Today is iron deficiency anaemia day which i has highest number in India. It is silent and may not manifest with symptoms unless routine CBC/Hemoglobin is done.
Symptoms of iron deficiency:
- Pale skin
- Weakness/unusual tiredness or Shortness of Breath
- Headache/ light-headedness and Dizziness
- Heart palpitations,
- Swelling and Soreness of the Tongue and Mouth
- Difficulty of swallowing or sensation of something in throat/globus.
Iron deficiency is either due to nutritional deficiency especially in children/due to blood loss in menstruating females etc.
Sources of Iron are: spinach and green leafy vegetables, Beans and lentils, beet roots, dark chocolates, dates, cashews, pumpkin seeds, liver and red meat, whole-grain and enriched breads, Breakfast cereals.
Fruits rich in vit C helps in absorption of Iron. But coffee, tea, wine, calcium-rich foods like milk, cheese, calcium tablets can reduce iron absorption.
Calcium supplements should not be taken with food, tea/ coffee. Iron supplements are must for deficiency anaemia. Severe deficiency patients with difficulty of swallowing need injections of iron.