Polycythaemia
Introduction
Polycythaemia, orerythrocytosis, means having a high concentration of red blood cells in your blood.
Thismakes the blood thicker and less able to travel through blood vesselsand organs. Many of the symptoms of polycythaemia are caused by this sluggish flow of blood.
Medically Reviewed by a doctor on 28 Nov 2016
Introduction
Read about polycythaemia, or erythrocytosis, which means having a high concentration of red blood cells in your blood.
Treating polycythaemia
Treatment forpolycythaemia aims to prevent symptoms and complications (such as blood clots), and treat any underlying causes. Some of the main treatments used are described below. Venesection Venes
Treating and preventing other conditions
Some people may alsoneed treatment for any other symptoms or complications of polycythaemiathey have, or for any underlying cause of the condition. For example, you may be givenmedication to help rel
Information about you
If you havepolycythaemia, your clinical team will pass information about you on to the National Congenital Anomaly and Rare Diseases Registration Service (NCARDRS). This helps scientists look for bet
Symptoms of polycythaemia
Mild cases of polycythaemia may not cause any problems, butsome people with polycythaemia can experience: Headaches blurred vision red skin particularly in the face, hands and feet tiredness
When to seek immediate medical advice
Theslow blood flow associated with polycythaemia can also cause blood clots . These can be seriousbecause theymay put you at risk of life-threatening problems such as: heart attacks pulmonary em
What causes polycythaemia?
Polycythaemia can be divided into several differenttypes, depending on the underlying cause of the condition. In some cases,an underlying cause can't be identified. Apparentpolycythaemia "Apparent p
How polycythaemia is diagnosed
Polycythaemiacan bediagnosed by carrying out a blood test to check: the number of red blood cells in your blood ( red blood cell count ) the amount of space the red blood cells take up in the blood
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