When the human body is deficient in iron, normal red blood cells cannot be generated, which will lead to the occurrence of iron deficiency anemia . The disease develops slowly and has no obvious external symptoms in the early stage. When it develops severely, it is manifested as dizziness and pain in the head, poor complexion, weakness, easy fatigue, palpitations, , dizziness, and tinnitus , etc.
Due to the decline of their own functions and insufficient iron intake, poor absorption effect, the elderly are prone to iron deficiency anemia. Therefore, they should supplement the iron within them in time through drugs and food.
1. Why do the elderly also lack iron?
Iron deficiency anemia is the most common type of anemia in the elderly, and it is also one of the common and most common diseases that endanger the physical health of the elderly.
There are many reasons for iron deficiency in the human body, most of which are insufficient intake, excessive blood loss, malabsorption, and excessive loss. Or due to falling teeth in the elderly, chewing dysphagia and eating less; or long-term use of laxative agents; damage to the gastric mucosa, reduced gastric acid or lack of gastric acid, etc., it may cause insufficient iron intake; or due to acute or chronic bleeding, such as digestive system tumors, ulcer disease, hemorrhoids , diverticulum and esophageal hiatal hernia , all of which are common causes of anemia in the elderly.
clinical manifestations include dizziness, sleepiness, fatigue, , pale complexion, memory loss, gastrointestinal disorder , nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, dry hair, etc., heart rate increase, systolic pressure , palpitations and shortness of breath, increased pulse pressure, heart failure , lower limb edema, systolic murmur in the apical area, etc.
2. Therefore, pay more attention to iron deficiency anemia in the elderly to achieve the purpose of early detection, early treatment and early recovery.
(1) Nursing aspects:
①Health education: If cannot improve the condition of anemia for a long time, it will not only affect physical strength and brain power, accelerate aging, but also lead to a reduction in immune and digestive function and mobility, and aggravate the primary disease. Therefore, it is necessary to provide health education to patients and their families of iron deficiency anemia, popularize health knowledge, help patients build a healthy lifestyle, improve unreasonable dietary structure and cooking methods, and prevent and treat iron deficiency anemia in the elderly.
② Nursing intervention: The animal liver, lean meat, animal blood, shrimp, amaranth , leeks, kelp, etc. in food are rich in iron. The iron content per 100g of kelp is as high as 150mg, which is 6 times higher than pork liver; the iron content in milk products is relatively low, so it is necessary to eat more animal foods appropriately. The iron absorption rate in animal food is as high as 20%, while the iron absorption rate in plant food only accounts for 1% to 7% of the intake.
It can be seen that in daily life, it can be prevented or corrected by providing the human body with sufficient iron, protein , folic acid , vitamin C, vitamin B group, etc. in daily life to supplement iron and related nutrients.
Iron supplement should be mainly consumed by animal foods such as poultry, livestock, meat, fish, etc. Pay attention to avoid the loss of iron and various nutrients, properly master the cooking methods of food, and avoid some factors that affect iron absorption.
(2) Medication treatment:
At present, Western medicine injection or oral administration has certain effects on the treatment of iron deficiency anemia in the elderly.
Iron agent is the first choice for iron supplement treatment for iron deficiency anemia. Different drug dosage forms are mostly selected according to the severity of the patient's condition. Among them, oral dosage forms are widely suitable for patients with mild and moderate anemia. For severe or above anemia, iron agents are generally given, and blood transfusions are given according to the actual situation. After the symptoms are relieved, oral medications are maintained.
ferrous gluconate tablets are commonly used in clinical practice to treat ischemic anemia, but this medicine is contraindicated and cannot be used for a long time. During the treatment period, gastrointestinal adverse reactions such as nausea and vomiting can be seen. The iron dispersion tablet liquid of dextran has a slightly sweet taste and is a third-generation drug for the treatment of iron deficiency anemia. It has obvious treatment effect and no obvious adverse reactions, and has great practical value.It also has a slightly sweet taste and does not irritate the stomach and intestines. It is especially suitable for the fragile stomach and intestines of the elderly. A tablet contains 5mg of iron and is soluble in water. It is especially suitable for middle-aged and elderly people who do not swallow pills. Scientific iron supplementation is not ambiguous.
When the absorption and intake of iron in the human body are insufficient, the synthetic hemoglobin will be reduced accordingly, leading to iron deficiency anemia. At this time, the patient will show symptoms such as pale complexion, dizziness, shortness of breath, palpitations, fatigue and weakness. If it further affects the metabolic function in the human body, the body's immunity will decrease, resulting in dysfunction of multiple organs and multiple systems.
Therefore, for iron deficiency anemia, prevention is greater than treatment. Once relevant symptoms appear, seek medical treatment immediately and do not give the disease a chance to develop.
Reference materials:
[1] Huang Xiaoyan, Lu Chengyong, Pang Zhenlan. Recent research on the treatment and nursing of iron deficiency anemia in the elderly [J]. Journal of Clinical Rational Drug Use, 2016, 9(28):180-181.
[2] Song Literature Observation on the efficacy of iron dextran in the treatment of iron deficiency anemia [J]. Electronic Journal of Clinical Medical Literature, 2016, 3(05):961+964.
