Do you feel more tired

If you often feel cold all over your body, or in your hands or feet, it may be due to iron deficiency. Iron plays an important role in a number of functions related to the proper regulation of body temperature. It is important to keep the body at a certain temperature and iron deficiency can hinder this process.

If you have uncomfortable and strange sensations in your legs and feet, particularly when you are resting, and you feel the need to move your legs to get rid of the feeling, you may have restless leg syndrome. The feelings could be described as itching, burning, crawling or painful and affect your sleep. 16% of blood donors with iron depletion/deficiency had restless leg syndrome.

One of the most common cravings that can be caused by iron deficiency is the unrelenting desire to eat or chew on ice. Regularly chewing on ice can damage your teeth and gums, so if you think you are suffering from this you should see you dentist as well as your doctor.

Craving certain foods from time to time is normal, especially during pregnancy. However, unusual cravings to eat things such as clay, dirt, ash and starch can be caused by iron deficiency. Wanting to eat non-food items is known as ‘pica’. 11% of blood donors who were iron deficient or iron depleted had pica.

Fatigue is a permanent sense of feeling worn out, and can be a mental exhaustion as well as a physical one. Having iron deficiency can affect your ability to concentrate and your short-term memory, and you may feel irritable and lose concentration quickly.

Mouth ulcers are sore white patches on the inside of your mouth. There are many reasons why you might have mouth ulcers, including biting the inside of your mouth, stress and being run-down, but another reason could be iron deficiency.
 

A bruise appears when you have damaged the blood vessels beneath the skin enough for a little bit of blood to leak out. If you have iron deficiency, this may happen more easily. Easy bruising is a sign of iron deficiency.
 

Haemoglobin is a red-coloured pigment. If you have severe iron deficiency, there may be less haemoglobin in your blood and you may look pale. The is paleness easier on their face, nails, inner mouth and lining of the eyes. If you pull your lower eyelid down and it is a very pale peach colour or yellow, this may indicate that you have iron deficiency or iron deficiency anaemia.
 

Iron deficiency can be related to abnormalities of the color, shape, or texture of nails. In particular, nails that are dipped in the middle and raised at the edges to give a rounded appearance like a spoon associated with iron deficiency anaemia.

Your nails can grow 3mm in a month. To grow strong, healthy nails require a mix of nutrients, including iron.
 

It is natural for some hair to fall out when you are washing or combing it, but if you are losing clumps of hair, or more hair than normal, it could be caused by iron deficiency. Increasing your iron levels could stop or reduce your hair loss.

Every hair on your head is replaced every 3-5 years. To keep a healthy head of hair you need iron.
 

We get energy from our food as sugar, fats and carbohydrates. The process to convert the food we eat into energy requires iron. If you feel constantly lacking in energy you could have iron deficiency.

To turn your breakfast into get up and go your body needs iron. If you always feel drained you could have iron deficiency
 

Problems with your hearing or sudden hearing loss might be related to iron deficiency anaemia.
 

Headaches and migraines can be caused by many things, including dehydration, stress or having a cold. But having iron deficiency may also affect how often you have migraines, and how bad they are.

If you think you are getting more migraines, or they are becoming more severe, you may have iron deficiency.
 

Iron deficiency can cause poor immune function and predispose you to recurrent colds and infections. Iron is needed for your immune system to function properly.

Your body needs iron to defend itself against infections.
 

Iron is essential for the movement of oxygen around your body and the production of energy in your muscles. If you are iron deficient, you may find you can’t exercise as much as you would like to or you get out of breath while doing simple things.

Having iron deficiency can reduce your exercise capacity.
 

Exhaustion, mood swings and an inability to concentrate can cause frustration. If you feel that you are easily irritated, it may be a sign of iron deficiency.
 

Are you forgetting little things more frequently? Talk to your doctor about what could be causing your short-term memory loss; it may be because of iron deficiency.
 

A lack of iron can lead to a low sexual libido and erectile dysfunction. You should talk to a healthcare professional, if you are experiencing either.