Normocytic Anemia

What is normocytic anemia?
Normocytic anemia, the most common type of anemia, is a blood problem. It means you have normal-sized red blood cells, but you have a low number of them. The presence of normal-sized red blood cells tells your family doctor that you have normocytic anemia rather than another kind of anemia. For example, when anemia is caused by having too little iron in your diet, you
have small red blood cells (also called microcytic anemia).

What causes normocytic anemia?
Normocytic anemia can be a problem you were born with (called congenital) or it can be caused by an infection or disease (called acquired).
Congenital normocytic anemia is caused by the breaking up of red blood cells. Sickle cell disease is a congenital disorder of red blood cells. The most common cause of the acquired form of normocytic anemia is a long-term (chronic) disease. Chronic diseases that can cause normocytic
anemia include kidney disease, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and thyroiditis.
Some medicines can cause you to have normocytic anemia, but this does not happen often.

What are the signs of normocytic anemia?
Normocytic anemia usually starts slowly. It doesn't have many signs at first. You may find yourself getting tired easily. You may look pale. If the anemia starts suddenly or gets really bad, you might feel dizzy or weak.

How does my family doctor find out that I have normocytic anemia?
Most often, normocytic anemia is found on routine tests that are part of a physical exam. It might be found on a blood test you get for some other reason. A complete blood count (also called a CBC) can show if you have normocytic anemia.
If your CBC shows a low number of normal-sized red blood cells, your family doctor might want you to get more tests to see what is causing the anemia. If you were born with it, other family members may also need to be tested.

How is normocytic anemia treated?
When possible, fixing the condition that is causing the anemia is the most important part of treating it. This might mean you would stop taking a particular medicine, or your family doctor might treat a chronic illness or look for something that is causing you to lose blood.
If your normocytic anemia is very bad, you might get shots of erythropoietin. Erythropoietin (say: "air-rith-ro- po-et-in" ) helps your bone marrow make more red blood cells.
Talk to your family doctor before you take extra iron pills or vitamins. Lack of iron in your diet may not be the cause of your anemia and too much iron is not good for you.
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