Iron Deficiency in Toddler???

I think your mom and aunt must have watched a TV show or read an article, and now they are trying to diagnose a toddler. That panicked you, and you headed to the internet, and that panicked you more. There are a zillion reasons for circles under the eyes (allergies, lack of sleep, an oncoming cold, etc.). Since he gave up naps, it's very likely that there will be a period of at least 6 months when he's abnormally tired - kids usually give up the naps many months before they are truly ready to!

The bruises your child displays are called "having fun" marks by many pediatricians - very common in active children. By themselves, they indicate nothing.

It does sound like your child has a limited diet so you need to either sneak nutrients into his food or you need a comprehensive supplement that not only provides iron but a lot more. I work with a lot of kids with sensory issues so we see this a lot. Fortunately there are some delicious ways to get a children's formula into him to give him protein as well as many other nutrients (not just iron or what's contained in typical vitamin products sold in supermarkets). You can't just give iron - the body won't absorb it in the absence of other nutrients. Same goes for each individual vitamin, calcium, other minerals - you can't give them individually just because a person tests "low" in that one element.

So yes, get him checked out, but don't panic. You can look at medical info or food science/nutrition or both, but don't assume that your mother and aunt are authorities, and don't assume that a deficiency at birth is still present now.

If he is, he gets iron. Problem solved. He would not be the first. Stay off the internet.

Are your mom and aunts gifted with the ability to analyze blood just by looking at people?

Of course not.

You have a doctor's appointment for him. Stop Googling. His pediatrician will order labs and you'll have a definitive diagnosis and treatment plan based upon whatever is found. If your son is anemic...you offer him foods and supplements that contain iron. He might not eat it all, but he'll eat some. Especially if you don't offer the other stuff he's used to. He'll get hungry and eat.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007134.htm

Anemia, especially when explained by lack of dietary iron, is no big deal. You can't tell that someone is anemic by looking at them, so not sure why your mom and aunts all think they have some magic ability to detect this. I've had anemia here and there over the course of my life. Sometimes I've "looked" anemic (pale, etc.) and my iron levels were fine and other times, my iron has been low while I looked perfectly healthy.

They'll do some bloodwork and if his iron is low, you'll put him back on a supplement until his diet starts to contain enough dietary iron to keep his levels normal.

Don't google any medical information. We'd all be dead if we did that, just from the worry alone. Bad things can happen all the time completely out of our control, don't let that run your life.

I take iron daily...no worries. I also was tired, had circles under my eyes, and still bruise fairly easily.

Your son should be able to take some iron and be fine.

Why do your mom and aunts think he is iron defcient? What is their reasoning? Is there anything about your son that actualy concerns you? That just sounds so random.

Of course he has bruises. He should have bruises. That's a good sign of a healthy, active kid. A good friend of mine is a pediatrician, and he said those kinds of bruises are good. They show that the child is active and playing and not sitting in front of a tv. Kids play, the bump into things, they fall down. These are all part of growing and developing. Their balance and coordination is not the same as an adults. It's just part of being a kid.

Unless you have something more going on than what you've said, I'm just not sure there is anything to be concerned about. But you are absolutely doing the right thing is asking your doctor. Good place to begin.

My son's iron levels are low most of the time, he takes after me, mine have been the same way my entire life. We used to use a supplement when was a baby/toddler, now I just make sure to get things like spinach in him (it is easy to hide in things like pasta). Your doctor will be able to give you tips for controlling it. When he is getting low the first thing I notice is usually his energy level getting low, and then the circles under his eyes.

If your doc takes a tiny drop of blood and does an iron test and it's affirmative then you'll have to add an iron supplement and just hold him down and put it under his tongue or something.

If he was so anemic at birth why isn't the doc watching this now?