Understanding the breadth of symptoms of iron deficiency is critical to making a timely diagnosis.
Left untreated, this condition can lead to anemia, fatigue, and other serious health complications.
However, the diagnosis of this condition can present serious difficulties, since the vast majority of symptoms are nonspecific. Some reports suggest that among some of the specific symptoms of iron deficiency anemia, there may be cravings for certain smells and foods.”Patients develop specific cravings for certain odors. According to the report, these odors mainly included rubber tyres, gasoline, pine trees, and musty basement odors. These symptoms are akin to pica, a condition characterized by strong cravings for non-edible foods. Pica has become widely recognized over the years a symptom of iron deficiency, although its pathophysiology remains somewhat unknown,” family doctor Tatyana Zakharova says specifically for MedicForum.
Iron deficiency and malnutrition are the two most common causes of pica, followed by pregnancy. This is usually a sign that the body is trying to correct a “significant” nutritional deficiency that can be addressed with certain medications or vitamins.
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In medical The literature describes the case of a 35-year-old man who developed severe iron deficiency after several years of taking proton pump inhibitors (PPIs).
A man with essential hypertension and a history of GERD took omeprazole 40mg daily for three years to treat reflux symptoms.
“He developed mild exercise intolerance and began to notice a tendency to smell unusual odors, including to gasoline and dust, which required examination.”
According to the report, the paint thinner's “smelling cravings” developed after more than two years of use. In addition to the constant craving for smells, the patient also developed a strong desire to eat salty foods.
More research is needed to elucidate the pathophysiology of the craving for smell in iron deficiency, the data may help in the diagnosis and treatment of iron deficiency.
MedicForum has previously written about foods that lead to depression.
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