Iron Deficiency And Hair Loss

Hair loss is one of the potential symptoms of an Iron deficiency. However before reaching for the supplement bottle it should be noted that the taking of iron supplements can increase the risk of infection, this is expanded below. Examine the symptoms of iron deficiency to see whether it sounds like it is the likely cause. Also note that the iron deficiency could be because of an underlying medical condition such as an ulcer and it has been suggested that 60% of people who have an iron deficiency is because of an underlying problem, so it makes sense to seek medical attention and sort out any potential underlying causes, and the iron deficiency will probably sort itself out, and in turn the hair loss if it was being caused by the lack of iron.

What is Iron deficiency?

Iron deficiency (also named sideropenia or hypoferremia) is where there is not enough iron being consumed. It is actually one of the most common deficiencies which occurs in a humans diet. Iron is found within all cells and has various important functions. Possibly its most famous role is to carry oxygen around the body in the form of hemoglobin, it also helps transport electrons within cells via cytochromes. A large lack of iron in the body can lead to death.

Average quantities of iron in body

In men the total body iron content is about 3.8 g and in women it is 2.3 g.

High risk categories

The most prone categories of humans who are likely to get this deficiency are as follow, though note that anyone can get deficient in iron:

  • Pre menopausal women
  • Children

Causes of Iron Deficiency

  • Chronic bleeding - which can be from unusually high menstrual bleeding, or bleeding from within the gastrointestinal tract (e.g. ulcers and hemorrhoids) or in rare occurrences laryngological bleeding or bleeding of the respiratory tract.
  • Certain drugs can disrupt the uptake of iron
  • Not enough iron within diet - generally occurs if someone is on a restricted diet.
  • Fevers
  • Malabsorption syndromes
  • Blood donation

Symptoms of Iron Deficiency

It should be noted that the following symptoms are not specific to iron deficiency and could indicate another problem:

  • Hair loss
  • Tiredness
  • Irritable
  • Unusual Weakness
  • Pica - this is a medical disorder where someone wants to eat things which are mostly not nutritious, e.g. metal, coal etc. Or high appetite for ingredients that are not normally thought of as directly edible (e.g. flour, raw potato)
  • Nail problems including brittle nails or grooved nails
  • Plummer-Vinson syndrome - a painful reduction of the mucous membrane which encompasses the pharynx, esophagus and tongue.
  • Relatively poorly performing immune function
  • Pagophagia - this is a specific form of pica disorder, where someone constantly drinks iced drinks or ice. Once study suggested that this could exacerbate iron deficiency.

Iron levels and infection

Iron is a critical nutrient for bacteria to grow and thrive, this means that more of it available in the host body in a form that the bacteria can use could increase the virulence of the bacterial infection. As expected the human body has a mechanism to reduce this availability, it binds iron to transferin, and it is only released from sequestration when the right (non bacterial) cell markers are found). Interestingly in human milk 15 to 20 percent of the protein is in the form of lactoferrin. Lactoferrin bonds with iron, when compared to the much lower levels found in cows milk, this gives a good explanation as to why breast fed babies tend to suffer from less infection than their bottle fed brethren. During a fever the body will reduce the levels of iron, as well as if the body has an open wound. This all leads to the conclusion that the taking of iron supplements can actually increase the risk of infection, while a moderate iron deficiency has a protective effect in relation to bacterial infections.