Iron deficiency anemia is a disease characterized by a decrease in the level of hemoglobin in the blood. According to the results of research in the world, about 2 billion people suffer from this form of anemia of varying severity.
Children and breastfeeding women are most affected by this disease: one in three children in the world suffers from anemia, almost all women who are breastfeeding have anemia of varying degrees.
This anemia was first described in 1554, and the drugs for its treatment were first applied in 1600.It is a serious problem that threatens the health of society, as it has no small impact on working capacity, behavior, mental and physiological development.
This significantly reduces social activity, but, unfortunately, anemia is often underestimated, because gradually a person gets used to reducing iron stores in his body.
Causes of iron deficiency anemia
What is it? Among the causes of iron deficiency anemia are several. Often there is a combination of reasons.
The lack of iron is often experienced by people whose body requires an increased dose of this trace element. This phenomenon is observed with increased body growth( in children and adolescents), as well as during pregnancy and lactation.
The presence of a sufficient level of iron in the body largely depends on what we eat. If the diet is unbalanced, the intake of food is irregular, consumed completely different foods, then in aggregate all this will cause a lack of iron intake into the body with food. By the way, the main food sources of iron - meat: meat, liver, fish. Relatively a lot of iron in eggs, beans, beans, soy, peas, nuts, mushrooms, spinach, prunes, pomegranate, buckwheat, black bread.
Why does iron deficiency anemia occur, and what is it? The main causes of this ailment are as follows:
- Insufficient intake with iron nutrition, especially in newborns.
- Infringement of processes of absorption.
- Chronic blood loss.
- Increased demand for iron with intensive growth in adolescents, during pregnancy and lactation.
- Intravascular hemolysis with hemoglobinuria.
- Impaired transport of iron.
Even a minimal bleeding of 5-10 ml / day will result in the loss of 200-250 ml of blood per month, which corresponds to approximately 100 mg of iron. And if the source of latent bleeding is not established, which is difficult because of the absence of clinical symptoms, then in 1-2 years the patient may develop iron deficiency anemia.
This process is faster when there are other predisposing factors( iron absorption, insufficient intake, etc.).
How does ZhDA develop?
- The body mobilizes stock iron. Anemia is not present, complaints are not present, the deficiency of ferritin at research can be revealed.
- Tissue and transport iron are mobilized, hemoglobin synthesis is preserved. Anemia is not present, there is a dry skin, muscle weakness, dizziness, signs of gastritis. The examination reveals a deficiency of serum iron and a decrease in the saturation of transferrin.
- All funds suffer. There is anemia, the amount of hemoglobin decreases, and then the red blood cells.
Degrees
Degrees of anemia iron deficiency in hemoglobin content:
- mild - hemoglobin does not lower below 90 g / l;
- average - 70-90 g / l;
- severe - hemoglobin below 70 g / l.
Normally, the level of hemoglobin in the blood:
- in women - 120-140 g / l;
- in men - 130-160 g / l;
- in newborns - 145-225 g / l;
- in children 1 month.- 100-180 g / l;
- in children 2 months.- 2 years.- 90-140 g / l;
- in children 2-12 years old - 110-150 g / l;
- in children 13-16 years old - 115-155 g / l.
However, the clinical signs of severity of anemia do not always correspond to the severity of anemia by laboratory criteria. Therefore, a classification of anemia according to the severity of clinical symptoms is proposed.
- 1 degree - no clinical symptoms;
- 2 degree - moderately expressed weakness, dizziness;
- 3 degree - there are all clinical signs of anemia, disability;
- 4 degree - represents a serious state of precoma;
- 5 degree - is called "anemic coma", lasts several hours and leads to death.
Signs of the latent stage
Latent( latent) iron deficiency in the body can lead to the appearance of symptoms of sideropenic( iron deficiency) syndrome. They have the following character:
- muscle weakness, fast fatigue;
- decreased attention, headaches after mental stress;
- gravitation to salty and spicy, spicy food;
- a sore throat;
- dry pale skin, pallor of mucous membranes;
- fragility and pallor of the nail plates;
- dull hair.
Somewhat later, anemic syndrome develops, the severity of which is due to the level of hemoglobin and erythrocytes in the body, as well as the rate of development of anemia( the faster it develops, the more pronounced the clinical manifestations), the compensatory capabilities of the organism( in children and the elderly they are less developed) and the presenceconcomitant diseases.
Symptoms of iron deficiency anemia
Iron deficiency anemia develops slowly, so its symptoms are not always pronounced. Anemia often breaks, deforms and breaks the nails, hair cuts, the skin becomes dry and pale, jaunts appear in the corners of the mouth, weakness, malaise, dizziness, headache, flies before the eyes, fainting.
Very often in patients with anemia, there is a change in taste, there is an irresistible craving for non-food products, such as chalk, clay, raw meat. Many people start to attract sharp smells, for example, gasoline, enamel paint, acetone. The complete picture of the disease is revealed only after a general blood test for the main biochemical indicators.
Diagnosis of IDA
In typical cases, the diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia does not cause difficulties. Often, the disease is detected in the analysis, handed over quite on another occasion.
A general blood test done by hand reveals a decrease in hemoglobin, blood color index, and hematocrit. When the OAB is performed on the analyzer, the changes are found in erythrocyte indices, which characterize the hemoglobin content in erythrocytes and the size of the erythrocytes.
Identification of such changes is the reason for the study of iron metabolism. More details of the evaluation of iron metabolism are disclosed in the article devoted to iron deficiency.
Treatment of iron deficiency anemia
In all cases of iron deficiency anemia, it is necessary to establish the immediate cause of the onset of this condition and, if possible, to eliminate it( most often to eliminate the source of blood loss or to treat the underlying disease complicated by sideropenia).
Treatment of iron deficiency anemia in children and adults should be pathogenetically substantiated, comprehensive and aimed not only at eliminating anemia as a symptom, but also at eliminating iron deficiency and replenishing its reserves in the body.
Classical scheme for the treatment of anemia:
- elimination of the etiologic factor;
- organization of proper nutrition;
- reception of iron preparations;
- prevention of complications and relapses of the disease.
With the correct organization of the above procedures, you can expect to get rid of the pathology within a few months.
Iron preparations
In most cases iron deficiency is eliminated with the help of iron salts. The most affordable drug that is treated iron deficiency anemia to date is iron sulfate in tablets, it contains 60 mg of iron, and take it 2-3 times a day.
Other iron salts, such as gluconate, fumarate, lactate, possess good absorption properties. Considering that with food the absorption of inorganic iron is reduced by 20-60%, it is better to take such medicines before meals.
Possible side effects of from iron preparations:
- metallic taste in the mouth;
- abdominal discomfort;
- constipation;
- diarrhea;
- nausea and / or vomiting.
The duration of treatment depends on the ability of the patient's body to absorb iron and continues until the laboratory blood parameters( red blood cells, hemoglobin, color index, serum iron level and iron binding capacity) are normalized.
After elimination of signs of iron deficiency anemia, the use of the same drug is recommended, but in a reduced prophylactic dose, since the main focus of treatment is not so much the elimination of signs of anemia, but the replenishment of iron deficiency in the body.
Diet
The diet for iron deficiency anemia is the consumption of foods rich in iron.
The full nutrition is shown with the obligatory inclusion in the diet of products containing heme iron( veal, beef, lamb, rabbit meat, liver, tongue).It should be remembered that the enhancement of ferrosorption in the gastrointestinal tract is promoted by ascorbic, citric, succinic acid. Inhibit the absorption of iron oxalates and polyphenols( coffee, tea, soy protein, milk, chocolate), calcium, dietary fiber, and other substances.
However, no matter how much we eat meat, only 2.5 mg of iron per day will get into the blood from it - that's how much the organism can absorb. And from iron-containing complexes is absorbed in 15-20 times more - that's why with the help of diet alone, the problem of anemia does not always work out.
Conclusion
Iron deficiency anemia is a dangerous condition that requires an adequate approach to treatment. Only a long reception of iron preparations and elimination of the cause of bleeding will lead to getting rid of the pathology.
To avoid serious complications from treatment, you should constantly monitor laboratory blood tests throughout the course of therapy for the disease.