What are the symptoms of iron-deficiency anaemia?
Some common symptoms of anaemia include fatigue, lethargy, weakness, poor concentration, and impaired immune function. In iron-deficiency, fatigue also occurs because iron is needed to make optimal amounts of ATP—the energy source the body runs on. This fatigue usually begins long before a person is anaemic. Said another way, a lack of anaemia does not rule out iron deficiency in tired people. Another symptom of anaemia, called pica, is the desire to eat unusual things, such as ice, clay, cardboard, paint, or starch. Advanced anaemia may also result in lightheadedness, headaches, ringing in the ears (tinnitus), irritability, pale skin, unpleasant sensations in the legs with an uncontrollable urge to move them (restless legs syndrome), and getting winded easily.
