Need some help.just found out my girlfriend has beta thal minor+iron deficiency animea

Hi every one,
im new to here and im really imressed about this website.
My gf is 18.Recently we went through blood test as she was too weak.atlast we are told that she has beta thal minor+iron deficiency animea.she's scared.idk much about thal minor.do we need blood transfusions?
I dont have thal.and my gf has minor.what about our babies?will they be thals or traits?
Any help is highly appriciated.
Thanks.

Hi Isuru,

It's possible to have both thal minor and iron deficiency (IDA). They are not related, but will have a cumulative effect on anemia, but only the IDA can be treated. Does she have a history of anemia or is it more recent that she has become so weak? If it is recent, correcting the IDA should return her to her previous energy level.

As long as it is certain that you do not carry thalassemia, children that the two of you have will either be non-carriers or thal minors. They cannot be thal major unless both parents are carriers.

Thanks Andy,
yes her weakness is recent.first she had an abdominal pain.then rapid fever,and weakness.What is the relationship between thal minor and abdominal pain?is it about spleen? Tell me about Blood transfusions.will it be significant?
HBA2-5.7%

Hi Isuru, I'm a newbie to all this but I would share what my hematologist told me that my iron deficiency anemia is a separate issue from the blood characteristics (like low MCV) that I have from the thalassemia carrier status.   She said in the future I need to be careful that doctors don't get confused and try to give me iron when I'm not actually anemic because they'll at first be confused by what looks like microcytic anemia but it's really the thalassemia.

Isuru,

Minors seldom need transfusion. Occasionally, a pregnant thal minor will need transfusions, bot it is not normally part of the life of thal minors. From the described symptoms, she made have had a virus that caused her Hb to drop temporarily. I would suggest patience for now to see if her Hb rebounds. The HbA2 being high is normal in thal minor and of no concern.

thank you Andy,
she discharged from the hospital today.she looks a bit stronger now.abdominal pain and fever is gone.i guess it was a kind of imfluansa virus,which is spreading fastly in Srilanka nowadays.Andy,what are the issues with the spleen in thal minors?

Red blood cells, RBC's break down more quickly in thal carriers in a process called hemolysis. These RBC's are filtered out by the spleen and liver. The higher the rate of hemolysis, the more enlarged the spleen will be. It is usually not a danger to thal minors.

hi i need little help.my gf has beta thal minor+iron def.diognosed 3 months before and now she's taking iron supplements as her clinic gave.she is too skinny and weak.so i gave her some multivitamin tabs,brand-Vitgen.but its not recomended by a doctor.i just gave her.is it ok to her take multivitamins? Or should we stop it.she has taken 4 tablets then.

A multivitamin is safe and is a good idea. She needs to improve her overall diet and nutrition.

Andy,
will taking multivitamin cause for iron overload?as i saw in someother websites,thals have more free irons in blood than a normal person.so that multivitamin has 10mg of iron in each tablet.im afraid of having her iron-overload.please explain me this a bit.thanks.

A multivitamin without iron should be used.