Harm if the body has too much iron

The article is professionally consulted by Master, Doctor Nguyen Thi My - Department of Medical Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Danang International Hospital.

Excess iron is a serious medical condition of the body because it causes damage to the gastrointestinal tract, liver, increased local iron content and free radical proliferation. Therefore, the treatment of excess iron needs to be done immediately is to remove excess iron or chelate iron in the blood to avoid dangers.

Iron overload, also known as iron overload, is an excess of iron in the body. The body's intestines are unable to regulate iron levels unnecessarily, and iron is also accumulated in the liver causing iron infection, and eventually damage to other organs. The amount of iron that people with iron overload absorb is 3 times more than the amount of iron absorbed by people without the disease.
There are two types of iron overload disease:
Inherited iron overload: The patient has it from birth (due to inherited HFE gene mutations), the intestines lose the ability to regulate iron, and excess iron will accumulate in the liver. liver, heart. To detect this type of disease early, it is necessary to measure the amount of ferritin in serum and in liver biopsy specimens. Acquired iron overload: is an opportunistic disease, accompanied by other diseases such as anemia, liver disease, and diseases related to iron absorption.

2.1 Iron overdose When the body takes too much iron, more than the necessary amount will cause acute iron poisoning. In fact, iron overdoses can happen in children due to the wrong intake of adult iron and multivitamin tablets.
2.2 Iron overload This is chronic iron toxicity with genetic causes, having received a large number of blood units, having chronic hepatitis C or possibly alcoholism.

Symptoms of iron overload disease include: Group of early symptoms:
Fatigue, weakness

Weakness, weight loss Dark, bronze skin Joint pain Abdominal pain Late symptom group:
Loss of sex drive Diabetes Heart failure Symptoms usually appear with age, especially between the ages of 50-60 age for men and after 60 years for women.

The harmful effects of iron overload disease include:
4.1 Damage to the liver Excess iron in the body puts pressure on the liver, promoting oxidation of liver tissue, organ damage and scarring in the liver. This is a risk factor for liver cancer or liver failure.
4.2 Cardiovascular disease Excess iron interferes with the electrical conduction of the heart causing heart failure or arrhythmia. In addition, when there is an excess of iron, the body will have difficulty in pumping blood and circulating blood.
4.3 Change in skin color Excess iron travels from the blood to the body's tissues and settles in the skin cells. The result is gray, discolored skin that can be sensitive to harmful ultraviolet rays.
4.4 Diabetes Excess iron accumulates in the pancreas and interferes with the synthesis of insulin, causing blood sugar to rise, which increases the risk of diabetes.
4.5 Arthritis Excess iron also remains in the joints causing tissue damage, followed by arthritis.
4.6 Damage to the ovaries In women, excess iron affects the ovaries, namely irregular menstrual cycles, no ovulation, delayed puberty.
4.7 Stimulate bacteria to multiply Iron is an oxygen carrier in the body, so an excess of iron will be a favorable condition to stimulate bacteria growth. This is also the reason why patients with iron overload also suffer from chronic infectious diseases.
4.8 Neuropathy Some neurological diseases caused by iron overload such as Parkinson's, ADHD, Alzheimer's, antisocial and violent behaviors. The psychological conditions that iron overload leaves behind such as fatigue, stress, anger, fear and resistance to people.

To treat iron overload effectively, it is necessary to stabilize the body in terms of respiration and blood pressure in the early stages. Different degrees of disease will have appropriate treatment for iron overload. Treatments such as cleansing therapy are bowel irrigation or chelation. Both of these treatments aim to remove iron from the blood and remove excess iron from the body as quickly as possible. Some patients treated for iron overload require respiratory support or cardiac monitoring.
More importantly, the current major treatment for iron overload is venous blood draw. This method will be prescribed by the doctor about 1 to 2 times per week and for a few months to a year depending on the patient's iron overload level more or less. After venipuncture, it is necessary to drink a lot of water and avoid exercise for 1 day. This treatment of iron excess will be carried out until the iron level in the patient's body returns to normal.
Iron overload is as serious a disease as iron deficiency because it leaves important complications and can lead to death. Therefore, it is important to remove iron from the blood as quickly as possible to bring iron levels back to normal levels and reduce the symptoms of iron poisoning.
Master. American doctor has more than 6 years of experience as an internal medicine doctor at Hue Central Hospital, Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital; Tam Tri Da Nang Hospital; Danang Hospital. Currently, he is a General Internal Medicine Doctor at Vinmec Da Nang International General Hospital.