Iron Deficiency Day: Let's recognize the symptoms and take care of our health
- Almost a third1 of the world's population suffers from anemia caused by a lack of iron in the body.
- The first symptoms of iron deficiency are usually atypical, so it is important to know how to recognize them and take appropriate action.
On November 26, known as Iron Deficiency Day, Novartis in Slovenia, where Lek d.d., Novartis Pharma Services Inc., branch office Slovenia, and Sandoz d.d. operate, raises awareness of the importance of iron for human health and the recognition of anemia symptoms among its employees and the general public. Additionally, it offers information on anemia at its website www.anemija.si.
Today marks Iron Deficiency Day, which focuses on recognizing the importance of iron for our health and raising awareness about it. More than 1.6 billion2 people worldwide suffer from iron deficiency, which makes it a global health problem. It is important to learn how to identify the symptoms of iron deficiency early and correctly, otherwise they can lead to more serious complications.
The most common causes of iron deficiency are poor nutrition, inefficient absorption of iron in the small intestine, increased iron needs in childhood, pregnancy and during breastfeeding, and increased blood loss. Certain groups of people also have an increased risk of iron deficiency, especially women of childbearing age, infants – especially premature infants, children in the period of rapid development, people who do not eat meat and regular blood donors. Anemia or iron deficiency in the body has many negative effects – it leads to poor quality of life and lower productivity, it can lead to complications in pregnancy and increases the risk of cardiovascular complications, it can make treatment of chronic diseases difficult, it reduces cognitive function and increases the risk of developing dementia.
Let’s recognize the symptoms and take action
Certain symptoms of anemia are often very common or occur in various diseases. Other symptoms are uncommon and therefore difficult to recognize and often not treated appropriately. Recognizing the symptoms of iron deficiency is thus the first step on the path to diagnosis and treatment. Symptoms can manifest themselves in different ways: some we notice or feel, while in others, we feel their consequences, as they slow us down and make it impossible for us to perform our daily duties. Common symptoms include fatigue, difficulty concentrating and shortness of breath. These can be accompanied by a weakened immune system, paleness, brittle nails, chest pain and a fast heart rate. Typical symptoms also include inflammation of the esophagus, inflammation of the oral mucosa, difficulty swallowing, restless legs syndrome and frequent infections. For more information, visit www.anemija.si. If you notice any of these symptoms, you should consult your doctor, as iron deficiency is easy to diagnose and can be successfully treated.
Iron should be taken seriously
November 26 is Iron Deficiency Day and Novartis in Slovenia decided to use this period to raise employee awareness of the importance of iron for health and quality of life. It has prepared a variety of materials under the common title "Listen to your body and take iron seriously”. For some time now, it has also been running the www.anemija.si website, where both employees and the general public can learn about the importance of iron, recognizing symptoms of iron deficiency and taking appropriate action.
Source:
[1] Peyrin-Biroulet L, et al. Guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of iron deficiency across indications: a systematic review. Am J Clin Nutr. 2015; 102(6): 1585–94.
[2] https://www.who.int/ dostop 20.11.2021
AboutSandoz
Sandoz, a Novartis division, is aglobal leader in generic pharmaceuticals and biosimilars. Our purpose is topioneer access for patients by developing and commercializing novel, affordableapproaches that address unmet medical needs. Our ambition is to be the world’sleading and most valued generics company. Our broad portfolio of high-qualitymedicines, covering all major therapeutic areas, accounted for 2020 sales ofUSD 9.6 billion.
AboutNovartis
Novartis is reimagining medicine to improve and extend people’s lives. As aleading global medicines company, we use innovative science and digitaltechnologies to create transformative treatments in areas of great medicalneed. In our quest to find new medicines, we consistently rank among theworld’s top companies investing in research and development. Novartis productsreach nearly 800 million people globally and we are finding innovative ways toexpand access to our latest treatments. About 109,000 people of more than 140nationalities work at Novartis around the world. Find out more at www.novartis.com.
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Lek Pharmaceuticals d.d.
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