Everyone Healthy Library
Iron Deficiency Anemia
Condition / disease reference page from the Everyone Healthy database.
! Seek urgent medical care if warning signs appear
Some health conditions or symptoms can become urgent. Use this page for education, but seek help quickly if warning signs are present.
Get urgent medical care now if there is any severe, sudden, rapidly worsening or worrying symptom, especially:
- chest pain, pressure or pain spreading to the arm, jaw or back
- trouble breathing, blue lips, severe wheeze or choking
- stroke-like symptoms such as face drooping, arm weakness or speech trouble
- collapse, fainting, seizure, confusion or extreme drowsiness
- severe bleeding, black stools, vomiting blood or major injury
- severe allergic reaction, swelling of the face/throat or widespread rash with breathing trouble
- severe abdominal pain, severe headache, stiff neck or sudden vision change
- signs of severe dehydration, sepsis, high fever with worsening illness, or symptoms in a baby/young child that concern you
Connected health information
Explore this condition in a clear order
Condition overview
Attributes
Commonalityis common
Linked signs and symptoms
35Each sign/symptom opens its own page and links back to related conditions.
- Absence or Loss of Menstruation (Amenorrhoea)
- Anaemia (Anemia)
- Apetite: Pica (Abnormal Appetite for Strange Foods or Non-Nutritive Substances)
- Behaviour: Attention Deficit (Reduced Ability to Focus)
- Blood Serum Ferritin Low
- Blood Serum Iron Low
- Blood: Microcytic Anemia
- Breath Shortness (Dyspnoea)
- Constipation
- Ear Noises Ringing Buzzing or Clicking (Tinnitus)
- Face Becomes Pale
- Fainting (Syncope)
- Fatigue
- Fingernails: Brittle (Onychorrhexis)
- Hair Loss Abnormal (Alopecia)
- Headache (Cephalgia)
- Heart Murmur (Detected by Stethoscope)
- Heartbeats Felt By Patient (Palpitations)
- Heavy Menstrual Bleeding (Menorrhagia)
- loss of appetite
- Mind: Depression
- Mind: Malaise
- Mouth: Angular Cheilitis (Inflammatory Lesions at Corner of Mouth)
- Muscle Spasm (Twitching)
- Nail: Koilonychia (Concave, Spoon-Shaped Nails)
- Pain: Chest
- Poor Exercise Tolerance
- Skin Itching
- Skin Tingling Or Numbness (Paresthesias)
- Skin: Pale, Lack of Colour (Pallid Complexion)
- Sleepiness or Drowsiness (Somnolence)
- Stomach Acid Deficiency (Achlorhydria)
- Swallowing Difficulty (Dysphagia)
- Tongue: Inflammation or Infection of the Tongue (Glossitis)
- Weakness
Linked drugs / medications
1Medication information is educational only. A doctor or pharmacist should advise whether any medicine is appropriate.
Treatments, therapies and supportive options
8Grouped by treatment type. These are educational database links, not personal treatment recommendations. Evidence labels are shown only where stored in the EH database.
Vitamins and minerals
5Minerals
1Linked diagnostic tests and investigations
30These are pulled from both EH diagnostic-test link tables, including the older large test-link table.
- 2,3 Diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG) Concentration
- Blood Film (Peripheral Blood Smear)
- Blood Uric Acid Concentration Test
- Bone Marrow Aspiration
- Chloride Concentration (Blood)
- Cholesterol Concentration
- Cholinesterase (Serum Acetylcholinesterase, Pseudocholinesterase)
- complete Blood Count (CBC)
- Erythrocyte Fragility Test (Osmotic Fragility, OF)
- erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR)
- Erythropoietin (Ep) Concentration
- Ferritin Concentration
- Fibrinogen Concentration test
- Free Erythrocyte Protoporphyrin (FEP) Concentration
- Heamatocrit (Hct)
- Hemoglobin (Hb) Concentration
- Intracranial Prassure Monitoring (CSF Pressure)
- Iron Concentration
- Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin (MCH) Weight Test
- Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration (MCHC)
- Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV)
- Oxygen Saturation Test (Arterial Blood, SaO2)
- Partial Pressure of Arterial Carbon Dioxide (PCO2, PaCO2)
- Partial Pressure of Oxygen (PO2)
- Platelet Count
- Protein Electrophoresis (Blood, Serum Protein)
- Red Blood Cell (RBC) Count
- Red Blood Cell Distribution Width (RDW) Test
- Reticulocyte Absolute Count
- Transferrin Concentration
Biological markers/agents
25This visual map shows biological markers/agents reported as increased or decreased with this condition. These are educational relationships only; test results must be interpreted by a qualified clinician because ranges vary by lab, method, age, sex and clinical context.
Often increased
11- 2,3 Diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG)Reference range exampleAdult ( > 16y): 10.5–14 µmol/gLinked diagnostic tests2, 3 Diphosphoglycerate (2
- Beta GlobulinReference range exampleAll: 0.7–1.2 gm/dLLinked diagnostic testsProtein Electrophoresis (Blood, Serum Protein)
- Chloride (Blood, Cl)Reference range exampleAdult ( > 16y): 97–106 mEq/L; Birth - 2wks: 94–106 mEq/LLinked diagnostic testsChloride Concentration (Blood)
- Cholesterol (Total)Reference range exampleInfant (0 - 1y): 75–180 mg/dL; Adult ( > 16y): 0–190 mg/dLLinked diagnostic testsCholesterol Concentration
- Erythrocyte Sedimentation RateReference range exampleAdult ( > 16y), Female: 0–20 mm/Hr; Adult ( > 16y), Male: 0–15 mm/HrLinked diagnostic testserythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR)
- Erythropoietin (Ep)Reference range exampleAdult ( > 16y): 6–36 units/LLinked diagnostic testsErythropoietin (Ep) Concentration
- Free Erythrocyte Protoporphyrin (FEP)Reference range exampleAll: 16–37 µg/dLLinked diagnostic testsFree Erythrocyte Protoporphyrin (FEP) Concentration
- Intracranial Pressure (Cerebrospinal Fluid Pressure, CSF Pressure)Linked diagnostic testsIntracranial Prassure Monitoring (CSF Pressure)
- PlateletsReference range exampleChild (0 - 16y): 150–450 109/L; Adult ( > 16y): 135–380 109/LLinked diagnostic testsPlatelet Count
- Red Blood Distribution Width (RDW)Reference range exampleAll: 11–14.5 %Linked diagnostic testsRed Blood Cell Distribution Width (RDW) Test
- Uric Acid, BloodReference range exampleAdult ( > 16y), Female: 2.5–7 mg/dL; Adult ( > 16y), Male: 4–8 mg/dLLinked diagnostic testsBlood Uric Acid Concentration Test
Often decreased
14- CholinesteraseReference range exampleAll: 6–19 U/mLLinked diagnostic testsCholinesterase (Serum Acetylcholinesterase, Pseudocholinesterase)
- FerritinReference range exampleChild (0 - 16y): 7–140 µg/L; Adult ( > 16y), Female: 18–160 µg/LLinked diagnostic testsFerritin Concentration
- FibrinogenReference range exampleAdult ( > 16y): 150–400 mg/dLLinked diagnostic testsFibrinogen Concentration test
- Hemoglobin (Hb)Reference range exampleFemale: 78–100 gm/dL; Male: 76–100 gm/dLLinked diagnostic testsHemoglobin (Hb) Concentration, Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin (MCH) Weight Test
- Oxygen Saturation (Arterial Blood, SaO2)Reference range exampleChild (0 - 16y): 95–100 %; Newborn (0 - 1month): 40–90 %Linked diagnostic testsOxygen Saturation Test (Arterial Blood, SaO2)
- Partial Pressure of Arterial Carbon Dioxide (PaCO2)Reference range exampleAll: 35–45 mm HgLinked diagnostic testsPartial Pressure of Arterial Carbon Dioxide (PCO2, PaCO2)
- Partial Pressure of Arterial Oxygen (PaO2)Reference range exampleChild (0 - 16y): 80–100 mm Hg; Newborn (0 - 1month): 60–70 mm HgLinked diagnostic testsPartial Pressure of Oxygen (PO2)
- Percentage NaCl at which Hemolysis beginsReference range exampleAll: 0.5–0.6 %Linked diagnostic testsErythrocyte Fragility Test (Osmotic Fragility, OF)
- Percentage NaCl at which Hemolysis is completeReference range exampleAll: 0.3–0.35 %Linked diagnostic testsErythrocyte Fragility Test (Osmotic Fragility, OF)
- RBC MassReference range exampleFemale: 36–48 %; Male: 42–52 %Linked diagnostic testsHeamatocrit (Hct)
- Red Blood Cell (RBC) VolumeReference range example76–100 fLLinked diagnostic testsMean Corpuscular Volume (MCV)
- Red Blood Cells (RBC)Reference range exampleAdult ( > 16y), Female: 3.6–5 106/mm3; Adult ( > 16y), Male: 4.2–5.4 106/mm3Linked diagnostic testsRed Blood Cell (RBC) Count
- ReticulocytesReference range exampleAdult ( > 16y): 24–83 109/L; 0.5–1.5 %Linked diagnostic testsReticulocyte Absolute Count, Reticulocyte Count Percent Total RBC
- TransferrinReference range exampleAll, Female: 250–375 mg/dL; All, Male: 210–360 mg/dLLinked diagnostic testsTransferrin Concentration
Introduction / full article
Iron Deficiency Anemia
Efficacy of Alternative and Other Treatments According to GRADE* Ranking:
Molybdenum (Mo, Sodium Molybdate) [1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]:
Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.
Recommendation: No recommendation (There is insufficient evidence to support claims that Molybdenum has any affect on the treatment of anaemia)
Grade of Evidence: very low quality of evidence
Chlorella (Green Algae, Chlorella Pyrenoidosa) [1, 2, 3, 4]:
Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.
Recommendation: no recommendation (There is insufficient evidence to support claims that Chlorella helps to treat anemia in any way)
Grade of Evidence: very low quality of evidence
* www.gradeworkinggroup.org
Summary References
Treatments:
1. Ades T, Alteri R, Gansler T, Yeargin P, "Complete Guide to Complimentary & Alternative Cancer Therapies", American Cancer Society, Atlanta USA, 2009
2. Nakano, S et al. “Maternal-fetal distribution and transfer of dioxins in pregnant women in Japan, and attempts to reduce maternal transfer with Chlorella (Chlorella pyrenoidosa) supplements...” Chemosphere 2005 Dec; 61(9): 1244–55.
3. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=11347287&dopt=Abstract
4. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/chlorella
5. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/molybdenum
6. http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/minerals/molybdenum/
7. Hassouneh B, Islam M, Nagel T, Pan Q, Merajver SD, Teknos TN. Tetrathiomolybdate promotes tumor necrosis and prevents distant metastases by suppressing angiogenesis in head and neck cancer. Mol Cancer Ther. 2007;6:1039-1045.
8. Cassileth B. The Alternative Medicine Handbook: The Complete Reference Guide to Alternative and Complementary Therapies. New York, NY: W.W. Norton; 1998.
9. Nakadaira H, Endoh K, Yamamoto M, Katoh K. Distribution of selenium and molybdenum and cancer mortality in Niigata, Japan. Arch Environ Health. 1995;50:374-380.