Treatment

There's no cure for polycythemia vera. Treatment focuses on reducing your risk of complications. These treatments may also ease your symptoms.

Blood withdrawals

The most common treatment for polychythemia vera is having frequent blood withdrawals, using a needle in a vein (phlebotomy). It's the same procedure used for donating blood.

This decreases your blood volume and reduces the number of excess blood cells. How often you need to have blood drawn depends on the severity of your condition.

Treatments to reduce itching

If you have bothersome itching, your doctor may prescribe medication, such as antihistamines, or recommend ultraviolet light treatment to relieve your discomfort.

Medications that are normally used to treat depression, called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), helped relieve itching in clinical trials. Examples of SSRIs include paroxetine (Brisdelle, Paxil, Pexeva, others) or fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem, Selfemra, others).

Drugs that reduce the number of red blood cells

If phlebotomy alone doesn't help enough, your doctor may suggest medications that can reduce the number of red blood cells in your bloodstream. Examples include:

• Hydroxyruea (Droxia, Hydrea)
• Interferon alfa-2b (Intron A)
• Ruxolitinib (Jakafi)
• Busulfan (Busulfex, Myleran)

Heart medications

Your doctor will also likely prescribe medications to control risk factors for heart and blood vessel disease, including high blood pressure, diabetes and abnormal cholesterol.

Your doctor may recommend that you take a low dose of aspirin to reduce your risk of blood clots. Low-dose aspirin may also help reduce burning pain in your feet or hands.