Normal Iron Levels
Keeping Normal Iron Levels in Your Body
The values required for keeping normal iron levels in your body involve ruling out anemia, which is from an iron depletion, or hemochromatosis, which is from a higher than normal level of iron in your system. There are other conditions, too, that affect the levels of iron in your body.
Hemolytic anemia causes a low amount of hemoglobin in red blood cells, even while iron levels can test out as normal.
Thalassemia is a genetic blood disorder that runs in some families. It changes the way the body produces hemoglobin. The tests may show normal iron levels, but ferritin levels will be high, if the patient has had many transfusions.
Cirrhosis is a disease that happens when scarring and inflammation damage the liver. It is commonly brought about by alcohol abuse.
Lead poisoning can develop from months or years of exposure to environmental lead.
Iron deficiency anemia occurs when low levels of iron cause a too-low amount of hemoglobin carrying oxygen, in red blood cells. Normally the tests will show low iron levels, high transferrin saturation and low ferritin levels.
Rheumatoid arthritis inflames the tissues or membranes that line the joints and affect your normal iron levels.
Oversupplementation of iron causes too much iron in your body.
Bleeding or heavy menstruation can cause a loss of needed iron.
Kidney failure or severe infections can alter levels of iron (high or low) in the body.
Your levels of iron may change over the course of the day. Iron tests are more accurate if they are taken in the morning, when you will get high, rather than normal, iron levels.
Your physician will also double-check your test results with those of a complete blood count (CBC), transferrin and ferritin tests. The ferritin test will usually show if you have an iron deficiency.
There is a test that is called the siderocyte stain test, that is used to check the number of red blood cells that have unbound iron particles. Normally, low numbers of siderocytes are present in the blood. If a test shows a high number of siderocytes, it may mean that the patient has a severe infection, hemochromatosis, lead poisoning, iron overload or anemia.
When anemia is diagnosed, the source of the anemia needs to be discovered and treated. Iron deficiency could be caused from long term blood loss, such as from heavy menstruation or pregnancies. It could also be caused by having not enough iron in your diet, or some bleeding in the intestines, from hemorrhoids, polyps, ulcers or other conditions. In very rare cases, some iron can be lost in the urine. You can treat it, to bring your normal iron levels back, but the cause needs to be determined so that it doesn't happen again.