What to do if your baby has iron deficiency anemia

Iron deficiency anemia is a common disease, especially in babies between 6 months and 3 years old. When babies have symptoms such as sallow complexion, dry skin, slightly reddish or pale conjunctiva and lips, or often have poor appetite and look listless, it is necessary to check whether they have iron deficiency anemia as soon as possible. Currently, clinical tests of hemoglobin content and red blood cell count can be used as the basis for diagnosing anemia. So, here we will introduce to you what to do if your baby has iron deficiency anemia. Let's take a look.

General manifestations

The disease usually occurs between 6 months and 3 years old, and the onset is usually slow. Parents often fail to pay attention to it at the beginning, resulting in most children having moderate anemia when they seek medical treatment. The severity of symptoms depends on the degree of anemia and how quickly it develops and progresses. At the beginning, people often feel irritable or listless, lose their appetite, and their skin and mucous membranes become pale, which is most obvious on the lips, oral mucosa, nail beds and palms. Preschool and school-age children may report fatigue and weakness at this time.

What to do if your baby has iron deficiency anemia

Manifestations of hematopoietic organs

The liver, spleen, and lymph nodes are often slightly enlarged due to extramedullary hematopoietic reactions. The younger the age, the more severe the anemia, and the longer the disease course, the more obvious the hepatosplenomegaly will be, but the enlargement rarely exceeds moderate.

Diet therapy

Most cases of iron deficiency anemia in children are caused by improper diet, so it is necessary to improve the diet and feed them properly. Some mild cases can be cured simply by improving their diet. When improving the diet, the first thing to do is to give the child appropriate food according to his or her age.

Because children have poor digestive abilities, improving diet changes and adding complementary foods must be done with caution. Generally, a few days after the start of drug treatment, when clinical symptoms improve, complementary foods should be gradually added to avoid indigestion caused by increasing food too quickly. For babies around 1 year old, eggs, vegetable puree, liver and minced meat can be added. Infants and children must correct their picky eating habits and be given foods rich in iron, vitamin C and protein.

prevention

First of all, infant feeding guidance should be provided. Although breast milk does not contain enough iron, it is better absorbed. If breastfeeding is not possible, iron-fortified formula should be used. Or add iron to food as early as possible, call on the food department to carry out industrial production, and manufacture iron-fortified infant food. Ferrous sulfate can be added to milk, cereals, and flour. For example, adding 0.06 g of ferrous sulfate to 1000 ml of milk is equivalent to 12 mg of pure iron, which can meet the needs of the baby. If iron absorption is calculated at 10%, the recommended intake for children is 10-15 mg/day and for adolescent girls is 18 mg/day.

The above introduces some manifestations of iron deficiency anemia in babies. I believe everyone has already understood it. I also want to tell you that in order to promote iron absorption, when feeding your baby iron-rich foods, you can also supplement them with foods rich in protein, lactose, and vitamins. If the baby's anemia is severe, you must go to the hospital for treatment.