There was a time in my life that I was feeling very tired all the time. I wasn't sure what was wrong with me so I made a visit to the doctor's office. After the doctor gave me a physical and a blood test he concluded that I had an iron deficiency. Iron deficiency is a common type of deficiency that many people have and don't even know about. Iron deficiency can be a caused from numerous things. Some examples are a poor diet, blood loss such as during menstrual periods, use of certain types of medication and disease. For me it was a poor diet that didn't include iron types of foods and a lot of blood loss during my period.
For each person the symptoms for iron deficiency can be different. However common symptoms are fatigue, pale skin, throat irritation, chipped fingernails and poor strength. I know if I don't have enough iron in my system all I want to do is lay down in bed. There were days that I would call in sick to work because I felt so tired. I didn't even feel like taking a shower or making breakfast. I felt so weak and helpless. The symptoms of iron deficiency will last as long as you don't have adequate amounts of iron in your system. The doctor told me it takes about a few months till my body is able to produce a healthy amount of red blood cells.
The doctor will normally give prescribe you iron pills. In some cases a person will be injected with iron however I think this only happens when the iron deficiency is dangerously low. Children can also be iron deficient and they are sometimes feed iron through liquid forms. The prescribed iron is only temporary then you can make a regular iron supplement a part of your diet.
Anyone can become iron deficiency can happen to anyone so it is important to take precautions to avoid becoming deficient. Things you can do to prevent iron deficiency are incorporate an iron supplement in your diet, eating red meat with low fat, green vegetables, fruits and whole grain breads are excellent sources.
You are less likely to have an extreme form of iron deficiency when you take preventive measures and are aware of the symptoms of iron deficiency. Because I have taken an active approach I am no longer iron deficient.
