What is the impact of iron deficiency in children?
Iron is an essential element of the human body. For children at a rapid growth stage, their demand for iron will also increase. If iron is deficient, it is easy to cause iron deficiency anemia. Iron deficiency anemia will affect the physical development and immune level of children to a certain extent.
Severe iron deficiency anemia can also interfere with the development of the central nervous system, resulting in abnormal behavior of children, decreased responsiveness to the surrounding environment, affecting children's intellectual development, and even develop into anemic heart disease or heart failure, which is a common nutritional deficiency in children.
Therefore, parents should pay attention to their children's iron intake.
How should children of different ages supplement iron?
Iron supplementation is generally not required within 6 months
For children six months ago, if they are breastfed, because the nutrients in the milk can basically meet the growth needs of children, and the absorption rate of iron in breast milk can reach 50%, which is much higher than that in milk and other milk, iron deficiency anemia is rarely seen in breastfed children. Some children will have mild anemia between one week and two or three months after birth, which may be a temporary physiological anemia due to the temporary lower hemoglobin level during the growth and development of the baby. In this case, special iron supplementation is usually not required.
Eat more iron containing food for more than 6 months
For children over 6 months old, complementary foods have been added. Babies who have just added complementary foods are recommended to eat iron containing rice flour. Babies who have begun to add other complementary foods can add meat, egg yolk, animal liver, animal blood and other iron rich foods. In order to promote better absorption of iron, children should also be supplemented with foods rich in protein, lactose and vitamins when they eat these iron rich foods.
If the child has symptoms like anemia, such as sallow complexion, dry skin, reddish or white eye conjunctiva and lips, the child should be taken to a doctor in time and iron supplementation should be carried out under the guidance of the doctor. When the symptoms of anemia are mild, you can adjust your diet to eat more iron rich foods mentioned above. If the symptoms are serious, you should properly supplement iron under the guidance of a doctor.
At the same time, special attention should be paid to the fact that excessive iron should not be added. If iron supplementation is excessive, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, constipation and other uncomfortable symptoms may occur, followed by dizziness, headache, panic, and even liver and kidney function damage.
