Iron Deficiency Followed By Anemia
July 23, 2009
“Iron deficiency Anemia” results in the victim to feel tired and with a pale look. This is a very prevalent of the types of anemia – a medical state where the blood is lacking of sufficient “red blood cells”, which are responsible for transportation of oxygen to tissues.
The oxygenated blood helps the body to have a healthy skin tone with adequate energy. According to the name “iron deficiency anemia” happens due to insufficiency of iron in the body. The human body requires elemental iron to produce hemoglobin, which in turn helps the “red blood cells” to carry oxygen.
This sort of anemia is chiefly prevalent in women. One out of every five women and fifty percent of all the expecting mothers are suffering from iron deficiency. One of the causes leading to this is iron deficient diet; however there are other determining causes as well.
Usually “iron deficiency anemia” can be corrected with an adequate supplementation of iron. Although at times some additional treatments becomes essential, especially if any internal bleeding is happening.
Symptoms and signs of “Iron Deficiency Anemia”: in general the common signs lead to extreme fatigue, weakness, paleness in skin, breathlessness, lightheadedness, cold feet and hands, headache, etc.
However, in iron deficient, it also includes, tongue inflammation, or soreness, abnormal craving towards non-nutritive substances like dirt, ice, etc., and brittle nails, decreased appetite seen in children and infants with this disease.
Some group of people with this anemia experience “restless legs syndrome” – an uncomfortable feeling of constant crawling or tingling in legs that generally ease after moving them.
Causes for the disease: the human blood contains the liquid plasma and blood cells of three types. Those are the “white blood cells”, “red blood cells” or erythrocytes, and “platelets”.
The “white blood cells” help in fighting infections, the “platelets” helps in the clotting process after an injury or cut, while the “red blood cells” or erythrocytes transport the oxygen from the lungs through the bloodstream to the human brain, the vital tissues, and organs of the body.
The erythrocytes are full of hemoglobin, which is a substance rich in iron, giving blood the color red. Hemoglobin is oxygen soluble and facilitates the erythrocytes in transporting the oxygen from human lungs to all throughout human body.
A person can suffer from minor iron deficiency in blood without any anemic development. However, when the human body starts lacking enough iron so as to hamper production of hemoglobin then we start the process of being anemic. As without proper amount of hemoglobin in blood the blood cells become paler and smaller comparing to their normal size and fail to carry adequate oxygen to the tissues.
Hence, a diet rich in iron, vitamins, and protein is necessary to fight any chance of this disease.
I have defficiency of iron. I feel tired everytime. Doctor advised me to take iron capsules. But I heared that capsules and tablets of iron are cause of cancer and heart deseases. Is it true. Please reply me.