What Our Family Learned About Pernicious Anemia

When the phone rang at 12:30 AM I immediately knew something was wrong with someone in the family. This was no exception. A few minutes later my oldest son, age 26, came knocking at my bedroom door.

The phone call had been his younger sister and his father was in the hospital. His blood count was very very low and they had started a blood transfusion. Tests were being ran and they weren't sure of the cause or exactly what to do just yet.

I got up and called my daughter back to get more details but she had none. They had her father headed for ICU and she was frantic. My son began calling airports in case he needed to be rushed to his fathers side.

A few days later we learned he had Pernicious Anemia. A chronic illness caused by the lack of Vitamin B-12 being absorbed into the body. Basically, the body stops making red blood cells thus causing the anemia.

This can be caused from a lack of Intrinsic Factor (often referred to as IF) which is a protein produced by the stomach to help absorb the Vitamin B-12. Which in turn causes the blood to not be produced as required by our bodies to function properly.

Symptoms of Pernicious Anemia may develop slowly over the course of several years. Tiredness and weakness are often the first symptoms of Pernicious Anemia. Along with tingling of the hands and feet, a bright red tongue is another symptom of the condition. Since most of these symptoms can mimic other conditions it is not always the first thing that doctors look for in a diagnosis.

In Pernicious Anemia, the blood cells do not develop or divide properly and when they do, the blood cells are too large to get out of the bone marrow and into the body where they function.

The term Pernicious Anemia was originally given because the condition was fatal until the doctors had researched it to the point of knowing that the lack Vitamin B-12 was the cause of the condition. The name is retained for historical purposes. Today, Pernicious Anemia is treated with injections of B-12 and eventually pills are taken for the condition.