The symptoms in men

In men, iron deficiency generally occurs less frequently than in women, but it is still possible. If the body has too little iron available over a longer period of time, there is a reduction in the oxygen-carrying red blood cells (erythrocytes).The resulting anemia leads to an oxygen deficiency in the various body tissues and produces typical symptoms. If there is only a slight iron deficiency, the body usually manages to compensate for this, as it can initially still use the iron reserve from the iron stores (ferritin). In this case, the deficiency often remains without symptoms or only produces a small performance low with fatigue and susceptibility to infection. In the case of a severe iron deficiency that persists over a long period of time, the symptoms already described, such as fatigue, lack of concentration, brittle hair and nails, palpitations and shortness of breath, occur (for further symptoms, see above).

The symptoms in women

Iron deficiency is a common problem in women. Due to the monthly blood loss during menstruation, a woman’s iron requirement of 15 milligrams per day is about 50% higher than that of a man (10 milligrams per day). If a woman loses a certain amount of blood due to her menstruation, new blood must be produced to compensate.

For this purpose, a sufficient iron concentration in the blood and replenished iron stores are important because iron is built into hemoglobin, which is the most important component of the red blood cells and is responsible for oxygen transport. The symptoms of iron deficiency in a woman hardly differ from those of a man. In the beginning, they manifest themselves in the form of everyday complaints such as persistent tiredness, poor performance and susceptibility to colds. If the iron deficiency lasts for a longer period of time, other complaints such as paleness, dry mucous membranes and headaches can also develop (further symptoms are already described above).