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Iron Deficiency Explained
Iron Deficiency is a common problem particulary in younger menstrating women. Iron deficiency anemia is due to insufficient iron. Without enough iron, your body can't produce enough of a substance in red blood cells that enables them to carry oxygen (hemoglobin). As a result, iron deficiency anemia may leave you tired and short of breath.
So to break it down, what is Iron
- Iron is an important dietary mineral that is involved in various bodily functions, including the transport of oxygen in the blood.
- Dietary iron is found in both animal and plant products.
- Certain foods and drinks affect how much iron your body absorbs.
- Iron deficiency is when the stores of iron in your body are too low.
- Common causes of iron deficiency include not getting enough iron in your diet, chronic blood loss, pregnancy and vigorous exercise.
- Some people become iron deficient if they are unable to absorb iron.
- Iron deficiency can be treated by adding iron-rich foods to the diet.
If you have iron deficiency anaemia, your GP (doctor) may recommend that you take iron supplements
There are quite a variety of Iron Anemia Symptons & these include
The symptoms of moderate to severe iron-deficiency anemia can include:
- general fatigue
- weakness
- pale skin
- shortness of breath
- dizziness
- strange cravings to eat items with no nutritional value
- a tingling or crawling feeling in the legs
- tongue swellingor soreness
- cold hands and feet
- fast or irregular heartbeat
- brittle nails
- headaches
You can see from the above tree that hair loss is often the first sign of Iron Anemia followed by Fatigue then brittle nails frequent infection headaches etc.
Anaemia is defined as the reduced concentration of haemoglobin in red blood cells. It is important to check the cause of anaemia before commencing treatment as it could be caused by other issues such as Vitamin B12, Folate or other deficiencies. Iron deficiency usually occurs many years before anaemia.
Once the doctor or specialist has identified that you are Iron deficient, then there are a variety of ways they may treat this.
They may recommend you take Iron Tablets
- Take iron tablets on an empty stomach.If possible, take your iron tablets when your stomach is empty. However, because iron tablets can upset your stomach, you may need to take your iron tablets with meals.
- Don't take iron with antacids.Medications that immediately relieve heartburn symptoms can interfere with the absorption of iron. Take iron two hours before or four hours after you take antacids.
- Take iron tablets with vitamin C.Vitamin C improves the absorption of iron. Your doctor might recommend taking your iron tablets with a glass of orange juice or with a vitamin C supplement.
Treating underlying causes of iron deficiency
If iron supplements don't increase your blood-iron levels, then it's likely the anemia is due to a source of bleeding and or an iron-absorption problem, that your doctor will need to investigate and treat. Depending on the cause, iron deficiency anemia treatment may involve:
- Medications, such as oral contraceptives to lighten heavy menstrual flow
- Antibiotics and other medications to treat peptic ulcers
- Surgery to remove a bleeding polyp, a tumor or a fibroid
If iron deficiency anemia is severe, you may need iron given intravenously or you may need blood transfusions to help replace iron and hemoglobin quickly.
So there you have it, Iron deficiency is quite common so common that the WHO suggests that up to 80% of people worldwide have an Iron Deficiency and up to 30% of people have Anemia.
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