Liquid Iron Drops...

We had to give iron drops to our son, but never had any side effects. You're right about it not doing anything if it just comes back up! I would definitely make an appointment so his ped. sees what's going on. I don't know if switching brands would make a difference, but we used Poly-Vi-Sol (over the counter). This is what he used in the NICU as well! I worried about overdosing him on iron as well, so I always went a little shy of the prescribed amount, just to ease my fears, but he was fine. Also, the ped. should be supportive of you wanting to get him more iron naturally. He may not be able to get enough, but if you are serious about getting more iron into him through his food, then they need to help you do just that! I would recommend making your own food for him using lots of leafy greens and red meat. This may still need to be supplemented with iron drops, but at least he will be getting more of it in a natural way. YOU have the say over your child's treatment, and don't let anyone intimidate you into giving your child something you don't agree with! You know your little one best, so trust yourself! Best of luck, and I hope he feels better real soon!

The best way I could think of to test which is making him ill is to not give the drops until he is better, and than reintroduce them slowly and see how he does. But I would definitely keep communication open with his doc on all this. Best of luck.

My questions would be what caused her to take these blood tests? What are the child's other symptoms? Is there any thing going on with him that seems "different" but you dont think is a symptom (sometimes they actually are related symptoms).

Iron can be fatal , especially to babies because they have no way to get rid of excess. Iron builds up in tissue. They would either have to throw it up right after ingestion, or give blood to reduce iron levels. 30% of all pediatric death is caused by iron overdose, and most of these were dosed by a doctor. So your mommy instinct is correct to be concerned.

More that just dosing the child with iron, the doctor should be trying to find out WHY the little guy has IDA. Dosing with iron is filling a bucket with a hole. You gotta find the hole and patch it not just blindly fill the curiously empty bucket and walk away.

These drugs can cause reduced iron:

penicillin (binds to red blood cells)
acetominophen
prednisone
sulfa drugs (inc. antibiotic sulfa drugs)-breakdown red blood cells

These conditions can cause anemia:

bleeding in the stomach , or the intestines.
H. Pylori infection (which causes stomach bleeding) *by the way, this bacteria needs iron to replicate. Iron will feed the bacteria and allow it to grow larger colonies.

and these following conditions all are related to adrenal gland disease in some fashion will also cause IDA:

Addisons disease (very low hormone output from the adrenal gland which could cause many symptoms outlined here below)
b12 deficiency
folic acid deficiency
kidney disease
chronic inflammation of the stomach mucosa (adrenal hormones control stomach acid base)
liver disease
hypo/hyperthyroidism
lukemia
sjogrens
MS
RA
diabetes
renal disease
inability to metabolise protein
high calcium (low adrenal hormones cause high blood calcium.
infections (low adrenal hormones allow stomach acid to be low, allows bacteria to grow.

Has there been a complete blood test taken? Was b12 anemia test done? Were hormone levels checked? Has the child had any other issues, lung problems, etc?

Gail

we also had to give iron drops to my son. originally he was taking poly vi sol i believe. he had no side effects, but it didn't seem very natural to me. eventually i started feeding him more iron rich foods and found a more natural supplement. i think we used floradix. 2 months after that his iron was back to normal and never low again. hope your little guy is feeling better soon.