Question

a patient with pernicious anemia asks why she can't just take iron pills for anemia, what should the nurse's response be ?

Answer 1

ANSWER: Nurse's response to patient should be to explain the patient about pernicious anemia. Nurse should explain patient that Pernicious Anemia is due to the lack of Vitamin B12 and not due to Iron deficiency. So giving iron pills won't work instead Vitamin B12 shots or pills should be administered to her.

EXPLANATION OF DEFICIENCY OF VITAMIN B12 IN PERNICIOUS ANEMIA:

In humans, stomach lining has parietal cells which produce Intrinsic Factor (IF). This intrinsic factor helps in the uptake of Vitamin B12 (from food in stomach) into intestinal cells which later goes into blood stream. In Pernicious anemia, there is deficiency of Vitamin B12 due to autoimmune destruction of parietal cells which produce intrinsic factor, as lack of intrinsic factor causes impaired uptake of Vitamin B12 into blood stream. As Vitamin B12 help in red blood cell formation, hence its deficiency will cause Pernicious anemia.