Iron-Deficiency Anemia

Most people have heard of Anemia but they don’t know exactly what is it.  Anemia is when your body has a lower number of red blood cells than normal. This happens when the red blood cells in your body don’t produce enough hemoglobin.  Hemoglobin is an iron protein that gives blood its red color and helps the cells carry oxygen throughout the body. People with Anemia, may feel some different side effects depending on how severe it is, those people that have minor case studies have shown that they feel more tired, have some dizziness, or have headaches.  For People with more of a severe anemia studies show that it can damage your heart, brain, and other organs in your body and could even case death if it goes untreated. Also with Anemia there are different types one of the most common types is Iron-deficiency Anemia.

Iron-deficiency anemia is when your body does not have enough iron in it, this could be cause from someone not eating enough iron full foods or if a person has any type of blood loss. Some of the best foods to eat for people who have this deficiency are lots of red meat such as, beef, but chicken and fish also works.  For those who are vegetarians there are many options for them as well such as, dark leafy greens and tofu. People who think that they have Iron- deficiency would have the same side effects as those explained with Anemia tiredness and headaches; they could also have fragile nails and get infections quit often.

 Usually this type of anemia develops over time, but infants who are born underweight are more likely to get it sooner because their bodies are smaller and they do not have as much iron in their bodies as a baby born with an average birth weight.  For those children with Iron-deficiency they are more likely to have problems with their growth and development as they get older.  Another group of people that are at a greater risk for the deficiency are women because each month they get their menstrual cycle, which lead to a loss of blood in the body which brings their iron levels down.  Also if a woman is pregnant she now has to not only worry about getting enough iron for herself but also for the fetus, so she needs to make sure her intake is twice as much as normal and that is hard for some women to do.  If the woman does not get enough iron while pregnant it could lead to a premature child and problems for the child.

These are the two main groups of people that are at higher risk, but anyone could be at risk for the deficiency.  Teenagers eat more junk food and do not eat enough food with the proper nutrients so it is likely that they could get it as well as when people get older they need to make sure they are getting enough iron and vitamins.

People with the iron- deficiency there are several different solutions on how to help maintain healthy iron levels.  These treatments do also vary with how severe the case is, just as any other type of Anemia.  With minor causes doctors will usually suggest a change in their diet to make sure they are eating enough foods with a good amount of iron in them.  They could also recommend a supplement which usually comes in pill form, but could also be in shot form if it is a more serious case.  For people with severe cases surgery or iron therapy are two of the main recommendations to try and help them get their hemoglobin back up to produce more red blood cells. 

 

 

This is just an overview of Iron-Deficiency Anemia there is a lot more about Anemia and other types. If you would like to learn more you can visit this site below.

• http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/anemia/basics/definition/con-20026209

Sources:

http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/iron-refractory-iron-deficiency-anemia

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/iron-deficiency-anemia/basics/causes/con-20019327