the laboratory analysis data, the doctor will determine the degree of the disease in the crumbs:

The initial degree - the level of hemoglobin in the body is slightly above 90 g / l.
The average degree - the hemoglobin level is between 70 and 90 g / l.
Severe - hemoglobin level below 70 g / l.

However, it should be borne in mind that in the first year of a baby’s life, these indicators are unstable and can differ significantly after a few months. To understand when it comes to the norm, you need to familiarize yourself with the normal hemoglobin levels for children in their first year of life. More information in the article: What are the consequences of increased hemoglobin in a child?

Less commonly, children may experience a form of anemia such as hemolytic.
With this disease, the crumbs have an increased destruction of red blood cells in the spleen.

Causes of iron deficiency anemia in infants

All reasons can be divided into 2 categories:

Causes of anemia up to 3 months of age (congenital).
Causes of anemia older than 3 months of age.

What reasons can cause such a serious problem?

To begin with, consider the reasons included in the first group:

Mom's nutrition during pregnancy.

Nutrition during pregnancy is very important for the baby. At the end of the second - third trimester, the expectant mother begins to drop sharply in the level of hemoglobin in the blood, which can lead to oxygen starvation of the fetus. To avoid this, the expectant mother should carefully monitor the norm of hemoglobin in the blood, take more foods high in iron, and special preparations (Sorbifer, Totema, Ferlatum).

Infectious disease of the mother.

The infection can pass to the child from the mother, even despite the barrier protection of the placenta. As a result of the negative impact of the infection, the flow of iron to the baby is blocked, which leads to its lack.

The baby was born prematurely.

According to statistics, premature babies are more likely to suffer from iron deficiency anemia.

Feeding.

In babies under three months of age, iron deficiency can occur against the background of an improperly organized feeding process or an unbalanced diet of the mother, and even the way of feeding can play a key role in this matter. So, formula-fed babies are more prone to anemia. If the analysis showed a low level of hemoglobin in your crumbs, then you should choose a special mixture that contains more iron in its composition.

As for breastfeeding, then mommy should carefully monitor the level of iron in her body. In addition, you need to enrich the diet with healthy foods, organize fractional meals in small portions, and, if necessary, take iron supplements.

Great loss of blood in the mother during childbirth.

With a large blood loss in the mother during delivery, her beloved crumbs may develop iron deficiency anemia.

There are also reasons such as:

pathology or abnormalities in the work of the placenta;
folic acid deficiency (more in the article: What is the danger of a lack of folic acid during pregnancy?);
Rhesus conflict between mother and fetus.

Above, I described the reasons that are possible in newborns up to 3 months, then we will consider the reasons for older children:

(insufficient weight gain and poor appetite may well provoke a similar problem);
reduced intravascular pressure;
problems from the gastrointestinal tract;
a real dormouse (if the baby constantly wants to sleep, then the risk of “lack” of useful trace elements and vitamins, including iron, increases).

What signs can indicate a lack of iron in a toddler?

The presence of any health problem is accompanied by certain signs, iron deficiency anemia is no exception.

A mother may notice the following symptoms in her child:

pallor of the skin and mucous membranes;
lethargy, muscle weakness;
the child becomes capricious;
low activity, the baby is constantly sleeping;
the sleep of the crumbs is quite long;
peeling and dryness of the skin is noted;
the liver may be enlarged.

At least one of these signs already indicates the presence of a pathology, so take a blood test urgently!

What is the danger of anemia in babies?

I don’t want to scare you, but a banal decrease in hemoglobin in an infant’s blood can really be very dangerous.

We are not even talking about the poor health that accompanies the baby. Lethargy, a constant desire to sleep haunt the child every second.

This, in turn, threatens to delay the baby in development, and muscle tone decreases.

In addition, serious problems may arise on the part of the child's immune system, which will cling to sores literally on the fly.

The severity of the consequences depends on the degree of the disease, so the sooner you start treatment, the sooner you restore normal hemoglobin levels without harming the health of the child.

How to treat iron deficiency anemia in a toddler?

The method of treatment is selected by the doctor on an individual basis. You can treat this condition at home, but only with a mild to moderate degree. A mild degree does not pose a danger to infants and is treated with a simple adjustment of the daily diet of the mother or baby. With an average degree, only proper nutrition will not help, it is necessary to resort to taking medications (Maltofer, Ferlatum, Totem).

How are they treatedsevere iron deficiency?

As for the third degree, the baby is given intravenous iron preparations in a hospital setting.
Traditional methods are time-tested methods of treatment, so they should not be underestimated. However, in the case of a baby, there can be no talk of traditional medicine. Herbs, decoctions, infusions and other drugs should not be used for children! The children's body is growing rapidly, so all processes proceed differently than in adults. I definitely do not recommend experimenting with the health of your child !!!

Preventive measures

How to protect the baby from anemia?
By following some simple rules, you will not encounter a similar problem with your child.

Prevention methods:

food enriched with vitamins and microelements for babies and mothers;
good rest, normalized daily routine;
frequent outdoor activities;
constant check of hemoglobin levels by laboratory tests (every 3-6 months).

As you can see, the above measures will not only save your treasure from such a problem, but will also improve your overall health and form a strong immune system!

I hope now you know what it is - iron deficiency anemia in infants) I was glad to highlight one more topic for you, which so often worries newly-made mom and dad.

Usually, pronounced symptoms of various diseases immediately force parents to take up the treatment of the child. But if his condition changes gradually, and the disease takes a latent form, then mothers and fathers often do not understand why the baby suddenly became lethargic, pale and inactive. In such cases, play it safe - take a blood test.

It is the results of a blood test that can be the first sign of the occurrence of such an insidious disease as anemia in infants. It imperceptibly destroys the body, reducing the level of hemoglobin in the blood.

Hemoglobin is a combination of protein and iron, the lack of which affects the quality supply of cells and tissues of internal organs with oxygen and their full functioning. Anemia in infants is dangerous primarily by inhibition of the development of brain structures.

The level of hemoglobin in the blood in children changes with age:

1 day after birth - 130-145 g / l;
2 - 14 day - 120-130 g / l;
14 - 28 day - 110-120 g / l;
1 month - 6 years - about 110 g / l.

If the hemoglobin values in the baby's blood test are below those indicated, and you notice the following features in your baby's behavior and condition, be sure to consult a doctor.

Anemia symptoms:

Paleness and dryness of the skin and mucous membranes;
Frequently recurring conjunctivitis, stomatitis;
Lethargy and apathy;
Capriciousness and tearfulness;
Lack of appetite;
increased sweating;
Frequent profuse regurgitation;
Fast fatiguability;
Unsettled restless sleep.

The listed signs may indicate not only anemia, but also other diseases and must be confirmed by the relevant results of analyzes and other studies.

What causes anemia

In the body of a child, a store of iron is laid even before birth. Most of it is found in red blood cells and a small part in the muscles. After birth, a breastfed baby exhausts it by 6 months. And just then, it is necessary to introduce complementary foods that replenish iron stores into his diet. For premature babies, this period is reduced to 3 months, so the choice of milk formula for mothers of such babies should be given special attention.

Anemia in children under one year old can be caused by various reasons:

The presence of the same disease in the mother during pregnancy;
Pregnancy complicated by blood loss and circulatory disorders in the placenta;
Injuries during childbirth, accompanied by loss of blood;
Intestinal infectious diseases;
The rapid growth rate of an infant in the first months of life;
Unbalanced composition of the milk formula for feeding artificial infants;
Insufficient amount of iron in the baby's food up to a year;
Prematurity of the child.

What to do?

If anemia is suspected, the doctor will prescribe a general examination of the body and, of course, tests. According to the content of hemoglobin and the number of red blood cells, it happens:

1 degree - mild - more than 90 g / l and 3.5-3 million / l;
2 degrees - medium - 70-90 g / l and 3-2.5 million / l;
Grade 3 - severe - less than 70 g / l and less than 2.5 million / l.

In general, the treatment of anemia should be comprehensive in the following areas:

Exclusion of factors that led to anemia;
Active replenishment of iron stores with special preparations;
Adjustment of nutrition with iron-containing products.

If there are no questions on the first point, then we will dwell on the next two in more detail.

Medical treatment

Iron supplements should only be prescribed by a doctor, and doses should be calculated specifically for your child. Do not prescribe the dose on your own. The use of drugs should be carried out mainly 30 minutes before meals, as indicated in the instructions. Sometimes they cause nausea or even vomiting. This must be reported to the doctor, and he will replace the drugs. In especially severe cases, anemia can be treated with the introduction of iron-containing drugs in the form of injections.

Often, along with iron deficiency in infants, there is a lack of vitamins. Therefore, in addition, the doctor may prescribe a vitamin complex.

During treatment, blood tests are taken regularly so that you can easily track the trend in the baby's condition. It is necessary to treat anemia before the end of the course so that the child's body can create a certain supply of iron.

Corrective nutrition

It is on the nutrition of a child up to a year that parents should pay attention. The main source of vitamins and nutrients for babies is mother's milk. The iron contained in it has a significant feature - it is very easily absorbed. Milk formula for artificial feeding should be specially enriched with iron and vitamins.

The introduction of complementary foods for infants who have already been diagnosed with anemia should begin at 4-5 months, that is, earlier than other children. The first products that you can introduce your child to will be buckwheat and oatmeal.

At 6 months, the diet of children with anemia should already contain animal protein involved in the synthesis of hemoglobin, in the form of meat, liver purees and egg yolk. Foods such as apples, pomegranates, and other acidic fruits help the body absorb iron.

Closer to the year, a variety of fruits and vegetables, herbs, fish, eggs, meat, dairy products should be present on the baby’s table. A decoction of wild rose and dried fruits will be very useful.

Some foods do not allow iron to be absorbed and even promote its excretion. Their consumption must be limited or completely eliminated from the children's diet. These are tea, coffee, whole cow's milk, semolina and rice porridge.

The main methods of treatment must be supplemented by the correct daily regimen. Long, measured walks in the fresh air improve the supply of oxygen to the body and speed up the metabolism. They also contribute to the establishment of a long restful sleep.

With a careful and responsible approach to treatment, a disease such as anemia in infants passes, albeit gradually, but without complications. Patience for children's whims, a balanced diet and a clear regimen will allow your child to fully develop according to his age and delight his parents with excellent health.

Anemia in an infant is detected through the results of blood tests taken regularly when visiting a pediatrician. Such a phenomenon as anemia in infants responds well to treatment if parents follow all the recommendations of the pediatrician.

Anemia in children under one year old can develop in the second half of their life, because before birth they accumulate a supply of iron, which is consumed by the age of 6 months. In order to prevent a condition such as anemia in infants, you need to pay attention to his nutrition.

The cause of anemia in children of the first year of life

The supply of iron in a child is in red blood cells and in muscle mass. And in complementary foods that the child receives in the second half of his life. In the milk mixture, iron should be contained in sufficient quantities. Violation of its intake with food can provoke the development of anemia.

Various causes of anemia in infants include:

anemia in the mother, not treated during pregnancy, then observed in the infant;
acute blood loss from injuries received during childbirth;
digestive tract infections;
accelerated growth in an infant;
mixtures for feeding a child up to a year, unsuitable for him in composition;
circulatory problems in the mother's placenta;
the birth of a premature baby;
low composition of iron in maternal and child food.

Anemia in young children is often due to problems with a deficiency of red cells in the blood or a disorder in the composition of red blood cells in a woman during gestation.

Observation by a gynecologist throughout the entire period of pregnancy provides for the prevention of anemia in the mother of the baby, so that in the future this will not affect his health.

Infectious diseases in infants, localized in the intestines, liver and other organs of the digestive tract, can change the blood picture and cause anemia in newborns. The rapid growth of the baby requires more vitamins, minerals and nutrients in his body.

If a nursing woman, fearing to cause colic and diathesis in a child, eats cereals, she not only herself does not receive sufficient nutrients, vitamins and minerals, but also limits her baby in them.

The nutrition of a nursing mother should be varied and healthy, without stabilizers and emulsifiers.

The birth of premature babies is the cause of the development of anemia in newborns.

This condition occurs due to the immaturity of their hematopoietic functions and the iron reserve in their body and is insufficient, these reserves accumulate at 8 and 9 months of fetal development.

Symptoms of anemia in newborns

If parents notice that their baby is undergoing changes in behavior, he becomes excessively whiny, lethargic and inactive, an urgent need to visit a doctor and take tests.

To determine the content in the blood of newborns, the level of hemoglobin has its own parameters:

On the first day of life, at the birth of a baby, its content will be 145 g / l.
Then, during the first day of life and up to 2 weeks of age, the level decreases to 130 g / l.
From 2 weeks of age to 28 days of a child's life, the readings decrease to 120 g / l.
Further, from the age of one month to six months, the hemoglobin level is 110 g / l.

If the hemoglobin level is below these indicators, the doctor makes a diagnosis and, taking into account the symptoms of anemia, prescribes treatment.

Externally, anemia manifests itself as follows:

restless behavior;
sleep disturbance;
pallor;
dry skin;
weakness;
hair loss;
brittle nails;
cracks in the corners of the lips;
frequent colds;
low weight gain and poor growth;
weak appetite and frequent regurgitation;
lagging behind in physical development;

With a mild degree, the symptoms of anemia may not appear at all, but it is detected during a routine examination by a pediatrician and a blood test prescribed by him. There will be a slight decrease in hemoglobin in the blood.

The average degree is more pronounced by external manifestations, in the blood the decrease in hemoglobin level is significant. Treatment is carried out in a hospital.

A severe degree is characterized by a clear manifestation of the symptoms of the disease, a very low level of hemoglobin is observed in the blood, which entails the urgent hospitalization of the child.

Varieties of anemia in children under one year old

In children, anemia can be divided by frequency of occurrence:

hypochromic;
hemolytic;
alimentary;
autoimmune;
hemolastoses.

In second place in terms of frequency of manifestations among children will be hemolytic. Its occurrence is a consequence of the development of the Rhesus conflict between the composition of the blood in the mother and child. If during pregnancy the mother was infected with the herpes virus, rubella or toxoplasmosis, this can also cause hemolytic anemia.

The alimentary form of the disease occurs with a lack of B and C vitamins, proteins and salts.

If there is a small intake of vitamin B12, B6, B9, C in the child's food, then the hematopoiesis process will not perform its functions. Copper, like iron, is also an important trace element in hematopoiesis.

Autoimmune are manifested by congenital malformations of the system synthesizing red blood cells.

This leads to a decrease in erythrocytes of the correct form and their normal composition, and this entails oxygen starvation of the child's body.

Malignant hemoblastoses, or they are also called leukemias or anemia, are quite rare in newborns. The amount of red bone marrow in children of the first year of life is relatively greater than in adults. It is localized in the entire skeletal system and, in the complete absence of its functioning, leukemia occurs. This is when white blood cells have a larger quantitative composition than red ones.

Treatment of anemia in infants

Parents of children of the first year of life should remember that any self-treatment of a child can end in failure. Treatment is prescribed by a pediatrician, and in complex cases of the disease, a hematologist treats. Drugs are prescribed after examination and accurate diagnosis.

In order for the treatment to be effective, the causes that caused this disorder in the child's blood should first be eliminated:

Nutrition change for breastfeeding mothers. Very often, a change in nutrition and small doses of additionally prescribed iron preparations can lead to a rapid recovery of the blood picture in a child.
The use of iron preparations is used in almost all cases, except for some varieties of hemolytic anemia.

Replacing formula for formula-fed babies. Properly selected mixture and timely complementary foods improve the condition of the child.
Appointment of vitamins and minerals. If there is a deficiency of vitamin B12, B9 (folic acid) and B6, they are prescribed additionally, as well as vitamin C, which is involved in the process of iron oxidation. Causes of copper deficiency cause severe disorders, and this microelement is also important for hematopoiesis.
Introduction of erythrocyte mass. If the baby is premature or is in serious condition after childbirth or trauma with large blood loss, it is necessary to urgently enter the erythrocyte mass. When hypoxia is observed in a child and he urgently needs to apply oxygen therapy, then an erythrocyte mass is injected with an oxygen content of 30% in it and artificial lung ventilation is connected.
Treatment with erythropoietin. If a premature baby is not in a critical condition, then they need care and supervision. The introduction of blood transfusions can only harm him. To stimulate the production of red blood cells by the bone marrow, treatment with erythropoietin is prescribed. It is desirable to prescribe treatment as early as possible and inject it subcutaneously for 1.5 months. The younger the baby, the greater the dosage he needs.

To prevent anemia in newborns, you need:

In pregnant women, determine the anemic syndrome in time and neutralize it.
Proper and balanced nutrition for nursing mothers.
Monitor the nutrition of children up to a year and introduce various complementary foods and juices.

Summer is the time for fruits and fresh vegetables, which contain the entire composition of useful substances necessary for hematopoiesis and improving the health of babies.

Anemia in an infant is a pathological condition that requires parents to be especially vigilant. It is characterized by a decrease in the amount of hemoglobin. It is hemoglobin that “carries” oxygen, supplying all organs and tissues with a vital element. And on the way back to the lungs, the erythrocyte "captures" the deadly carbon dioxide.

According to statistics, more than 20% of all children born at term are affected by the disease. But children born before the due date suffer from the disease in almost 100% of cases.

The level of hemoglobin in the blood in children changes with age:

1 day after birth - 130-145 g / l;
2 - 14 day - 120-130 g / l;
14 - 28 day - 110-120 g / l;
1 month - 6 years - about 110 g / l.

Anemia in infants: causes

At the age of a child under 1 year old, iron deficiency anemia is most often recorded. It occurs due to an improperly selected diet, with congenital pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract, prematurity. If a child has been bottle-fed since birth, then the risk of getting Anemia increases dramatically.

Children with “overweight” and infants, who are rapidly gaining weight, will more actively use up the iron reserve accumulated during the prenatal period. And if the expectant mother during her pregnancy did not eat enough fully, or she has chronic diseases of the digestive system, then the fetus's body is not able to "put aside" the substance it needs so much. A similar situation develops in cases where a nursing mother has low hemoglobin or a poor diet for a long time during breastfeeding.

Signs of anemia in the baby

The main signs of the disease include:

pallor not only of the skin, but also of the visible mucous membranes;
frequent stomatitis;
cracks in the corners of the mouth;
dry skin;
hypodynamia;
dysbacteriosis;
irritability, tendency to cry;
frequent constipation.

You should carefully analyze the condition of the children, and if you notice at least one of the listed symptoms, then you need to do a blood test for the child. Anemia of the first degree is said to be when the hemoglobin index is kept within 90 g / l.

What is dangerous Anemia in infants: complications

The consequences of the disease of previously transferred Anemia may appear in a few years. The fast-growing children's brain does not tolerate the lack of oxygen quite well, because the rate of formation of new nerve cells decreases, which leads to many disorders of neuropsychic health.

Low hemoglobin - School of Dr. Komarovsky

Anemia in infants: symptoms, causes and treatment

Low hemoglobin in an infant

Causes of anemia - Dr. Komarovsky

Anemia in children. Tips for parents - Union of Pediatricians of Russia

Many pediatricians consider the appearance of Anemia to be the first “ringer” of Rickets, a disease that develops with a lack of vitamin D. At an advanced stage of the disease, not only the brain, but also the heart muscle suffers, and this immediately affects the well-being of a small child.

Anemia Treatment

Treatment of anemia in an infant begins only after an in-depth diagnosis. An individual course of treatment is prescribed based on the identified root cause of the disease.

For almost all types of ailment, the drug treatment regimen includes:

folic acid;
vitamins of group B, C, PP;
iron preparations.

It is important to remember that it is better for children to give iron preparations in the form of liquid syrups. But, the child's diet mainly consists of milk and lactic acid products, and they prevent the absorption of iron in the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, syrups are given only in the interval between feedings, when the milk in the stomach is partially digested.

Treatment of the disease in children is quite long. With iron deficiency anemia, despite the rapid stabilization of hemoglobin levels, it lasts at least 2 months. The child's body must receive an adequate supply of iron, and this is a long process.

If the child's condition does not improve, then the pediatrician will prescribe injections of not only iron preparations, but also folic acid. If the treatment regimen is drawn up correctly, then the first positive results can be seen after 10-14 days from the start of the drug course.

Nutrition as a treatment for anemia

Nutrition in the treatment of anemia plays a special role. The meager diet of the baby is expanded at the expense of iron-rich foods, and these are buckwheat, turkey meat, beef tongue, chicken egg yolk, greens, and a decoction of rose hips (in the absence of allergies). Dr. Komarovsky advises children with the initial stage of Anemia to be outdoors more, to walk for a long time.

If the child continues to receive breast milk, then the nutrition of the nursing mother is monitored with particular care. It is important during this period to strictly limit smoking, drinking strong coffee, tea, whole cow's milk, semolina porridge and rice cereal. These foods interfere with the normal absorption of iron.

Anemia in premature babies

The disease in premature babies is especially severe. It can develop already in the first weeks after the “early” birth and is difficult to treat. Control blood tests are done at intervals of 4-6 days. As a rule, injectable forms of iron-containing preparations are prescribed from the first days of treatment. It is worth more actively using vitamin complexes in order to achieve normalization of blood counts in the shortest possible time.