Iron Deficiency Anemia

Iron deficiency anemia is a condition of anemia that is due to insufficient iron in the body. The body needs iron to produce an adequate number of healthy red blood cells that carry oxygen to organs and tissues. Oxygen is what feeds the cells in the tissues and organs and keeps them alive and gives your body energy and skin a healthy color.

Iron deficiency is common in women. One in five women and half of all pregnant women will experience iron deficiency. There are several different causes for both and men and women to develop iron deficiency anemia. One of the most common causes of this anemia is blood loss. When you lose blood you also lose iron. Some women who experience heavy blood loss each month are at high risk for iron deficiency anemia because of the blood loss during menstruation. Others may suffer from slow chronic loss from such condition as a peptic ulcer, a kidney or bladder tumor, a colon polyp, uterine fibroids or colorectal cancer. Other gastrointestinal bleeding can happen from regular use of certain medications. Sometimes this blood loss will show up in the urine or stool producing bloody urine or black or bloody stools.

Other individuals may suffer from a lack of iron in the diet resulting in anemia. Iron rich foods can include meat, eggs, dairy products or iron fortified foods. Iron is responsible, not only for blood development, but also for the proper growth and development of the brains of infants and children.

Another reason for individuals to suffer from iron deficiency anemia is an inability to absorb iron. The body absorbs iron from foods through the intestinal tract, more specifically – the small intestines. An intestinal disorder such as Crohn’s or celiac wil affect the absorption of iron. If an individual has experienced an intestinal bypass or has been removed surgically then they may also have difficulty absorbing iron from the diet.

There are also some medications which interfere with the absorption of iron. For example, regular use of stomach acid blockers called proton pump inhibitors can lead to iron deficiency anemia. The body also needs the acids, suppressed by these medications, to convert the dietary iron to a form that is absorbed by the intestines.

Women who are pregnant can also develop this condition if they don’t take iron supplementation because their body uses their own iron stores to increase their blood volume as well as a source of hemoglobin for the growing baby. The baby will need iron to develop red blood cells, blood vessels and muscle tissue.

This condition is diagnosed mainly through blood testing where the size, color and number of red blood cells are evaluated. When an individual suffers from iron deficiency the cells are smaller and paler than normal. In addition the doctor may also ask for measurement of the body’s ferritin, a protein used to store iron in the body. A low level of ferritin also indicates that the body has a low level of iron stores which will require a different level of treatment for the iron deficiency anemia.

Additional tests might include an endoscopy and colonoscopy to search for the reasons behind the iron loss. The endoscopy may check for bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal tract such as bleeding ulcers, stomach bleeding or hiatal hernia. The colonoscopy will search through the lower intestinal tract to look for sources of bleeding in the lower intestines.

Complications from iron deficiency anemia can include heart problems because the heart is forced to work harder to deliver oxygen to the organs and tissues. People who already have a heart condition may suffer from further damage. Pregnant women who suffer will be at higher risk for premature births or babies with low birth weight. Infants and children may experience delayed growth and development causing both physical and mental disturbances.

Once a diagnosis is made the primary care physician will make treatment recommendations based upon the reasons for the anemia. The doctor will not only treat the iron deficiency but also make recommendations to treat the condition that created the symptom in the first place.

Iron supplementation will be used for people of all ages but come with some side effects. Most supplementations that are prescribed and delivered from the pharmacy are hard on the stomach and intestinal tract. This is because it has a low bioavailability. This means that the pills contain 325 mg of iron but only a fraction of it is absorbed by the body. The rest is sent through the gastrointestinal tract and will often result in constipation. Sometimes the doctor will recommend taking a vitamin C tablet at the same time because it will help to increase the amount of iron that is absorbed.

However, there is a second choice from the health food store that is vegetable based. The capsules have 50 mg and are much more bioavailable. And, because the dosage is mostly absorbed by the body the side effects are minimal to none.

RESOURCES

PubMed Health: Iron Deficiency Anemia

Mayoclinic: Iron Deficiency Anemia

National Heart Lung and Blood Institute: What is Iron Deficiency Anemia

KidsHealth.org: Iron Deficiency Anemia