Your body requires iron to make red blood cells because iron circulates in your cells and attracts oxygen. Maintaining a proper iron balance is important in your diet because an iron deficiency can be harmful to your health. Having excess iron in your blood can have adverse health effects as well because your body cannot efficiently remove iron from your blood. Excess iron can be a hereditary condition or can be brought on by lifestyle factors.
Primary Hemochromatosis
Primary hemochromatosis is a hereditary condition that causes your body to absorb and store too much iron in your body. If you have a parent, child or brother or sister that has hemochromatosis, it's likely that you may have it too. Because you may not always experience side effects with hemochromatosis, your physician may recommend undergoing a blood test to determine your iron levels.
Secondary Hemochromatosis
The secondary form of hemochromatosis is a condition that causes you to have excess iron in your blood due to lifestyle factors like taking iron pills for more than 10 years, undergoing repeated blood transfusions or if you have a condition that affects your body's ability to filter iron, such as liver disease or anemia, which means you have fewer red blood cells in your body. Alcoholism also can cause hemochromatosis.
Symptoms
Excess iron in your blood can be harmful because your body stores it in your organs -- this includes in the liver, heart or pancreas. Some of the symptoms you have excess iron in your blood include fatigue, stomach pain, joint pain or impotence in men. Women also may experience abnormal menstrual periods. Your skin also may take on a bronze or gray color. Over time, excess iron in your blood can be dangerous because it can lead to serious conditions like cirrhosis of the liver, heart disease and diabetes. This makes early diagnosis important in minimizing long-term effects.
Treatment
Your physician can diagnose hemochromatosis via a blood test. Genetic testing for the HFE gene, which has been linked with primary hemochromatosis also is possible to help more definitively definitively diagnose hemochromatosis. If your physician diagnoses you with the condition, one treatment method of removing the body of excess iron by drawing your blood, similar to giving blood at a blood bank. This can help to remove excess iron. The amount of times you need to have your blood drawn depends on the severity of your hemochromatosis. Your physician also will recommend lifestyle modifications like avoiding alcohol, iron supplements, raw seafood and vitamin C supplements.
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