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Melena is a form of blood in stool which refers to the dark black, tarry feces that are commonly associated with upper gastrointestinal bleeding. [1] The black color and characteristic strong odor are caused by hemoglobin in the blood being altered by digestive enzymes and intestinal bacteria.
Menstrual bleeding is a common cause of iron deficiency anemia in women of childbearing age. [28] Women with menorrhagia (heavy menstrual periods) are at risk of iron deficiency anemia because they are at higher than normal risk of losing more iron during menstruation than is replaced in their diet. Most women lose about 40 mL of blood per cycle.
Iron deficiency is the most common cause of anemia in the pregnant woman. During pregnancy, the average total iron requirement is about 1200 mg per day for a 55 kg woman. This iron is used for the increase in red cell mass, placental needs and fetal growth.
Iron is an important topic in prenatal care because women can sometimes become iron-deficient from the increased iron demands of pregnancy. Functional or actual iron deficiency can result from a variety of causes. These causes can be grouped into several categories: Increased demand for iron, which the diet cannot accommodate.
Anemia (also spelled anaemia in British English) is a blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen.This can be due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin available for oxygen transport, or abnormalities in hemoglobin that impair its function.
The first indication of iron poisoning occurs within the first six hours post-ingestion and involves gastrointestinal symptoms including abdominal pain accompanied by nausea and vomiting with or without blood. Due to the disintegration of iron tablets, the stool may appear as black or dark green or gray. [4]
Iron supplements, also known as iron salts and iron pills, are a number of iron formulations used to treat and prevent iron deficiency including iron deficiency anemia. [ 11 ] [ 12 ] For prevention they are only recommended in those with poor absorption , heavy menstrual periods , pregnancy , hemodialysis , or a diet low in iron.
Iron deficiency, or sideropenia, is the state in which a body lacks enough iron to supply its needs. Iron is present in all cells in the human body and has several vital functions, such as carrying oxygen to the tissues from the lungs as a key component of the hemoglobin protein, acting as a transport medium for electrons within the cells in the form of cytochromes, and facilitating oxygen ...