Is an Iron Infusion Used for Low Ferritin Levels?

Certain symptoms lead doctors to conduct a test of someone’s ferritin levels. If the patient is experiencing more fatigue than usual, shortness of breath, heavy menstrual bleeding, pale skin, or even chronic infection, they will most likely conduct a ferritin test.
The short answer is yes; iron infusions are used to treat low ferritin levels. That is because ferritin is an indicator of iron in the human body. Ferritin is a blood protein that contains iron. Therefore, the more ferritin is present; the more iron is in the person’s blood.
In this article, we will discuss what iron infusions are used to treat, how iron infusions work, when they are used, and how they differ from taking traditional oral iron supplements.

Why do some people need iron infusions?

Iron is one of the most important elements present in the human body. Iron is used primarily in red blood cells. Seventy percent of the iron found in the human body is represented in the red blood cells. Iron is used in compounds called hemoglobin and myoglobin in the red blood cells. When our blood transports oxygen from our lungs to where it needs to go in our organs and extremities, it uses iron to bind the oxygen molecules to the red blood cells for transport.

If there is no iron, there is no available oxygen for your body’s use. You can see how important it is to have sufficient iron in the body.

Iron infusions– how they work

Iron infusions work by connecting the patient to an IV bag that has a mixture of iron inside the solution. Infusions directly implant the iron you need into your bloodstream and make it readily available to your biological systems. Normally iron infusions can last three to four hours, but whatever iron deficiencies were present usually go away after that three to four hour period.

How iron infusions are used

Iron infusions are used as an immediate solution for iron deficiency. If a patient is deficient enough in iron, a doctor will recommend an iron infusion, but that is not the exclusive use of iron transfusions. Suppose you are experiencing any symptoms of iron deficiency, or you know that your body does not process iron very well. In that case, you can use iron infusions as a semi-regular treatment to effectively combat these issues.

How iron infusions differ from taking iron orally

Infusions work by bypassing the harsh biological environments of the human mouth and stomach and transplanting the necessary nutrients directly into the bloodstream. Some people absorb their micronutrients very well through oral supplements. Others may have a harder time. Even if a person shows high absorption rates, they will never be as effective as a direct transfusion.

The key to deciding whether or not an iron infusion may be useful to you is to ask yourself if you are experiencing any of the symptomologies and whether or not you want immediate relief or to experiment with oral supplementation.