Challenges and Symptoms

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Signs and symptoms vary case by case depending on how severe it may be on the child. They even vary according to age, sex, race, and whether the blood was sampled from the capillary (finger stick) or venous (phlebotomy) (Miller, 2013). To help give a better understanding of anemia in general. Anemia “is a condition in which the number of circulating red blood cells, the concentration of hemoglobin (Hb), or the percentage volume of packed red blood cells in a centrifuged blood specimen (hematocrit [Hct]) is lower than normal” (Smith, 2010). In this project, I will discuss iron-deficiency anemia which is having a lack of iron within blood cells. Their are many challenges and symptoms that could occur when iron-deficiency anemia is prevalent within a child.

“30%–50% of anemia in children and other groups is caused by iron deficiency. Because 1.6 billion people are anemic ), several hundred million manifest iron deficiency anemia” (Miller, 2013) which makes this issue the most common cause of anemia worldwide. “Iron-deficiency anemia was the leading cause of years lived with disability among children and adolescents, affecting 619 million in 2013” (IHME, 2016). Though it is a very common anemia, it still hard to recognize even based off some of the symptoms tend to be mild. If the body goes on with iron defenciency, these symptoms worsen, these include:

• Extreme fatigue
• Weakness
• Pale skin
• Chest pain, fast heartbeat or shortness of breath
• Headache, dizziness or lightheadedness
• Cold hands and feet
• Inflammation or soreness of your tongue
• Brittle nails
• Unusual cravings for non-nutritive substances, such as ice, dirt or starch
• Poor appetite, especially in infants and children with iron deficiency anemia (Mayo Clinic, 2019)