Iron Deficiency Anaemia

What is it?

Iron Deficiency Anaemia is where your body cannot produce red blood cells because of the lack of iron in your blood.

What are the symptons?

At first, you may not notice any symptons. However, if it gets more serious you may experience:

• Tiredness
• Lack of energy
• Noticable heartbeats
• Pale skin

What causes it?

Iron Deficiency Anaemia can be caused by many things. The main things it can be caused by are:

• Pregnancy
• Taking “non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs” (e.g. ibuprofen and aspirin)
• Having stomach ulcers
• Having a swelled large intestine

How it can be treated

If you are found to have Iron Deficiency Anaemia (identifiable by a simple blood test), it can be fixed by taking iron supplements, prescribed by your doctor, that are much stronger than ones you can buy in shops. You must take them for around 6 months, and it helps if you take them with or just after eating food.