Iron-Deficiency Anemia
Iron deficiency is “a condition in which blood lacks adequate healthy red blood cells.” (Mayo Clinic, 2016). Red blood cells is how the body gets oxygen into its tissues. This deficiency can lead to a person feeling out of breath and tired. This can be caused by blood loss, poor diet, or from not absorbing enough iron through food. This condition can affect all types of people, especially athletes and their level of performance. But to be able to prevent this condition from deterring our performance in everyday activities, we need to know the symptoms, preventions, and treatments of this condition.
One cause of iron deficiency is blood loss. “When you lose blood, you lose iron.” (NCBI, 2014). There are many ways to lose blood. In women, blood loss can be caused by menstrual periods as well as childbirth. Other ways to lose blood include internal bleeding, injuries, surgery, etc. Another cause is poor diet. “The best sources of iron are meat, poultry, fish, and iron-fortified foods.” (NCBI, 2014). If you have an unhealthy diet, then you are more likely to have an iron deficiency. But sometimes even if you eat the right foods with iron in them, you may just not be able to absorb enough iron into your system. This can be caused by issues with your intestine such as surgery or intestinal disease.
There are many different signs and symptoms of iron deficiency anemia. One symptom of anemia is fatigue. When there is not enough red blood cells then oxygen is unable to reach many places in the body. Other anemia symptoms include shortness of breath, headaches, coldness throughout body parts, pale skin, weakness, and also pain in the chest. “If you don't have enough hemoglobin-carrying red blood cells, your heart has to work harder to move oxygen-rich blood through your body.” (NCBI, 2014). This can cause many heart problems such as heart failures, heart murmurs, an enlarged heart, etc. If the symptoms of anemia go untreated, then they can cause a lot more physiological issues in the body like this. “Many of the signs and symptoms of iron-deficiency anemia apply to all types of anemia.” (NCBI, 2014). The symptoms of iron deficiency anemia are slightly different than just anemia. These symptoms include unusual cravings for items that are not foods, swelling of tongue, dryness on skin, restless leg syndrome (urge to move legs), etc. Although these symptoms are a sign that you may be low in iron, it is not a for sure diagnosis.
The only way to know if you are iron deficient is to be diagnosed from a medical doctor. “Your doctor will diagnose iron-deficiency anemia based on your medical history, a physical exam, and the results from tests and procedures.” (NCBI, 2014). The medical history a doctor looks at in order to diagnose this condition is if in the past there has ever been a problem with anemia or low iron. They also look at your medicine history and your current diet and eating habits. The physical exam includes looking at your skin and other places on your body that look pale or unusual. They listen to your heart and lungs to hear for heart murmurs or anything irregular in breathing. They check for sizes of liver/spleen in your abdomen and also check for internal bleeding. Once these tests are done, they also take a sample of your blood and send it to a lab to test your iron levels. These blood tests check levels of red blood cells while also checking levels of hemoglobins in red blood cells. If these results come back low on top of a physical exam, then the doctor can know what caused the iron deficiency and how to prevent it from happening again in the future.
“Treatment for iron-deficiency anemia will depend on its cause and severity. Treatments may include dietary changes and supplements, medicines, and surgery.” (NCBI, 2014). If you are iron deficient, then there are many treatments that can help you raise your iron levels and get you back to normal again, while also preventing this condition from happening again. Dietary changes and supplements is one form of treatment. This can involve adding iron supplements to your diet to raise up iron levels. These can be taken as pills. Another pill that can be taken is Vitamin C, which helps the body absorb iron. Another way to change your diet is by eating more foods with iron such as meats. If you are vegetarian then there are plenty of non-meat foods that bring up iron levels as well such as breads and cereals, peas, tofu, dried fruits, spinach, and prune juice. Other treatment options can include surgery, if the iron deficiency is caused by internal bleeding. Or some medicines can be used to stop internal bleeding as well. If the iron deficiency is more severe than others, it may need to be treated by blood transfusion. This involves the transfusion of red blood cells, but this treatment is only short term. If you eat a healthy diet and take iron supplements and vitamins, then being iron deficient can be prevented. It is an easily preventable condition.
Speaking on personal experience, I know how well taking iron supplements and vitamins help. I had very low iron levels a couple years ago and I experienced the symptoms as I said earlier. I was pale after doing any activities. I felt very fatigued and dizzy and just could not compete well in my sport, let alone do anything without feeling exhausted. I was diagnosed by my family doctor who did a physical exam on me and also took a sample of my blood,which came back with low levels of iron. Now I have been taking iron supplements and multivitamins for years and my iron levels are now at a normal level.
It is very important to know about iron-deficiency anemia because it can affect anyone. It is also very common among athletes. It is a very simple condition to fix if mild but if left untreated it can become more severe and drastically hurt a person physiologically by messing with a person’s heart, diet, or other serious health issues.