Other accompanying symptoms

Iron deficiency anemia can cause a variety of symptoms. These include a possible depressive disorder as well as a lack of concentration and learning difficulties. Iron deficiency anemia often also causes severe fatigue and exhaustion.

Furthermore, sleep disturbances and possibly a Restleg-Leg-Syndrome can occur, which is a movement urge in the legs, which occurs mainly at night or during rest phases. The affected persons can appear very pale in the context of an anemia and the hair and nails can appear brittle and fragile. The skin may tear at the corner of the mouth, this phenomenon is called mouth rash.

The tongue, like the skin, can also appear pale. In addition, there can be atrophy of the tongue, a so-called atrophy. Furthermore, those affected can suffer from shortness of breath, which occurs particularly under physical stress.

In the worst case, very severe iron deficiency anemia can also lead to shortness of breath. The heart rate can be increased in the context of an iron deficiency anaemia – i.e. the heart beats faster than usual. This is known in medicine as tachycardia.

Treatment/Therapy

In order to replenish their iron stores, affected persons can eat foods with a particularly high proportion of iron. These include veal liver, black pudding and beef. Among the vegetable foods that are particularly high in iron are wheat bran, wholemeal bread, beans and lentils.

If the iron deficiency has already progressed further, a medical treatment may be necessary. The treatment is then carried out with the administration of iron preparations. These can be bought as tablets, capsules or drops in the pharmacy. Iron tablets should only be used if the doctor has actually diagnosed iron deficiency anaemia through a blood test. An unnecessary intake of iron can lead to undesirable side effects and should therefore be avoided.

Duration/Prediction

The duration of iron deficiency anemia with associated depression usually depends on the start of therapy. Iron preparations can usually be used to replenish the iron content in the body.In case of iron deficiency anemia which can be treated with medication, a treatment of about 3-6 months is recommended. Usually blood tests are carried out to check whether the iron levels are rising and whether the red blood cells can be reproduced properly.

In the course of the therapy, the iron deficiency and depressive mood should then decrease. Of course, the duration of the iron deficiency anemia also depends on the cause. So that the iron deficiency anemia can be corrected, the cause must also be treated. The prognosis is often good – after a proper iron therapy, the mood of the affected persons is improved to a large extent.