Ferritin lowered - what does this mean?

In the human body, there can be a variety of changes that often affect even the appearance of the patient. In the same article I want to talk about the situation when a person has ferritin lowered: why this can be, what it means and how to cope with this problem.

What it is?

At the very beginning, you need to understand the main terms that will be used in the article. So, ferritin is a special protein complex consisting of 24 units. It is the so-called "depot of iron" in the human body. It is ferritin that shows the level of the micronutrient's reserve in the body, and also cares about the proper level of its maintenance.

It is also worth mentioning that this protein complex is synthesized in the cells of organs representing the reticuloendothelial system. That is, it is found in all the fluids and cells of the body.

Blood test

To learn about the status of this protein complex in the body, the patient needs to donate blood. It is important: take this test on an empty stomach, do not eat anything before 8 hours. As a result, one can obtain one of three conclusions: ferritin is lowered, elevated or normal.

Norm

In order to better understand the indicators, you need to know what is the norm of this protein complex in the body. If we talk about children, then the numbers will be as follows:

1. Newborns: 25-200 μg / l.
2. Children 1 month of age : 200-600 μg / l.
3. Children from 6 months to 15 years: 30-140 μg / l.

If we talk about adults, the range of normal indicators here will be much wider:

1. Men: 20-350 mcg / l.
2. Women: 10-150 mcg / l.

Pregnancy

Some women may be concerned about the question: "Why is ferritin in pregnancy lowered?" In fact, this is quite a normal state. In addition, I want to say that by the end of pregnancy it will be as low as possible. This is due to the fact that the mother shares with her baby such iron necessary for its development. After the process of childbirth after a certain time, all the parameters for a woman are normalized. However, often the symptoms of iron deficiency in women in the first months of life are kept.

1. First trimester: 56-90 μg / l (ferritin reduced).
2. Second trimester: 25-74 mcg / l (the level of this protein complex has fallen even more).
3. Third trimester: 10-15 μg / l (ferritin level is at the level of the lowest bottom mark).

On the decline

Many people may have a question: "If ferritin is lowered, what does that mean?" It is worth to tell a little about this state. So, our body is able to produce only 7% of this trace element. Everything else a person should receive from outside, ie, from food and food. If this does not happen, the ferritin level decreases. In this case, iron is consumed in a rather large amount. It happens that the ferritin is lowered, the hemoglobin is normal. Such indicators can be maintained if the given microelement only recently began to "fall". A certain time, the level of hemoglobin will remain normal. If you manage to cope with the problem in time, these indicators will not change. However, if ferritin continues to fall, after a certain time, the hemoglobin levels will also change.

Main reasons

If a person has ferritin lowered, the reasons for this may be as follows:

1. Speaking exclusively about women, they can have it because of too much menstrual bleeding.
2. As already mentioned above, during pregnancy, these indicators fall significantly (especially in the third trimester of bearing the baby).
3. Diet. When else can ferritin be lowered in the blood? If a person has a longer time on a diet, which only eats one food product. At the same time, I also want to say that it is very difficult to cope with this problem in this situation. By correcting the diet all is not limited.
4. Iron-deficiency anemia. This condition, when the human body is not sufficiently high level of iron, as a consequence - ferritin is lowered.
5. Celiac disease. This is an acute intolerance of cereals. However, this affects not only the level of ferritin, but also all metabolic processes occurring in the body.

About the condition of the hair

If a person has a long time reduced ferritin, hair loss - this is the first symptom that should alert. So, under the influence of this microelement, the hair bulb is nourished. If all the indices are normal, then its strength is increased, everything functions normally, and hair loss does not exceed the norm. If the iron is not accumulated enough, the curls become uncontrollable and begin to fall out in large numbers. After all, in this case, the body simply sends ferritin to the more necessary areas of the body, to maintain vital organs. Hair begins to suffer in the first place, because their food in this case becomes inadequate.

What to do?

So, ferritin is lowered. What this means is understood. However, I also want to say a few words about how you can cope with this problem. The method of diagnosis is just one - you need to pass a blood test. And only by the results of this method of research can you try to take certain measures. What will be relevant here?

1. If ferritin is lowered, treatment can consist in taking a vitamin-mineral complex. These drugs a doctor can appoint if the protein level is reduced slightly, and raise the level of iron can be and without medication. So, the given means are appointed by a course not less than couple of months. You also need to remember that as a control of the state of ferritin you will have to periodically take a blood test.
2. Food. Nutrition alone can provoke a state where ferritin is lowered. Treatment in this case is to normalize the diet. So, on the table to the maximum should often be: beef, pork, chicken yolk. These are products in which iron is stored in large quantities. Slightly less of this microelement in foods such as spinach, apples, currants, rice, cabbage, chicken. And products such as pomegranate, citrus fruits, strawberries and grapes, contain iron even less, but they are also needed periodically.
3. Medications. The doctor can appoint medicines only in the event that the level of ferritin is very much lowered and cope even with the help of vitamins with the problem is impossible. Here it is necessary to say that it is necessary to take all iron-containing preparations only with the appointment of a doctor. Otherwise, you can severely damage your health.

The normal level of ferritin in the blood is of the greatest importance not only for the growth and condition of the hair, but also for the work of all metabolic processes in the body. So if necessary, it is better to seek help from a doctor. Only in this way can you cope with the disease without harming your body even more.