Have you been feeling more tired than usual these days—even though you get adequate sleep? Have you noticed your skin to be a bit more pale than usual lately? These could be minor signs that your body is trying to tell you something. Sometimes, these feelings are a result of stress or overwhelming work schedules. Other times, however, they might mean that your body is telling you something that you should pay attention to—that you’re low on iron—stricken with iron deficiency anemia.
Iron deficiency anemia is a condition that occurs when your body does not have enough iron to carry out its normal functions. Iron is an essential mineral that the body uses to help the body work properly. Iron is comparable to gasoline in a car; when the gasoline is low, the car does not work right. For example, one of the most crucial functions of this mineral is to create hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is a protein found in red blood cells that allows oxygen to be transported from the lungs and carried throughout the body. When there is not enough iron, the body cannot produce enough healthy red blood cells with proper amounts of hemoglobin. Hence, it leads to tissues and muscles not having enough oxygen available for proper functioning. When this occurs, this is called iron deficiency anemia and is a common issue.
Knowing the symptoms will enable you to assess whether you should see a doctor. If you’re aware of these changes early on in your life, it can help tremendously. But what do you need to know? Here are 6 symptoms of iron deficiency anemia.
1. Extreme Tiredness/Fatigue
Do you wake up in the morning tired when you’ve had a full night’s sleep? Are you so fatigued that it prevents you from pursuing work-related opportunities and leisure activities? Or maybe you’re just everyday tired—I’m done with work for the day type tired—what we’re talking about is a constant state of fatigue that never seems to abate at any time of day. This is one of the most common signs associated with iron deficiency anemia.
Why are you so tired with low iron? Remember our conversation about iron; it’s essential for oxygen transport. If your body doesn’t have enough iron, it can’t produce enough hemoglobin within its red blood cells. Hemoglobin is essential because it’s the protein in red blood cells that allows them to pick up oxygen in the lungs and deliver it to every other cell in the body, whether in the brain or a bicep.
When your body cells are short on oxygen, they can’t effectively create energy. It’s like when there’s not enough air getting to the flames of a fire; it flickers and goes out. That’s what’s happening inside of you. When your organs and tissues are deprived of oxygen, they’re tired, and they communicate that there’s a problem and that you’re tired. You may feel like simple tasks are too much to handle. You’re tired—unable to think or fatigued with no energy.
2.Pale skin
Speaking of anemia, there are few things worse than looking sick. Since iron is one of the components in your blood that gives your skin good color and hue, if your friends and family have been saying you’ve looked pale lately (or you have noticed yourself—face, eyelids, gums, nail beds, creases of the palms), then it may be anemia.
But what causes this skin color change? It all relates to hemoglobin and the red blood cells. Hemoglobin is what makes your blood that vibrant red color. When it comes to iron deficiency anemia, you have less red blood cells, and the red blood cells you do have contain less hemoglobin than they normally would.
Think about it like this: If you have a glass of water and you add a lot of red food dye to it, it’s deep crimson red. But if you add only one or two drops, it’s much lighter in color. This is what happens; when you have less hemoglobin, the blood coursing through the tiny vessels in your skin is less red, meaning your skin becomes less rosy and more pallid in color.
Pallor. This sign seems more apparent with anemia, especially when it is moderate to severe, yet there are some more nuanced cases. Good places to assess pallor are in the eyelids. Gently pull down on your lower eyelid and peer into the mirror; if the tissue appears very light pink (or white) as opposed to bright red or well-nourished pink, this could indicate a lack of iron.
Of course, all skin tones are different. What may be pale to you may be normal for someone else. This is why it’s often the change from your typical skin coloring that is most troubling. If you find that friends and family comment that you look “washed out” or you personally see a lack of color that isn’t you, then it’s something to consider, especially with other signs like fatigue.
3. Shortness of Breath
Do you find yourself short of breath when you shouldn’t be? Does something that used to be easy have you gasping for air? Does going up a flight of stairs leave you panting, or is walking around the block an insurmountable task? While seemingly annoying and perhaps embarrassing at first, being short of breath—especially when you exert yourself—is a symptom of iron deficiency anemia.
Why are you so short of breath? It’s connected to iron’s role with oxygen. As noted above, your body needs iron to produce hemoglobin, and hemoglobin is the substance that transports oxygen to every single tissue and muscle in your body. When you start exerting yourself, your muscles are working extra hard; therefore, they need extra oxygen. Without enough iron in your body, however, there won’t be enough hemoglobin and oxygen sent to the right places, which means oxygen is depleted when it should be abundant. Thus, you’re short of breath. And your body knows it. Don’t ignore this. Check your iron levels. ASAP.
Breathlessness occurs primarily due to increased respiratory drive and increased cardiac output. When you have iron deficiency anemia, your blood cannot carry oxygen effectively. Therefore, when you exert yourself, when you walk around the house, etc., your body is already in a deficit trying to make up for the increased amounts of oxygen it needs. Your body works harder to breathe. The lungs are trying to expand and take in additional air to get more oxygen into the bloodstream and alleviate the deficit. This occurs with breathlessness, in addition to an increased heart rate; your heart tries to pump all the faster whatever little oxygen-carrying blood is circulating throughout the body.
You recognize this the most in situations that are otherwise not breathless, extenuating circumstances. It’s not just because you are exercising and using your body in a stressful capacity; just an attempt to walk around the grocery store with bags, or efforts to clean the house, or play with your children has you out of breath.
If you’ve been unusually short of breath on your own with no medical provider recommended cause (cold, asthma, etc.), these sounding alarms should be heeded. Something’s wrong and your body is operating in overdrive to compensate for a lack of oxygen, probably due to low iron.
4.Headaches and Dizziness
Do you find yourself getting headaches more often? Have you been on the floor recently because you’ve felt dizzy or lightheaded after standing up too quickly? All of these problems—even though they’re not ideal—are seemingly common and associated with iron deficiency anemia.
Why does low iron cause headaches or dizziness? Because of oxygen, once again—but this time in your brain. Your brain needs an abundant supply—and constant source—of oxygen. With iron deficiency anemia, the ability for our blood to transport oxygen is limited. This could mean that your brain isn’t getting as much oxygen as it needs.
Another symptom reported is headache and faintness, especially upon standing. To try and counteract this drop in oxygen, blood vessels in the brain may dilate to increase blood flow. Any sort of pressure and positive or negative vessel reaction causes a headache. They occur as migraines or just like tension headaches on some sort of pain scale level. As for faintness, when one goes from sitting to standing, there is a quick adjustment and rush of blood to the legs as blood pressure tries to catch up to the new positioning. Anemic blood already has a lower hemoglobin content. Therefore, when the blood goes to the legs, in addition to feeling light-headed from anemia, some people note they feel faint.
When you think of red flags that make your head spin (and not in a good way), headaches and heart irregularities come to mind. These are common sensations had by many due to stress, dehydration, and lack of sleep. But when you find yourself with a persistent pain pinpointed in this area or a change in rhythm accompanied by other concerns like fatigue and mottled skin, know that iron deficiency can be a cause. It’s your body communicating that your blood isn’t pumping enough to keep everything in line.
5. Heart Palpitations
Have you ever felt like your heart is racing, pounding, or fluttering in your chest when you’re relaxing or not stressed out? Those episodes are called heart palpitations, and when they enter the picture, it’s an unwelcome symptom of iron deficiency anemia.
It’s easy to think low iron doesn’t affect the heart—but it makes sense when you realize how much additional effort the body has to exert simply due to a lack of oxygen. Iron is required for the formation of hemoglobin, the chemical which transports oxygen through the bloodstream. Therefore, if one is suffering from anemia, their hemoglobin levels are low, meaning blood isn’t carrying adequate levels of oxygen throughout the body to support its operations.
Thus, in response to the reduction of oxygen availability to the body, the heart must beat harder and faster to get more blood, more quickly, to more areas of the body. The heart is working extra to supply whatever excess oxygen it can to its tissues and organs, which are struggling under this new, deficient oxygen state. This is what causes anemia-related palpitations. One becomes aware of one’s heartbeat; all of a sudden, it feels as if the heart is skipping a beat, racing, or out of rhythm.
Most people with iron deficiency anemia don’t have anything to fear from these palpitations. They simply show that your heart is working overtime. When anemia is more severe or chronic, such daily strain could be taxing on the heart, rarely resulting in more serious cardiac concerns—but only if someone has preexisting heart conditions.
Of course, if you’re experiencing heart palpitations, you should consult a doctor for diagnosis. Palpitations can be caused by anxiety and caffeine; however, if palpitations remain constant or accompany other symptoms—like trouble catching your breath, fatigue, or feeling faint—then there could be an issue with iron deficiency anemia. Your heart is working twice as much to make up for inefficient oxygen delivery, and palpitations are a symptom of that effort.
6. Hair and Skin Changes (or Brittle Nails)
Have you noticed something about your hair, skin, and nails? Your hair is drier, more brittle; you’re shedding more than average. Your skin is flakier, itchier, and more rough. Your nails feel weak with breakage, rounding out into spoon shapes. These outward manifestations are signs of inward turmoil—like iron deficiency anemia.
Why is this the case with low iron and your hair, skin, and nails? When the body is deprived of iron—and therefore deprived of oxygen—it’s crucial to redistribute what’s limited to prioritized channels. Certain systems are more important than others—the brain, the heart, etc. However, hair follicles, dermal layers, and nail beds are not as essential to immediate survival as these systems—that’s why when times get tough and limited resources and oxygen are available, they go without adequate recruitment.
Regarding your hair, reduced oxygen to your hair follicles can throw off the hair growth cycle, so you’re shedding or losing more hairs than usual. But the hairs that do grow may grow in weaker, drier, and more prone to breaking.
The same goes for your skin—skin cells need oxygen to regenerate and repair. So if there’s less, skin can become dry and itchy. In the most severe cases of iron-deficiency anemia, people develop cracks in the corners of their mouths called angular cheilitis.
Your nails become brittle and chip easily or develop vertical ridges. A less common but more specific symptom of severe iron deficiency is koilonychia—when nails become soft and concave, or spooning, as if a droplet of water could sit in its cavity.
However, if you start experiencing some of these unfortunate symptoms in addition to other potential red flags for anemia—like shortness of breath, dizziness, heart palpitations, etc.—and hair, skin, and nails are not responding to treatments you’ve attempted in the past, it’s time to consider low iron as the possibility. Basically, your body is reserving oxygen for its most vital functions—and you’re left seeing the fallout on the outside.
When to see a Doctor
If you find many of these symptoms happening to you—although in excess seems unlikely, a few raise a red flag—or one happens in repetition or is bothersome, it’s time to reach out to your doctor. You shouldn’t self-diagnose and also, don’t take iron supplementation into your own hands.
Why is it necessary to see a doctor? For one, because these symptoms could be signs of something else. A trained physician can decipher whether it’s something more. For another, if it is iron deficiency anemia, the doctor will want to determine the cause of the deficiency. Sure, iron tablets can boost iron stores for the short term, but if there’s a reason that causes a deficiency time and time again (i.e., internal bleeding), it needs to be treated.
Furthermore, excess iron is not healthy either, so unless a doctor observes a person needing excess amounts of iron and the exact amount, over-the-counter high-iron supplements should not be consumed.
Conclusion
Iron deficiency anemia is more prevalent than expected, unfortunately, yet it’s a condition that puts you down and makes you feel like you’ll never get up. Fatigue, paleness, excessive shortness of breath, incessant headaches, heart palpitations, fading hair, dry skin—all symptoms that show the body is lacking this mineral and is not sustainably effective on a day-to-day basis functioning with such deficiencies. These anemic symptoms, however, are more than an inconvenience; they’re signs from the body that something is wrong and needs to be corrected.
As such, acknowledge these symptoms and assess their severity. If reading this section one finds themselves in agreement, do not downplay these symptoms as minor inconveniences. For example, feeling stressed out with life can cause someone to feel tired easily and more stressed than normal; however, these symptoms are clear enough to warrant a talk with the doctor. A simple blood test can rule in or out iron deficiency as the culprit.
Remember—you don’t have to give in to iron-deficiency fatigue. With proper diagnosis and treatment, the majority of people can restore their iron reserves, and for them, it’s back to feeling like themselves—only with a caveat for ensuring the underlying cause is treated for long-term stability. Therefore, through awareness of the signs and symptoms, possibilities, and how to approach a doctor, you can manage yourself because your body deserves adequate iron to operate effectively! Because truly, your body knows more than you think.