Insidious onset of symptoms with gradual progression is seen.
There will be symptoms of anemia.
Fatigue is the most common complaint.
Other symptoms are irritability, palpitations, breathlessness, dizziness and headache.
Usually people seeks medical attention when Hb is below 7-8 g/dl.
Neuromuscular manifestations of anemia
Attention deficit, cognitive dysfunction. occasionally - neuralgic pains, numbness and tingling are seen. Rarely raised intrcranialtension & papilledema
Nail changes in iron defiency
Nails are brittle,fragile and longitudinally ridged.Tytpical thinning ,flattening and koilonychias are seen
Changes in oral mucosa
- Atrophy of lingual papillae
- Filiform (in ant 2/3rd) - first to get atrophied
- Soreness and burning of tongue
- Glossitis
- Smooth , waxy and glistening tongue
- Changes reversed after 1-2 wks of iron therapy
- Angular stomatitis which is also seen in riboflavin & B6 deficiency
- Dysphagia called as sideropenic dysphagia (paterson-kelly syndrome or Plummer-vinson syndrome)
- Stomach there is gastritis & later atrophy
- Antibodies to gastric parietal cells are seen in in 1/3rd of cases
PICA - habitual ingestion of unusual substances. Eg - pagophagia - purposeful eating of ice is seen in iron deficiency anemia.
Spleen tip is palpable in 10% cases
Disturbances in menstruation can occur in females
Skeletal changes are observed in children
In cases of long standing Fe deficiency, Diploic spaces are widened, outer tables are thinned
Rarely - hair-on-end appearance is seen.
