Vitamin B12 is a required nutrient that helps allow proper red blood cell production and function in the body. Anaemia is a medical condition in which the blood is low in normal red blood cells.
Vitamin B12 deficiency anaemia is usually treated with injections of vitamin B12.

Common symptoms of B12 deficiency anaemia are: extreme tiredness (fatigue), lack of energy (lethargy), weakness, breathlessness, feeling faint, headaches, pale skin, heart palpitations, tinnitus, loss of appetite and weight loss.

At first, you'll have these injections every other day for 2 weeks (loading dose) or until your symptoms have started improving.
After this initial period, your treatment will depend on whether the cause of your vitamin B12 deficiency is related to your diet or caused by pernicious anaemia.

If your deficiency is diet related it is recommended to have an injection of hydroxocobalamin twice a year and try to incorporate more foods containing B12 or take Vitamin B12 tablets. People who find it difficult to get enough vitamin B12 in their diets, such as those following a vegan diet may need vitamin B12 tablets for life.

Good Sources of vitamin B12 include

• Meat

• Salmon and Cod

• Milk and other Dairy products

• Eggs

• Yeast extract

• Marmite

• Fortified breakfast cereals

• Soy products

The most common cause of vitamin B12 deficiency in the UK is pernicious anaemia, which is not related to your diet.
If your vitamin B12 deficiency is not caused by a lack of vitamin B12 in your diet, you'll usually need to have an injection of hydroxocobalamin every 2 to 3 months for the rest of your life.

Prenicious anaemia is thought mainly to be caused by an autoimmune response that causes a person to be unable to produce a substance in the stomach needed to absorb dietary vitamin B12 in the small intestine.