My son has always had low iron levels?

Question

he's 18mo. Will the dotor give him an iron supplement?

Answer 1

Yes iron supplement is recommended.
If he gets older or able to swallow his food. Get foods rich in iron include meat, beans, spinach and other foods that say they are iron fortified.
And do not give him cow's milk taht has iron in it.

Answer 2

Is he anemic? Theres no reason to supplement unless it is causing a health concern... even then, giving natural sources of iron is better than supplements (or foods with supplements).

I would try cutting back on his cows milk, and add high-iron foods to his diet. Eggs are excellent for iron (serving with a little OJ will up the absorption rate!) Beans are also really good... My 19 mo old LOVES hummus... he loves anything he can dip :)

Meat, obviously... green veggies are also good (though, i know how picky 18 mo old's can be!)

Supplemental iron is absorbed at a very low rate, and iron is not dispelled from the body like other nutrients, it just gets saved up in the liver, or (in the case of young children) the brain.

Oh, i second the cast iron. I was anemic after my pregnancy and just upping my iron intake naturally and switching to a cast iron pan for most cooking fixed it quickly. I still use my cast iron pan.

Answer 3

Iron supplements can be hard on anyone's stomach/intestines, especially a small child, so your doctor may just advise regular OTC vitamins. I second the advice to eat lots of iron-rich foods. As a follow-up to that, there are some foods that counteract the absorption of iron into the body; orange juice is the one that immediately comes to mind, though there are others.

If he does get prescribed iron supplements, be sure he eats them with a meal. Iron can make you pretty queasy in a big hurry.

Answer 4

chances are he will need put on supplements for the rest of his life. The regular vitamins just don't have enough iron for anemic children (or adults for that matter). He will also need his iron levels monitored from time to time to make sure his levels are still low. If he isn't getting enough Iron from his diet then he will need the supplements. Just be prepared because the extra iron can cause constipation which is uncomfortable enough for adults.

Answer 5

Cook all your son's food in cast iron. You just need one pan. Amazingly, it's been shown to eliminate most cases of low iron without drops for toddlers.

There was actually a study done in one of our counties in the 1980s. All moms on welfare were given cast iron pans and they found that the rates of iron deficiency for both women and children went from 35% to 1%. I found this out when I asked why a certain type of cast iron pan had been showing up at the Salvation Army thrift shop. Of course, all those kids are adults now. Funding dried up and now people are pretty resistant to having anything that doesn't have Teflon.

Answer 6

No, most likely they will just tell you to buy regular Flinstones vitamins plus Iron...My son is the same way (17 months).
They actually make gummie vitamins too...they make "infant" drops but they are EXPENSIVE!!
Good luck! (I usually just give my son 1/2 of a regular one daily..right after breakfst..he loves them)

Answer 7

Yes

Answer 8

maybe it depends on how low they are.

I know it's hard for an 18 year old.
Dark green leafy veggies.
Broccoli is great, and loaded w/ calcium if you can cut it up into something he likes he'll never know it.

I always told my kids they were little trees and we dipped them into cheese sauce that i made my self.

i never had a problem with my kids again.

Answer 9

You can get one over the counter called Poly-vi-sol (with iron).

Answer 10

wow if eh still like that some day he'll be eating dirt because low iron levels make you want it