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Signs that your child may have an iron deficiency:

1. Overall lack of energy and fatigue.
2. Pale appearance as hemoglobin levels drop.
3. Nails that appear brittle, tongue that looks redder than normal and/or cracks on the side of the mouth.
4. Poor appetite or a craving to eat non-food items like ice, dirt, paint or starch.
5. Children with an iron deficiency also can be at a higher risk for infection.

To be able to diagnose the iron deficiency, extensive assessments and tests will need to be done by the pediatrician. The physician will ask you for a detailed history of the child, the toddler’s nutritional intake, carry out a physical examination and finally ask for a lab test that involves a complete blood test, including hemoglobin level.

Once all the tests and assessments are done, iron deficiency treatment typically involves iron supplements, which may include prescription medications. This will take up to three months of treatment depending on each case and toddler, meanwhile the physician will likely evaluate and treat any underlying condition that may lead to malabsorption of iron or blood loss.¹

Dr. Nabil Hajj Hassan

Pediatrician

¹Cleveland Clinic, June 18, 2018 / Pediatrics What Causes iron Deficiency in Your Child – and How to Spot It

Kids with this condition are at higher risk for infection

Contributor: Kadakkal Radhakrishnan, MD

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/what-causes-iron-deficiency-in-your-child-and-how-to-spot-it/#:~:text=Signs%20and%20symptoms%20of%20iron%20deficiency&text=Overall%20lack%20of%20energy%20and,%2C%20dirt%2C%20paint%20or%20starch.