Anemia (Normocytic Anemia)

Normocytic anemia (say: normo-sit-tic a-neem-ee-a) is a blood problem. It is the most common type of anemia. Having 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 doctor that you have normocytic anemia rather than another kind of 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).

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.

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.

Most often, normocytic anemia is found by routine tests that are part of a physical exam. It might be found by 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 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.

Managing 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 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 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.