Iron is present in all human body cells. It performs vital functions including the role of an oxygen carrier that supplies oxygen from the lungs to all tissues. Here, iron takes the form of the respiratory pigment, Hemoglobin and acts as a medium of transport. Iron also plays an important role in enzyme reactions in many tissues. Hemoglobin is found in the red blood cells and myoglobin makes up the muscles. An iron deficiency can have strong negative effects on human health. In severe cases of iron deficiency or extreme anemia, iron supplements are used to regulate the blood count.
Total iron content in the human body is approximately 3.8 grams in males and 2.3 grams in females. A hemoglobin test refers to the diagnosis of blood count of iron to diagnose iron deficiency. The iron in the blood plasma is bound to a protein called transferrin. While various mechanisms control the metabolism of iron in the human body, the main regulatory metabolism is present in the gastrointestinal tract. When a person’s diet fails to compensate for the loss of iron in the body, iron deficiency arises. Prolonged iron deficiency leads to anemia. The symptoms of iron deficiency or anemia include fatigue, dizziness, weakness, hair loss, impaired immune functions, weight loss, shortness of breath, and anorexia.
Who can suffer from iron deficiency and anaemia?
- Pregnant women or women who have just had a baby
- Women with very heavy menstrual periods
- Nonmenstrual bleeding, chronic bleeding (hemoglobin contains iron), in rare cases: laryngological bleeding, or gastrointestinal tract bleeding
- Individuals diagnosed with kidney diseases
- Individuals undergoing chemotherapy
- Athletes may have mechanical hemolysis (destruction of red blood cells due to physical activity or strain)
- Malnourished individuals with inadequate intake of iron
- People whose diet or drugs interfere with iron absorption
- Individuals with malabsorption syndromes where the body fails to absorb the required iron from food
- People suffering from inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis
- Individuals who donate blood
- Babies and young children who do not get enough iron from their diet
- People suffering from a genetic defect
The above situations lead to excessive utilization of iron from the body as blood loss. As a result, the blood count of iron falls, resulting in anemia. For any of the above reasons, where the blood count of iron falls below normal, iron supplements are prescribed. These iron supplements regulate the blood count. The dose of iron supplements can be high or low and it may be for varying periods depending on the patient’s blood count or severity of anemia.
A doctor judges the iron deficiency level of the patient, correlates to the root cause of anemia or low hemoglobin and then prescribes a suitable iron supplement from among the many iron supplements available in the market. All iron supplements have a similar role of bringing the hemoglobin value in the blood count to normal but they have different dosage and packaging. The doctor can best judge which of these iron supplements is right for you:
Feosol, Walgreens, Natrol, Ferrex, Elite iron, Femiron, and Fer-In-Sol.
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