Iron Overdose
Symptoms and Treatment of Iron Overdose
Iron is an important mineral that carries oxygen in the body, but too much can cause an iron overdose. Excess iron is not excreted by the body, and if you accumulate a significant amount of iron over what is needed, it can damage the brain and heart, and other sites in the body, and lead to eventual stroke or heart attack.
Before you take an iron supplement, you need to be tested for ferritin and saturation. Ferritin is indicative of iron in storage, which isn't essential. In a situation where both your ferritin and saturation are low, your physician needs to learn why. Readings of low iron are a sign that you have blood loss, either by tumors or growths, or chronic daily loss of blood. The course needs to be determined.
There is iron in most parts of your diet. If you're not absorbing one milligram daily, you are probably on an unsafe diet, or you are not eating any of the right foods. Iron supplementation is to be used only when your body needs it. The toxicity in an iron overdose can harm your body.
Severe overloading of iron, which can cause heart and liver damage, occurs often in people who seem genetically predisposed to these irregularities. It is known as hemochromatosis. This disease is also called bronze diabetes, which is a problem in the storage of iron. This is a defect that is characterized by more iron absorption, which is stored up in bodily tissues. Your body can't get rid of the extra iron, so the unneeded iron is stored within tissues of the body, especially in the pancreas, heart and liver.
People who have hemochromatosis absorb more iron than their body needs, and therefore are at risk for iron overdose. The manifestations include diabetes, skin pigmentation, liver and spleen enlargement and heart failure, in addition to weakness overall. In males, this disease is not generally seen until after the age of 35. In females, it is delayed until post-menopause years, when no iron is lost anymore through pregnancies and menstruation. Treatment is made up of removal of overly enriched blood, to decrease the amount of iron in the body.
Excess iron stored in the body can also lead to heart disease and atherosclerosis. When your body is in a state of iron overdose, phlebotomy can help reduce the stored iron, with mixed success. Chelation done with medications like desferrioxamine can also help patients rid their bodies of some of the excess iron.
Choose a multivitamin for the sake of your nutrition and health, and avoid over-supplementing with iron, unless you are under a physician's orders to add iron to your diet. Iron overdose is a dangerous medical condition with many complications, and is to be avoided if at all possible.