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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staff
Blood removal
Doctors can treat hereditary hemochromatosis safely and effectively by removing blood from your body (phlebotomy) on a regular basis, just as if you were donating blood. But in this case, the goal is to reduce your iron levels to normal. The amount of blood drawn depends on your age, your overall health and the severity of iron overload. Some people need many phlebotomies to achieve normal iron levels.
- Initial treatment schedule. Initially, you may have a pint of blood taken once or twice a week — usually in a hospital or your doctor's office. This process shouldn't be too uncomfortable. While you recline in a chair, a needle is inserted into a vein in your arm. The blood flows from the needle into a tube that's attached to a blood bag. Depending on the condition of your veins and the consistency of your blood, the time needed to remove a pint of blood can range from 10 to 30 minutes.
- Maintenance treatment schedule. Once your iron levels have returned to normal, you may need to have blood drawn only four to six times a year.
Treating hereditary hemochromatosis before damage to your organs has occurred prevents serious complications such as liver disease, heart disease and diabetes. If you already have one of these conditions, phlebotomy may slow the progression of the disease, and in some cases even reverse it. If you have cirrhosis, your doctor may recommend periodic screening for liver cancer. This usually involves an abdominal ultrasound and a blood test.
A medication for those who can't undergo blood removal
In certain situations, such as if you can't undergo phlebotomy or if you have heart complications caused by your hemochromatosis, your doctor may recommend a medication that causes your body to expel some iron from your blood. The medication can be injected into your body by your doctor or it can be taken as a pill at home. The medication causes your body to expel iron through your urine or stool in a process that's sometimes called chelation. Side effects can include pain and redness where the medication was injected, as well as flu-like symptoms.
- Bacon BR, et al. Hemochromatosis. In: Feldman M, et al. Sleisinger and Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/linkTo?type=bookHome&isbn=978-1-4160-6189-2&eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-6189-2..X0001-7--TOP&uniq=200844987-3. Accessed Aug. 17, 2010.
- Hemochromatosis. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/hemochromatosis/index.htm. Accessed Aug. 17, 2010.
- Hemochromatosis. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/hemo/hemo_all.html. Accessed Aug. 19, 2010.
- Naqvi BH, et al. Hemochromatosis. In: Ferri FF. Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2011. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=aboutPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05610-6..C2009-0-38600-6--TOP&isbn=978-0-323-05610-6&uniq=210978719. Accessed Aug. 17, 2010.
- Desferal (prescribing information). East Hanover, N.J.: Novartis; 2009. http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2009/016267s045lbl.pdf. Accessed Aug. 19, 2010.
- Exjade (prescribing information). East Hanover, N.J.: Novartis; 2010. http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2010/021882s010lbl.pdf. Accessed Aug. 18, 2010.
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