[Charmie981]

I have a 20 month old and a 4 year old. Today I was talking to a friend about the fact that my 20 month old bruises very easily and joked that he probably has some unidentified clotting disorder (I have no other reason to expect that might be the case, so it really was a joke). She laughed and said that I was probably overreacting but that anemia could possibly cause the easy bruising, though it's probably his fair skin.

Being a midwife, I have a HemoStat (which I know to be accurate to about .2), so I decided to check their HgB levels

(I should have known better!). They were 7.4 (20 month old) and 7.6 (4 year old). I know that pregnant women are supposed to start around 12 and drop to around 10 at 28 weeks, and I know that I have a naturally low hematacrit (HgB is normally around 10 when I'm healthy), but I have no idea what normal is for a toddler and a preschooler. 7 seems REALLY low no matter what the age is. The information I'm finding on Google is saying about 12 and that 7 is considered severly anemic. Should I be concerned? If so, how concerned should I be?

 

[Dolphin]

I don't know how much help I can be, but I wanted to offer my experience. My ds was tested at 18 months and his level was 10.8 and his doc was a little concerned. She said at that age, they like it to be at least 11. After going through a ton of stress and more blood tests to make sure everything else was ok, they finally determined that he's just a picky eater (uh, yeah I could have told you that). But if I were you, I would go have blood tests done at the doc, as much as I try to avoid docs

Try not to worry about it though - if they really are low, you can supplement. We use Floradix with iron (available at the health food store) and it seems to really help. His behavior even changed when we started supplementing with iron. Good luck to you and try not to worry too much

 

[Charmie981]

Quote:

His behavior even changed when we started supplementing with iron.

I'm glad to hear that. We seem to have so many behavior issues that I can't pinpoint what the cause is and my gut has been saying for months now that they are not just behavior issues, but dietary or physiological. I know how *I* feel when I'm anemic, so I can only imagine that some of our problems will be easier to deal with when they're healthier.

Further research has shown that between 11 and 14 is normal and anything lower is anemic, and that their levels peak at 8am and decrease throughout the day, which makes me wonder how anyone can ever get an accurate reading at the doctor's office? I did go ahead and make an appointment with the ped. I hate doctors and we haven't been to see him since...uh...Atley was TWO WEEKS OLD (!), but I really don't want to worry about this more than necessary. They take a good daily vitamin from the HFS that has about 50% of their RDA for iron, but both are VERY picky eaters and when I think about it, they don't really eat much of anything that has iron in it!

Thanks so much for the reply!!

 

[Dolphin]

That's interesting about levels peaking in the morning - I didn't know that. I'll be sure and make our next appt (we are supposed to have his iron checked again next month) for early morning then! Good luck with the doc, and if you supplement, hopefully you will see some improvements in behavior too. It sure made a lot of difference here, with his sleep patterns too, almost immediately.

 

[Amylcd]

I wouldn't be too concered, but you should take them to a doctor to see what they say.

I've had "chronic" anemia my entire life. My levels have never tested above 6.2, and besides the slight fatigue & pale skin, I've never had any problems due to it.