Hemochromatosis, also known as iron overload, it is a condition where your body absorbs excessive amounts of iron. While iron is important for performing several essential bodily functions, too much of it can lead to serious health complications. Specifically, too much iron can negatively affect your heart, kidneys, joints, and liver and impede their functions.
Hemochromatosis can be either inherited from parents or developed later in life. While their causes may be different, both forms of hemochromatosis are serious and could lead to life-threatening conditions. Although there’s no known cure for hemochromatosis, there are several treatments that can prevent the condition from causing problems and help you live a normal life.
Regardless of what type of hemochromatosis you have, inherited or developed, they typically cause similar symptoms. These symptoms will vary depending on your age, gender, lifestyle, and the severity of the condition. It’s also common for some people to never display any symptoms of hemochromatosis. In most cases, people who do display symptoms will only do so once they reach the age of 40 or 50. Here are some of the symptoms they will display.
Once again, although hemochromatosis can be present from birth, women don’t usually show symptoms until after menopause, and men usually don’t display symptoms until they’re 40. Additionally, some people never display symptoms.
There are two different types of hemochromatosis, and they’re caused by different things. Primary hemochromatosis is a genetic condition that gets passed from parents to their children and is present at birth. Secondary hemochromatosis is when you develop the condition later in life, usually as a result of medical treatment or procedure.
Here are some of the risk factors that affect your chances of developing hemochromatosis.
The main cause of hemochromatosis is when you inherit the condition from your parents. For this to happen, both parents have to be carriers of a specific genetic mutation.
People with anaemia undergo blood and iron transfusions to increase iron levels. This can sometimes lead to an iron overload and hemochromatosis.
Kidney dialysis can also lead to iron overload and hemochromatosis.
Blood transfusions are packed with iron and red blood cells, which means they can lead to iron overload.
Too many iron supplements to treat low iron levels can lead to hemochromatosis.
Men are more at risk for developing hemochromatosis, especially at an early age.
It’s next to impossible for doctors to diagnose hemochromatosis based on your health history and physical symptoms alone. Therefore, while these will play a role in diagnosis, they will have to perform additional tests, including the following.
A blood test will reveal if you have elevated iron levels or are storing too much iron in your organs.
Imaging tests, such as MRIs and X-rays, will help your doctor see if there’s physical damage to your organs or joints.
If your liver shows signs of damage, there’s a good chance you have hemochromatosis depending on your other symptoms and test results.
Unfortunately, there’s no known cure for hemochromatosis. However, because the condition is caused by having too much iron, there are treatments available that can remove iron from the blood.
This treatment, known as therapeutic phlebotomy, is the process of removing blood from the body. It will be necessary to perform this treatment regularly to maintain low iron levels.
You’ll need to stop eating foods that have high iron content, such as red meat.
Certain medications can help remove excess iron from the blood.
Using one or more of these treatments, you can live a long, normal life despite having hemochromatosis.