Anemia is the name of a disease we often hear. Many people often feel dizziness, weakness, and panic when they are tired, have irregular diet, or do not reach the weight limit, and are examined in the hospital for anemia. There are many kinds of anemia, and the most common one is what we call iron deficiency anemia. So how much do you know about iron deficiency anemia? Do you still just eat a red date or gum to replenish your blood when you are anemic? Is this really effective? With these many questions, let’s get to know this simplest disease in hematology – iron deficiency anemia. Anemia is defined as the amount of hemoglobin, red blood cell count and/or hematocrit per unit volume of peripheral blood is lower than the normal reference value. It is diagnosed by the amount of hemoglobin (HGB) below the lower 95% of the normal reference value when put on our common blood tests. Iron is an essential trace element in the human body and is a necessary component of hemoglobin and myoglobin. Iron deficiency anemia is anemia caused by a lack of functional iron, which the body relies on to synthesize hemoglobin. It can occur at any age and is common in women and children of childbearing age. So, why is iron deficiency in human body? Insufficient iron intake: Iron in the human body mainly comes from the absorption of food in the duodenum and the upper jejunum mucosa. If the following conditions occur, the intake of iron will be insufficient, resulting in iron deficiency anemia. (1) Iron deficiency can be caused by insufficient iron content in the diet, partial diet, and malabsorption. (2) Gastrointestinal diseases: such as gastric acid deficiency diseases, after stomach surgery and other conditions. (2) the influence of drugs: certain metals such as gallium, magnesium intake, calcium carbonate and magnesium sulfate in acid preparations, H2 inhibitors taken in ulcer disease, etc. 2, increased iron loss: normal people lose about 1mg of iron per day from the gastrointestinal tract, urinary tract and skin epithelial cells. the following conditions will cause increased iron loss. (1) Chronic blood loss: Chronic bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract in adult men and menopausal women is the most common cause, such as: tumors, ulcerative gastritis, ulcerative colitis, etc. Another common chronic blood loss in women is excessive menstrual flow. (2) Pregnancy and lactation: Pregnancy and lactation are special periods for women. The average amount of iron loss in a normal pregnancy is about 900mg; the monthly iron consumption during lactation is about 30mg. (3) Chronic intravascular hemolytic diseases: Diseases such as paroxysmal sleep hemoglobinuria and heart valve repair can cause excessive red blood cell destruction and cause iron deficiency. (4) Blood donation: blood donation of 400ml results in approximately 200mg of iron loss, and the situation is aggravated if blood is donated several times in a short period of time. II. Treatment Iron deficiency anemia starts slowly and is not easy to detect in the early stage, but symptoms such as pallor, weakness, dizziness and palpitations may appear when the anemia worsens. If severe iron deficiency anemia persists for a long time without treatment, it may cause splenomegaly (common in children), neuropsychiatric symptoms (e.g., neurological headache, abnormal sensation, burning sensation on the surface of the tongue, easily agitated, inattentive, etc.) and epithelial tissue damage (e.g. stomatitis, tongue inflammation, loss of appetite, nausea, etc.) symptoms. So, how do we treat it? To treat anemia, we should catch two main lines, one is to “cut the flow”, that is, according to the cause of the disease, we should find the cause of iron deficiency and eliminate it to reduce the loss of iron. The second is to “open source”, that is, we should take appropriate iron supplements, such as oral iron supplements. In order to reduce gastrointestinal stimulation, should be taken after eating or meal, pay attention not to affect the absorption of iron tea, calcium salts, magnesium salts taken together. In the iron supplementation, many people have some misconceptions, here are a few more common problems: 1, simply supplement food gum, red dates will definitely be able to replenish blood? Many people consume blood-supplementing foods, such as red dates and gum, but the effect of blood-supplementation is often not ideal. This is because although red dates and Colla Corii Asini are blood tonics and blood nourishers, they do not target the cause of anemia, resulting in unsatisfactory therapeutic effects. 2. Many people do not use drugs when they see that the hemoglobin is normal in the blood routine, is this right? The answer is no. If the hemoglobin is normal and you stop taking drugs, the normal value will drop again soon, leading to a result that the anemia is not cured for a long time. This leaves the patient with the impression that the doctor is not effective in treating the anemia, that the anemia is difficult to treat, and that the treatment is not good all the time. In fact, many doctors will say during the treatment that it is necessary to continue to take drugs for a period of time after the blood indicators are normal, but many patients do not follow them. After the hemoglobin is normal, iron still has to be used, at least for two to three months or even six months. Why is this necessary? We all know that iron deficiency makes you anemic, but normal values do not mean that the body has sufficient iron stocks, and continuing to take the medication is to replenish the stocks. Although iron deficiency anemia is a relatively common disease, it needs our attention. Understand the cause, treat it correctly, and give yourself a good, healthy and good body with good tone and spirit.