Iron-deficiency anaemia
Low blood, low iron, low haemoglobin
What it is
The blood does not have enough haemoglobin (the part that carries oxygen) because the body is short of iron. Common causes are poor diet, hookworm and other worms, malaria, and heavy periods. Young children, girls and women are most at risk.
Common signs
- Tiredness and weakness
- Pale skin, and pale inside the eyelids, palms and nails
- Breathlessness or fast heartbeat when walking
- Headaches and dizziness
- Craving to eat clay, ice or chalk
- Poor growth and learning in children
How it is diagnosed
A finger-prick or blood test measures haemoglobin. The health worker also looks for the cause, such as worms, malaria, heavy periods or bleeding from the gut.
Tests
- Haemoglobin (Hb) test — shows how much anaemia you have
- Full blood count — small, pale red cells suggest low iron
- Ferritin — shows the body’s iron stores, where available
- Malaria test and stool test for worms — common causes in Africa
How food affects it
Iron-rich food helps prevent anaemia and refill iron stores. Once you are anaemic, food alone is usually too slow, so a health worker may give iron tablets. Treating worms and malaria matters too. Eat a fruit rich in vitamin C with meals to absorb more iron from plant foods.
Food as medicine, alongside your medicine. Food works alongside your medicines, not instead of them. Never stop or change your tablets without talking to your health worker.
Eat often
- Liver, beef, goat and chicken — iron that is easy to absorb
- Fish, including dried small fish (omena, kapenta, dagaa, crayfish)
- Beans, cowpeas, lentils and groundnuts
- Dark leafy greens: ugu, cassava leaves, amaranth, sukuma wiki
- Fruit with meals: orange, guava, pawpaw, mango — vitamin C helps absorb iron
- Teff (injera), millet and sorghum
- Flour or cereal marked ‘fortified with iron’
Eat in moderation
- Milk and cheese — good foods, but take them apart from iron tablets
Avoid or cut down
- Tea and coffee with meals — they block iron; drink them 1 hour before or after
- Eating clay, chalk or soil — can bring worms and blocks iron; tell your health worker about cravings
- Sugary drinks and snacks in place of meals
Get help urgently
Go urgently if you are breathless at rest, have chest pain or faint. Also go at once if you pass black or bloody stools, or vomit blood.
General information, not a diagnosis. Always follow the advice of your health worker.