Contents:
- Medical Video: Anemia symptoms and treatments - Signs of being anemic
- What are the symptoms of iron deficiency in the body?
- 1. Easy to get tired
- 2. Pale face
- 3. Headache and dizziness
- 4. Heart palpitations
- 5. Hair loss
- 6. Swollen tongue and mouth
- 7. Restless leg syndrome
- 8. Nails are shaped like a spoon
Medical Video: Anemia symptoms and treatments - Signs of being anemic
Iron is one of the important minerals that the body needs to form red blood cells. Its function is to carry oxygen throughout the body so that the organs can work properly. When the red blood cells in the body are reduced, the body's tissues and muscles certainly will not get enough oxygen. As a result, organ function is disrupted and triggers symptoms of iron deficiency anemia, aka iron deficiency.
What are the symptoms of iron deficiency in the body?
Signs and symptoms of iron deficiency vary in each person. This depends on your age, the severity of anemia, and your current health condition. If the body is not fit, then you can more easily experience iron deficiency, also susceptible to other diseases.
Some of the most common symptoms of iron deficiency include:
1. Easy to get tired
People who experience iron deficiency usually often feel lethargic, tired, and difficult to focus. Although this can also be caused by tiredness, this can also be a sign that your body does not have enough hemoglobin.
Hemoglobin itself is a protein found in red blood cells, its function is to help carry oxygen throughout the body. If the hemoglobin level in the body is small, then the oxygen to be circulated throughout the body will also decrease. As a result, the body's tissues and muscles become lack of energy.
Instead, the liver must work harder to move more oxygen-rich blood throughout the body. As a result, your body actually becomes more tired.
2. Pale face
The easiest way to find out if you lack iron or not is to look at the color of the inside of the lower eyelid Normally, the inside of the lower eyelid will appear fresh red. However, if the color tends to be brighter or pale white, then you may experience iron deficiency.
The red color in your blood is influenced by the content of hemoglobin in red blood cells. The more hemoglobin content, the brighter and red the color of the blood. That is why healthy people have a fresh and reddish skin color because they are filled with hemoglobin in the blood.
Conversely, iron deficiency makes your body look pale. Not only on the skin, this condition can also occur on the face, gums, the inside of the lips, the inside of the lower eyelid, even the nails.
3. Headache and dizziness
Although there are many causes of headaches, one of them can also be caused due to iron deficiency. These symptoms do not often appear like other symptoms. However, headaches due to iron deficiency are usually accompanied by dizziness and dizzy eyes.
In iron deficiency, low hemoglobin levels cause the brain to lack oxygen. As a result, blood vessels in the brain swell and compress the head cavity causing headaches.
4. Heart palpitations
When you experience iron deficiency, low hemoglobin levels make the heart have to work hard to carry oxygen throughout the body. As a result, your heart will beat irregularly and very quickly.
In extreme cases, this condition can cause enlargement of the heart to heart failure. However, this usually occurs in people who experience iron deficiency for a long time.
5. Hair loss
Hair loss when shampooing or combing is a natural thing that happens. If this happens excessively, you may be deficient in iron.
Again, this has to do with the low supply of oxygen due to the depletion of hemoglobin levels in the blood. In this case, it is hair follicles that experience oxygen deficiency. That is why, hair becomes easily fall out, even difficult to grow until your body gets enough iron intake.
6. Swollen tongue and mouth
Look at the part of your mouth and tongue, does it look swollen or pale? If so, maybe you eat less iron.
The low hemoglobin in the blood can make the tongue pale. Low myoglobin levels can cause the tongue to feel sore and swollen.
Myoglobin is a protein in red blood cells that supports the strength of the body's muscles, one of which is the tongue-forming muscle. In addition, iron deficiency can also cause dry mouth and sores, especially in the corners of the mouth.
7. Restless leg syndrome
In fact, about 25 percent of people with restless leg syndrome experience iron deficiency anemia. The lower the iron intake, the worse the symptoms of restless leg syndrome are.
Restless leg syndrome is a condition when you often unconsciously shake your legs, even when you're resting. This urge to continue to shake your legs can also cause a tingling sensation in the legs, calves, and thighs.
8. Nails are shaped like a spoon
One symptom of iron deficiency can be seen easily from the appearance of the nail. If your nails tend to be brittle and spoon-shaped, you might experience iron deficiency.
Spoon-shaped nails are called koilonychia. This condition usually begins with the condition of brittle nails and easy to crack. When the body does not get iron intake, the middle part of the nail will slowly push down and the edges are raised, forming like a spoon.
However, this usually occurs in cases of severe iron deficiency anemia. If you experience one or more of these symptoms, immediately consult a doctor to confirm the diagnosis.
