according to guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence<\/a>.<\/p>\nHowever \u201ca level below 50 might be a pointer of iron deficiency,\u201d said Sue Pavord, professor of practice in medical haematology at Oxford University hospitals.<\/p>\n
Can low ferritin change a person\u2019s appearance?The symptoms influencers describe include dark circles under the eyes. Photograph: Alamy\/PA<\/p>\n
The symptoms influencers describe, such as dark circles under the eyes, grey skin, cracked lips and hair loss, can be caused by a variety of factors, including genetics, stress and dehydration. But experts say low iron stores can have an effect.<\/p>\n
\u201cIron is needed for every single cell of the body. So if you are iron deficient, you will be very fatigued, have brain fog, your skin will look dull and saggy, you\u2019ll look pale and tired,\u201d said Pavord. \u201cWhile we can\u2019t diagnose iron deficiency from the face, it might be a suggestion that there is iron deficiency.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prof Toby Richards of the University of East London and the Iron Clinic added such changes were particularly pronounced in people with very low iron stores. \u201cThey tend to be the really sick patients,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Why might people have low ferritin?<\/p>\n
\u201cPeriods and pregnancies are the most common [causes],\u201d said Pavord, but others include not getting enough iron \u2013 either from dietary choices or because of poor absorption, as can occur with coeliac disease.<\/p>\n
Low ferritin levels can also arise as a result of blood loss linked to gastrointestinal problems, such as gastritis or polyps.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also sometimes see it in athletes because of the high demand for iron on their bodies,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
What should people who are worried they might have low ferritin do ?<\/p>\n
Richards said those who are at high risk of low ferritin \u2013 such as people who have heavy periods, are pregnant or have had children, or are vegetarian or vegan \u2013 should ask for a blood test, adding that should include a full blood count, ferritin level check, and test for levels of B12 and folate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a proper disease, and to put it into perspective, it\u2019s the leading cause of disability in women of reproductive ability,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Pavord also said those who are concerned about their ferritin levels should ask for a blood test, adding it was important to understand the cause of iron deficiency.<\/p>\n
\u201cOlder people suspecting iron deficiency would need a proper clinical assessment and investigations to look for a source of bleeding from the bowel,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Pavord said it is possible to buy iron tablets over the counter at a pharmacy.<\/p>\n
\u201cTaking iron tablets without confirming iron deficiency is not really going to do you any harm, particularly if you\u2019re a young woman, because you\u2019re losing a lot of iron with periods,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
But Richards noted many products do not necessarily contain the appropriate dose. \u201cIf you are iron deficient, you need to be on a full treatment dose \u2026 and then repeat your blood results in three months\u2019 time,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat\u2019s marketed is normally the lower dose supplements<\/p>\n
Pavord was positive about the increase in awareness.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to stop normalising iron deficiency,\u201d she said. \u201cMany women are just exhausted trying to cope with their periods, cope with their pregnancies, cope with their young children and their busy jobs, and we need to stop normalising fatigue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richards agreed. \u201c Anything that raises the plight of women in this area is a good thing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
However Dr Asiya Maula, a GP from the private firm The Health Suite, was cautious. \u201cThe risk with social media trends is that people may see themselves in a list of symptoms and assume they have a deficiency without checking whether that is actually the cause,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TikTok is rife with influencers warning of \u201cferritin face\u201d, a term they use to describe the pallor, dark…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":816524,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[59,102,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-816523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-gb","tag-health","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/816523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=816523"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/816523\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/816524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=816523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=816523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=816523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}