Aplastic anemia is a condition that happens when your bone marrow stops making enough new blood cells. The condition leaves you tired and more prone to infections and uncontrolled bleeding.

A rare and serious condition, aplastic anemia can develop at any age. It can happen suddenly, or it can come on slowly and worsen over time. It can be mild or severe.

Treatment for aplastic anemia might include medicines, blood transfusions or a stem cell transplant, also known as a bone marrow transplant.

Aplastic anemia is rare. Factors that can increase risk include:

• Treatment with high-dose radiation or chemotherapy for cancer.
• Exposure to toxic chemicals.
• The use of some prescription drugs — such as chloramphenicol, which is used to treat bacterial infections, and gold compounds used to treat rheumatoid arthritis.
• Certain blood diseases, autoimmune disorders and serious infections.
• Pregnancy, rarely.

There's no known prevention for most cases of aplastic anemia. Avoiding exposure to insecticides, herbicides, organic solvents, paint removers and other toxic chemicals might lower your risk of the disease.

Treatments for aplastic anemia depend on the symptoms and your age and overall health. Treatment options might include observation, blood transfusions, medicines or bone marrow transplantation. Severe aplastic anemia, in which your blood cell counts are extremely low, is life-threatening and requires immediate hospitalization.

Blood transfusions

Although not a cure for aplastic anemia, blood transfusions can provide blood cells your bone marrow isn't producing. This can help control bleeding and relieve symptoms. You might receive:

• Red blood cells. These raise red blood cell counts and help relieve anemia and fatigue.
• Platelets. These help prevent excessive bleeding.

While there's generally no limit to the number of blood transfusions you can have, complications sometimes arise with multiple transfusions. Transfused red blood cells contain iron that can accumulate in your body and damage vital organs if an iron overload isn't treated. Medicines can help rid your body of excess iron.

Over time your body can develop antibodies to transfused blood cells, making them less effective at relieving symptoms. The use of immunosuppressant medicine makes this complication less likely.

Stem cell transplant

A stem cell transplant to rebuild the bone marrow with stem cells from a donor might be the only successful treatment option for people with severe aplastic anemia. A stem cell transplant, also called a bone marrow transplant, is generally the treatment of choice for people who are younger and have a matching donor — most often a sibling.

If a donor is found, your diseased bone marrow is first depleted with radiation or chemotherapy. Healthy stem cells from the donor are filtered from the blood. The healthy stem cells are injected through a vein into your bloodstream. The healthy cells migrate to the bone marrow cavities and begin creating new blood cells.

The procedure requires a lengthy hospital stay. After the transplant, you'll receive drugs to help prevent rejection of the donated stem cells.

A stem cell transplant carries risks. Your body may reject the transplant, leading to life-threatening complications. In addition, not everyone is a candidate for transplantation or can find a suitable donor.

Immunosuppressants

For people who can't undergo a bone marrow transplant or for those whose aplastic anemia is due to an autoimmune disorder, treatment can involve drugs that alter or suppress the immune system, called immunosuppressants.

Drugs such as cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune) and antithymocyte globulin suppress the activity of immune cells that are damaging your bone marrow. This helps your bone marrow recover and generate new blood cells. Cyclosporine and antithymocyte globulin are often used together.

Corticosteroids, such as methylprednisolone (Medrol), are often used with these drugs.

Although effective, these drugs further weaken your immune system. It's also possible for anemia to return after you stop these drugs.

Bone marrow stimulants

Your hematologist may prescribe medicines to stimulate your bone marrow to make new blood cells. These drugs are called growth factors or colony-stimulating factors. Each drug stimulates production of a different type of blood cell. Sargramostim (Leukine), filgrastim (Neupogen), pegfilgrastim (Neulasta), epoetin alfa (Epogen/Procrit) and eltrombopag (Promacta) help stimulate the bone marrow to produce new red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Growth factors are often used with immune-suppressing drugs.

Antibiotics, antivirals

Having aplastic anemia weakens your immune system, which leaves you more prone to infections.

If you have aplastic anemia, see your healthcare professional at the first sign of infection, such as a fever. You don't want the infection to get worse because it could prove life-threatening. If you have severe aplastic anemia, your doctor might prescribe antibiotics or antiviral medicines to help prevent infections.

Other treatments

Aplastic anemia caused by radiation and chemotherapy treatments for cancer usually improves after those treatments stop. The same is true for most other drugs that can cause aplastic anemia.

Pregnant women with aplastic anemia are treated with blood transfusions. For many women, pregnancy-related aplastic anemia improves once the pregnancy ends. If that doesn't happen, treatment is still necessary.

If you have aplastic anemia, take care of yourself by:

• Resting when you need to. Anemia can cause fatigue and shortness of breath with even mild exertion. Take a break and rest when needed.
• Avoiding contact sports. Because of the risk of bleeding associated with a low platelet count, avoid activities that can cause a cut or fall.
• Protecting yourself from germs. Wash your hands often and avoid sick people. If you develop a fever or other indicators of an infection, see your healthcare professional for treatment.

Tips to help you and your family better cope with your illness include:

• Research your disease. The more you know, the better prepared you'll be to make treatment decisions.
• Ask questions. Be sure to ask your healthcare team about anything related to your disease or treatment that you don't understand. It might help you to record or write down what they tell you.
• Be vocal. Don't be afraid to express your concerns to your hematologist or other healthcare professionals treating you.
• Seek support. Ask family and friends for emotional support. Ask them to consider becoming blood donors or bone marrow donors. It might help to talk to others coping with the disease. Ask your healthcare team if they know of local support groups or contact the Aplastic Anemia and MDS International Foundation. It offers a peer support network and can be reached at 800-747-2820.
• Take care of yourself. Proper nutrition and sleep are important to maximize blood production.

Start by making an appointment with your primary care health professional. They might then refer you to a doctor who specializes in treating blood disorders called a hematologist. If aplastic anemia comes on suddenly, your treatment might begin in the emergency room.

Here's some information to help you get ready for your appointment.

What you can do

Make a list of:

• Your symptoms and when they began.
• Key personal information, including any recent life changes, such as a new job, especially one that exposes you to chemicals.
• Medications, vitamins and other supplements you take, including doses.
• Questions to ask your healthcare team.

Take a family member or a friend with you to your appointment, if possible, to help you remember the information you're given.

For aplastic anemia, questions to ask your hematologist include:

• What's the most likely cause of my symptoms?
• Are there other possible causes for my symptoms?
• What's my prognosis?
• What treatments are available, and which do you recommend?
• Are there alternatives to the primary approach that you're suggesting?
• I have another health condition. How can I best manage them together?
• Do you have brochures or other printed material I can have? What websites do you recommend?

What to expect from your doctor

Your healthcare team is likely to ask you questions, such as:

• Have you had recent infections?
• Have you bled unexpectedly?
• Are you more tired than usual?
• Does anything seem to improve your symptoms?
• Does anything appear to worsen your symptoms?