Symptoms Of Severe Iron Deficiency And Anemia

Iron deficiency is the most common cause of anemia and, according to "American Family Physician," the most common nutritional deficiency worldwide. Iron deficiency results when your body's need for iron cannot be met by absorption of iron from your diet. Inadequate dietary intake, impaired iron absorption and excessive loss of iron are all potential causes of iron deficiency. Symptoms of iron deficiency depend on the severity of the deficit, your age and any underlying medical conditions you may have.

Iron Distribution

As outlined in "The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy," iron is distributed in various compartments, or "pools," in your body. Your active metabolic pool is composed of the oxygen-carrying hemoglobin in your red blood cells, a similar molecule called myoglobin in your muscles and iron-containing enzymes in your cells. Your storage pool is comprised of special proteins, called ferritin and hemosiderin, which are sequestered within your cells. A third, smaller pool consists of iron bound to transferrin, another specialized protein that transports iron throughout your body. Iron is routinely transferred from one compartment to another, and your body recycles its iron stores fairly efficiently.

Iron Deficiency

Iron is poorly absorbed, so most people consume barely enough to meet their daily needs. Therefore, even a modest change in iron turnover can trigger deficiency. Iron is only lost through blood loss or shedding of skin cells, so blood loss is almost always the cause of iron deficiency. In men and menopausal women, blood loss from the gastrointestinal tract is a common cause. In premenopausal women, menstrual blood loss is a frequent instigator of iron deficiency. During periods of rapid growth or pregnancy, iron needs can outstrip your intestine's ability to absorb it. Less commonly, malabsorption syndromes, such as celiac disease, decrease iron assimilation and lead to deficiency.

Anemia

Since iron is required for the production of hemoglobin, which is the oxygen-bearing pigment in red blood cells, iron deficiency eventually results in the manufacture of small and pale corpuscles, a condition called microcytic, hypochromic anemia. These abnormal cells are not capable of carrying as much oxygen as normal red blood cells do, so some of the symptoms of iron deficiency are directly related to decreased oxygenation of your tissues.

Early Symptoms

During the early stages of iron deficiency, your body transfers iron from its storage pool to its active metabolic pool. You may not feel any symptoms during this stage, although at least two studies have shown that iron deficiency without anemia can cause fatigue in adult women and decreased cognitive function in growing children and adolescents.

Late Symptoms

As iron deficiency worsens, generalized fatigue and loss of stamina result from depletion of iron-containing intracellular enzymes. If anemia is also present, your symptoms are magnified. You may feel light-headed upon standing, and you might even faint. Your heart rate rises in an attempt to compensate for poor oxygen delivery to your cells. If you have coronary artery disease, you could develop chest pain, or angina, with minimal exertion, and you might even have a heart attack. Mental status changes, including confusion and memory difficulties, often accompany severe iron deficiency anemia. Other symptoms and signs of severe iron deficiency include pica, which is a craving to eat ice, paint or dirt, glossitis, which is characterized by a smooth, painful tongue, dishing of your fingernails, cracking at the corners of your mouth and difficulties with swallowing.

Considerations

Because iron is poorly absorbed and many people do not eat enough iron-rich foods, iron deficiency can occur fairly readily. Due to your body's compensatory abilities, symptoms may not occur until the deficiency is severe. If you think you have symptoms of iron deficiency, you should check with your doctor.