Iron-deficiency anemia

Anemia due to iron deficiency in the body - iron deficiency anemia. Iron deficiency anemia is about eighty percent of all types of anemia.
Iron deficiency anemia develops due to a lack of absolute iron intake into the human body, or due to prolonged (chronic) blood loss, when the iron depot is depleted. WHO claims that thirty percent of all women in the world suffer from this disease and about fifteen percent of men.
Deficiency of iron is not immediately apparent, but only with the total depletion of its stock, it is at this time characterized by the appearance of signs of anemia.
Symptoms of iron deficiency anemia can be divided into subjective complaints of the patient and clinical (as well as diagnostic) signs. With anemia, patients complain of weakness, decreased performance and malaise. Characteristic and, in part, pathognomonic signs of anemia are perversion of taste sensations, as well as a violation of swallowing. Common significant signs of anemia are: shortness of breath, palpitations.
As a result of the clinical examination, "small clinical symptoms of anemia caused by iron deficiency" are detected: cheilitis, dry skin, brittle nails. These manifestations of anemia are initial and are identified with developing anemia. Severe anemia can also manifest as fainting. It is remarkable that manifestations and subjective sensations correlate with the duration of the disease and the age of the patient, but in fact they do not depend on the level of Hb reduction.
Iron deficiency anemia causes characteristic changes in the skin, hair and nails. The skin becomes pale (often with a greenish tinge), flabby and flaky. Hair is gray, lose its shine and thin (characteristic early bloom).
The most typical changes in nails. Typically, the thinning and striation of the nail plate, the nails become brittle and delaminate, often the nail plate becomes a spoon-like shape. Deficiency of iron is manifested, characteristic only for this type of anemia, muscle weakness and atrophy of the epithelium of all mucous membranes, including the gastrointestinal tract, respiratory system organs and so on.
A common cause of the development of IDA is the inadequate intake of iron from food. The rate of intake of iron in the body with consumed food: for men - 12 milligrams, for women - 15 milligrams (for pregnant women, consumption with food is recommended thirty milligrams).

Treatment of iron deficiency anemia is initially based on the elimination of the cause of this condition (elimination of bleeding and compensation for hemorrhage, as well as elimination of iron deficiency in the body).
Pathogenetically based treatment of IDA should be complex.
Treatment is based on the elimination of the causes of the disease, as well as prescribed therapeutic nutrition, fero-therapy and long-term prevention of possible relapses.
One of the main dietary requirements for IDA is eating meat (preferably veal), as well as liver, which are high in iron-containing foods.
For the treatment of anemia of iron deficiency, the following iron-containing preparations are used: a chelator, a maltifer, a ferric. Sorbifer durules, ferroplex , ferrum lek and others.
Prevention of iron deficiency anemia is: periodic examination and monitoring of blood levels, eating foods with high levels of iron (liver, meat, etc.), periodic intake of iron preparations, for the prevention, as well as prompt removal of sources of blood loss (treatment of wounds and other ).