Iron deficiency anaemia is the most common cause of anaemia in India. It can be considered to be endemic to India especially in young children, besides affecting a large number of women. Today, we sneak a peek at iron deficiency anaemia and how you can prevent it.
ANAEMIA
Anaemia means a decreased the amount of haemoglobin in your red blood cells. Haemoglobin is a protein responsible for the transport of oxygen to various parts of your body. Haemoglobin is produced from molecules of iron. Reduction of iron stores in the body leads to the most common type of anaemia, iron deficiency anaemia.
So to make it simple, reduced iron in the body leads to lowered haemoglobin, which leads to iron deficiency anaemia.The normal haemoglobin level in adult males is 13.5 to 17.5 gm/dL and in adult females it is 12 to 15.5 gm/dL. The normal haemoglobin levels for children varies with age.
SYMPTOMS
What are the signs and symptoms you should look out for if you suspect that you are anaemic? The most common symptoms include general weakness, pale skin, shortness of breath, a tingling or crawling sensation in the legs, tongue swelling or soreness, cold hands and feet, a fast or irregular heartbeat, brittle nails, headaches, and the most weird one is a strange craving to eat items that aren’t food, such as dirt, ice or clay.
DIAGNOSIS
To diagnose your type of anaemia, when you approach your doctor, you will be advised to do a complete blood count and hematocrit. Additionally, you may also be asked to do serum ferritin. Ferritin helps with iron storage. Iron is stored in the liver, spleen, bone marrow and muscles. You might also be asked to do total iron binding capacity, which measures serum transferrin which is responsible for iron transportation.
You will also be asked to a test for stools to check for intestinal parasites and occult blood, to check if there is internal bleeding. Causes of iron deficiency anaemia may be dietary or non-dietary. Dietary causes include nutritional deficiencies such as those seen in vegetarians, people who consume mostly processed foods and people who have disorders of the gut such as coeliac disease.
Presence of parasites and worms in your intestine may also contribute to iron deficiency anaemia. Non-dietary causes of iron deficiency anaemia include heavy menstrual bleeding, uterine bleeding, internal bleeding in the digestive tract such as peptic ulcers and hemorrhoids, kidney disorders frequent blood donations.
I don't mean to discourage you in being more active, but also over exercise can lead to excessive breakdown of your muscle cells causing a condition known as hematuria. In hematuria, broken down red blood cells are passed through the urine giving it a reddish appearance.
PREVENTION
To help prevent iron deficiency anaemia, ensure that you consume good amounts of meat and fish, legumes such as beans and peas, leafy green vegetables, nuts and seeds. Additionally, you may want to supplement with iron medications, but for your medicines, please consult your doctor.
(DR ROHAN FONSECA IS A CLINICIAN AND PROPRIETOR OF DR FONSECA’S PATHOLOGY LABORATORY AND CLINICS, PANAJI. A HEALTH AND FITNESS ENTHUSIAST, HE HAS STARTED “DRROHANFONSECA”, A LIFESTYLE AND WEIGHT MANAGEMENT CLINIC. FIND HIM ON YOUTUBE.COM/DRROHANFONSECA)_
