Vitamin B12 is an essential nutrient that the body needs for normal growth and healthy functioning. A deficiency of vitamin B12 can harm your health. Left untreated, vitamin B12 deficiency can result in severe circulatory, respiratory or neurological damage. There are, however, a number of treatments that have been formulated for vitamin B12 deficiency.
Understand the Cause
Successful vitamin B12 deficiency treatment targets the root cause of .
Vitamin B12 deficiency commonly results from insufficient dietary intake of B12, which often occurs among strict vegetarians; meat and dairy are the primary dietary sources of the B12 vitamin. Sometimes the body fails to absorb the vitamin, for instance in cases where the patient's stomach has been removed.
Immediate Treatment
A vitamin B12 deficiency can be reversed with early diagnosis and prompt treatment. Patients who suffer from a severe deficiency of vitamin B12 need immediate treatment. This typically involves an intensive, high-dosage regimen of vitamin B12 over a period of one month, followed by maintenance doses for up to a year.
Dietary Intake
Increasing your dietary intake levels of vitamin B12 is a simple, affordable treatment for mild cases of a vitamin B12 deficiency. Add foods that are rich in the B12 vitamin to your daily diet, including meat such as liver, oysters, beef and salt-water fish, as well as dairy, including milk and cheese.
Supplementary Therapy
Vitamin B12 supplements are one of the most widely used treatments for a B12 vitamin deficiency. They are effective in treating this condition by increasing the patient's intake levels of B12. These supplements can be obtained over-the-counter in the form of pills and patches. Higher doses of vitamin B12 may be prescribed in oral or injectable form to treat severe deficiencies.
B12 Shots
Also referred to as hydroxocobalamin, vitamin B12 shots are a traditional treatment for B12 deficiency. Intramuscular injection allows for its direct entry into the bloodstream. The B12 shot can be administered in an outpatient clinic or self-administered.
Oral Therapy
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) have reported on studies proving that the oral intake of vitamin B12 supplements provides a safe, effective treatment for a B12 deficiency. The report states that this finding is contrary to prevailing medical practice. According to the report, oral therapy is effective even in cases where conditions such as pernicious anemia hinder normal B12 absorption by the body.
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