15 Signs and Symptoms Your Body Is Lacking In Iron

6Palpitations in the heart

Heart palpitations are infrequent heartbeat caused due to iron deficiency. This is due to a decrease in the level of hemoglobin which makes it more difficult for the heart to carry oxygen to the remaining parts of the body. This leads to irregular heartbeats or you may find your heart beating extremely fast. If not checked and allowed to continue, it could lead to heart failure. These are the later phases of iron deficiency where people suffer from different symptoms first before facing heart palpitations. 

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7Hair and skin damage

The secondary functions of our body are the hair and skin. In iron deficiency, our body is supplied with a limited amount of oxygen and so it provides oxygen to the most important organs and tissues. Our skin and hair are then neglected and tend to become dry and fragile because of the deficit of the mineral iron. Ferritin is a protein responsible for storing and releasing iron to all the parts of the body. When there is a lack of it, such symptoms start occurring and manifesting as hair and skin damage. Low iron in the body leads to an increase in the rate of hair fall, especially for women not under menopause.

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8Swelling and soreness of the tongue and mouth

Our mouth can give us a brief idea about our health condition. One of them even includes iron deficiency. When the tongue appears to be inflamed, discolored or swollen, these are symptoms of lacking in iron. Myoglobin is a protein that binds iron and oxygen together, which is formed in the muscle of our tongue. The tongue becomes sore, swollen and smooth when there is a decrease of myoglobin .Red cracks in the corners of out mouth and dry mouth are also caused due to iron deficiency. 

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9Brittle fingernails

Brittle fingernails are one the rare symptoms of iron deficiency which shows up in the later stages of anemia. The condition is also known as Koilonychia. This is a nail disease in which the nails become extremely thin and lose their spherical shape. They tend to become flat and concave shaped. In the initial stages the nail starts to become weak and breaks easily. This causes a drop down in the middle of the nail and its edges get raised giving it a spherical appearance of a spoon.

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10Restless leg syndrome

Decrease in the levels of iron in the blood also leads to decrease in dopamine.Dopamine is a chemical which is important for our body actions and movements but it can also cause restless legs syndrome. It is present in our brain and behaves like a message-carrier (neurotransmitter) between the nervous system, spinal cord and the brain, so that they can co-ordinate and sync bodily movements.

When the nerve cells or neutrons in our body get damaged, there is a decrease in the amount of dopamine in our brain which results in involuntarily movements or muscle fatigue. Towards the end of the day, dopamine levels fall naturally which causes restless legs syndrome and it gets more harmful during dusk and night.

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