Nutrition should be varied, containing various trace elements.
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The child did not rest during the holidays and is not ready for school, cannot think about classes, complains of drowsiness and fatigue; the reason may be hidden in a non-obvious health problem: iron deficiency anemia. How to support your son and daughter on the eve of the new school year and not overlook anemia in babies, Evgenia Tomova, a hematologist at the Department of Consultation and Diagnostics of the Russian Children’s Clinical Hospital of the Russian National Research Medical University who named after NI NI Pirogov of the Ministry of Health of Russia.
WHY IS ANEMIA SO DANGEROUS FOR CHILDREN?
Iron deficiency anemia leads to oxygen starvation of tissues, to hypoxia. Including poor oxygen supply to both the heart and the brain, hence the fatigue to the point that the vacation does not help to recover, and after the break you need to rest again, and during the lessons it becomes difficult to concentrate and solve even a simple task
Most often, this disease occurs in children in two groups:
– from six months to two years;
– after 12 years, in adolescence.
WHAT IS THE CAUSE OF IRON DEFICIENCY ANEMIA IN CHILDREN?
– If parents start complementary foods late and pay little attention to the introduction of foods with sufficient amounts of iron, this can lead to iron deficiency. In adolescents, food is often snacks, when full meals are partially or completely excluded, which also negatively affects health and often leads to pathologies, says Evgenia Tomova.
Another reason may lie in the violation of the absorption of iron from food. This occurs at the level of the gastric mucosa and duodenum.
– And, finally, the matter here may be in blood loss. In young children, this is hidden blood loss in the gastrointestinal tract, for example, due to intolerance to cow’s milk protein. It damages the intestinal membrane and chronic blood loss occurs, says the doctor. – In adolescents, blood loss is associated, among other things, with the menstrual cycle.
Your child may need help if:
– pale skin
– severe weakness
– Tired quickly.
IMPORTANT!
At a young age, the child gets used to such a condition, quickly adapts to iron deficiency, is active and feels good, so the key feature here is pale skin.
Adolescents, in addition to paleness, only show decreased work capacity, impaired concentration and attention, which are possible causes of poor school performance.
Also, the disease is manifested by brittle nails, blue sclera of the eyes, hair loss, dry skin.
With a deep deficiency of iron, the mucous membranes are affected, disorders of the immune system appear – the child begins to get sick more often.
In addition to treatment with iron preparations, which are prescribed by a doctor, it is worth paying attention to the prevention of iron deficiency anemia.
HOW TO PREVENT ANEMIA DUE TO IRON DEFICIENCY IN CHILDREN?
– Prevention should begin during pregnancy, as this is an important period for development.
– For babies, prevention is the timely introduction of complementary foods.
Starting at five months, the products should be gradually introduced under the supervision of a pediatrician.
From the “new” should include meat, buckwheat porridge, apples. The food itself should be varied and contain various trace elements.
– For adolescents, it is important to pay attention to the body during intensive sports. They need more frequent laboratory blood tests. It is important for children to have a complete blood count every six months, but for those who are actively involved in sports, once every three months is recommended.
Of the foods to maintain the necessary amount of iron in the body, the following are suitable:
– meat (rabbit, beef, beef);
– green apples;
– seafood;
– buckwheat and millet porridge;
– cauliflower.
