Introduction to iron deficiency:

A baby is born with about 0.5 grams of iron in the body. A healthy adolescent's body has 5.0 grams. This 900 percent increase in iron comes from the iron in the food your child eats or the vitamins she takes. Throughout childhood, a steady supply of iron enables your child to make healthy red blood cells, which will provide the oxygen needed for life, health, and growth.

What is iron deficiency?

The most common reason for a child to be anemic is an inadequate supply of iron. Iron is a mineral that your body needs in order to make red blood cells. Children who lack enough iron will make small, pale, ineffective red blood cells.

Who gets iron deficiency?

Children get iron deficiency anemia if they don't eat enough iron-containing food, if they lose too much iron (through bleeding), or if their need for new red blood cells is increased (as in periods of rapid growth). Thus, iron deficiency anemia is most common in infants and in adolescents (especially adolescent girls).

Drinking too much milk can lead to iron deficiency. It irritates the intestines, and leads to iron loss. It can also make it more difficult for the body to use iron.

Most cases of severe iron deficiency in young children are in those who drink too much milk.

Food allergies can also lead to iron deficiency through iron loss in the stool.

Children with iron deficiency are more likely to have lead toxicity than their peers.

What are the symptoms of iron deficiency?

In most children, the anemia never gets severe enough to cause noticeable symptoms, but it can still slow cognitive development. Iron deficiency (even mild enough not to cause anemia) is associated with a decrease in attention span, alertness, and learning ability. Iron-deficient children are also more likely to eat dirt, paint chips, ice, and other mineral-containing items.

Irritability and fatigue are common in mild to moderate iron deficiency anemia. The white part of the eyes can take on a bluish tint. The child may appear pale.

Prolonged or severe anemia can cause marked irritability, decreased appetite, slowed growth, a swollen tongue, and flattened, spoon-shaped, or brittle nails. There may be irritated sores at the corners of the mouth. In very severe cases, children can even go into heart failure.

Is iron deficiency contagious?

No

How long does iron deficiency last?

Iron deficiency lasts until the body’s iron stores are replenished from the new iron taken in. With proper treatment, this usually takes one to three months.

Sometimes ongoing iron losses (as from too much milk) need to be corrected to solve the iron deficiency.

How is iron deficiency diagnosed?

Most children get a blood test between 6 and 18 months of age to look for anemia.