Everything about Iron Poisoning totally explained
Iron poisoning is caused by a large excess of
iron intake. It has been primarily been associated with young children who consumed large quantities of iron supplement pills, which resemble sweets and are widely used, including by pregnant women. Targeted packaging restrictions in the US for supplement containers with over 250 mg elemental iron have existed since 1978, and recommendations for unit packaging have reduced the several iron poisoning fatalities per year to almost nil since 1998.
In nature, iron is usually found in its oxidized form,
iron (III) oxide, which is insoluble. Ferrous iron is soluble and its toxicity varies, largely with the integrity of the gastrointestinal lining.
Iron supplements should only be used as recommended by a primary care provider. Many forms of anemia are treated with, or iron utilization improved with: diet, parasite control, vitamin A, riboflavin (B
2), vitamin C (for absorption), folate, vitamin B
12 and multivitamin-multimineral supplements, with or without iron; potentially avoiding the use of iron only supplements.
Symptoms
The first indication of iron poisoning by ingestion is a pain in the stomach, as the stomach lining becomes ulcerated. This is accompanied by nausea and vomiting. The pain then abates for 24 hours as the iron passes deeper into the body and damages internal organs, particularly the
brain and the
liver, and
metabolic acidosis develops. The body goes into shock and death from liver failure.
Treatment
Later stage treatment consists of cleaning the iron from the blood, using a chelating agent such as
deferoxamine. If this fails then
dialysis is the next step.
Footnotes and references
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