Plus, always free shipping! Increasing societal demands involving work and family can often lead to overexertion, excessive fatigue, and inadequate energy levels. But when exhaustion is also associated with ice cravings e. Anemia is a condition where the blood doesn't have enough healthy red blood cells. Although iron deficiency anemia is the most common type of anemia, it is only one of many.
It occurs when the body doesn't have enough iron to make red blood cells. For simplicity, let's use a football analogy where our red blood cells contain hemoglobin, which functions as a sure-handed running back, carrying oxygen football to the desired tissues.
However, three anemia-causing scenarios interfere with oxygen delivery to tissues and will lead to a very undesired fumble. It is possible to have iron deficiency prior to developing a diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia. Over time, however, iron deficiency will always lead to anemia if supplementation is not initiated.
This occurs as the body exhausts its iron stores, often termed ferritin. Iron is essential for good health, but many people are deficient in it. The foods you eat can influence how much iron your body ends up absorbing. Iron is an essential mineral, but ingesting too much can cause severe harm.
This is a detailed review of the harmful effects of too much iron. When your child stops breastfeeding or switches to solid foods, they might not be eating enough iron-rich foods. This can put them at risk for iron…. Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Ferritin Level Blood Test. Medically reviewed by Debra Rose Wilson, Ph. What is a ferritin test? Your body relies on iron in red blood cells to carry oxygen to all its cells. What is ferritin? Purpose of a ferritin test.
How is the ferritin test performed? Understanding your ferritin blood test results. Causes of low ferritin levels. Causes of high ferritin levels. Side effects of a ferritin blood test. In men and postmenopausal women, the most frequent cause is chronic occult bleeding, usually from the gastrointestinal tract eg, due to peptic ulcer disease Peptic Ulcer Disease A peptic ulcer is an erosion in a segment of the gastrointestinal mucosa, typically in the stomach gastric ulcer or the first few centimeters of the duodenum duodenal ulcer , that penetrates These vessels may cause recurrent bleeding, which is rarely In premenopausal women, cumulative menstrual blood loss mean, 0.
Intestinal bleeding due to hookworm infection Symptoms and Signs Ancylostomiasis is infection with the hookworm Ancylostoma duodenale or Necator americanus. Symptoms include rash at the site of larval entry and sometimes abdominal pain or other gastrointestinal Less common causes include urinary blood loss, recurrent pulmonary hemorrhage see Diffuse Alveolar Hemorrhage Diffuse Alveolar Hemorrhage Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage is persistent or recurrent pulmonary hemorrhage.
There are numerous causes, but autoimmune disorders are most common. Most patients present with dyspnea, cough, hemoptysis Increased iron requirements may contribute to iron deficiency.
From birth to age 2 and during adolescence, when rapid growth requires a large iron intake, dietary iron often is inadequate. During pregnancy, the fetal iron requirement increases the maternal iron requirement mean, 0. However, a disproportionate increase in plasma volume results in hemodilution Lactation also increases the iron requirement mean, 0.
Decreased iron absorption can result from gastrectomy or malabsorption syndromes Overview of Malabsorption Malabsorption is inadequate assimilation of dietary substances due to defects in digestion, absorption, or transport. Malabsorption can affect macronutrients eg, proteins, carbohydrates, fats Infection may be asymptomatic or result Symptoms depend on the length and The anemia is usually normocytic or macrocytic, and a dimorphic large and small population of circulating cells can be present.
Rarely, absorption is decreased by dietary deprivation due to undernutrition. Most symptoms of iron deficiency are due to anemia.
Such symptoms include fatigue, loss of stamina, shortness of breath, weakness, dizziness, and pallor. In addition to the usual manifestations of anemia, some uncommon symptoms occur in severe iron deficiency. Other symptoms of severe deficiency include glossitis, cheilosis, and concave nails koilonychia. Complete blood count CBC , serum iron, iron-binding capacity, serum ferritin, transferrin saturation, reticulocyte count, red cell distribution width RDW , and a peripheral blood smear.
Iron deficiency anemia is suspected in patients with chronic blood loss or microcytic anemia, particularly if pica is present. In such patients, a CBC, serum iron and iron-binding capacity, and serum ferritin and reticulocyte count are obtained see table Typical Serum Values for Iron, Iron-Binding Capacity, Ferritin, and Transferrin Saturation Typical Normal Serum Values for Iron, Iron-Binding Capacity,Ferritin, and Transferrin Saturation Iron deficiency is the most common cause of anemia and usually results from blood loss; malabsorption, such as with celiac disease, is a much less common cause.
Iron and iron-binding capacity and transferrin saturation are measured because their relationship is important. Various tests exist; the range of normal values relates to the test used and varies from laboratory to laboratory.
Serum iron level is low in iron deficiency and in many chronic diseases and is elevated in hemolytic disorders Overview of Hemolytic Anemia At the end of their normal life span about days , red blood cells RBCs are removed from the circulation.
Hemolysis is defined as premature destruction and hence a shortened RBC life span read more and in iron-overload syndromes Overview of Iron Overload Typical adults lose about 1 mg iron Fe per day in shed epidermal and gastrointestinal cells; menstruating females lose on average an additional 0.
This iron loss The iron-binding capacity increases in iron deficiency, while the transferrin saturation decreases. Serum ferritin levels closely correlate with total body iron stores. However, ferritin is an acute-phase reactant, and levels increase in inflammatory and infectious disorders eg, hepatitis Overview of Acute Viral Hepatitis Acute viral hepatitis is diffuse liver inflammation caused by specific hepatotropic viruses that have diverse modes of transmission and epidemiologies. A low ferritin blood result suggests your iron stores are low, indicating a deficiency.
Iron deficiency can result from not eating enough iron rich foods, intestinal conditions that affect absorption, heavy bleeding e. Low ferritin levels may lead to iron deficiency anaemia. Iron is important for haemoglobin synthesis a protein that transports oxygen in red blood cells to body tissues , energy production; by converting food to ATP for cellular energy, cell division, immune system, brain function, and regulate body temperature.
The recommended intake of iron increases during pregnancy. Symptoms of low ferritin levels may include dizziness, fatigue, weakness, headaches, pale skin. If your ferritin levels are high, it suggests that your body is storing too much iron, a condition called hemochromatosis. However, there are other causes for elevated ferritin levels.
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