Low iron. Or maybe not.

[PickledLily]

DD is always shattered, so she recently had blood tests. The results came back that all was fine except for low iron (ferritin), but not anaemia as her blood count was fine. Apparently the lab had written that the results are unreliable in children but when I asked what the values were and what it meant, the GP said that in an adult, her levels would be considered below normal

So I'm really confused now - can anyone explain what this means? Shoudl I be concerned about the low ferritin? Why test for ferritin if the results are meaningless?

Low ferritin isn't something to be ignored, it means she's on her way to becoming anaemic. Your ferritin is iron stores and she needs some iron supplement. Very odd they'd ignore it! Low ferritin can make you feel awful.

Odd, I typed a reply but it didn't post!

I've also had anaemia, it's no fun. Glad you're sorted now.

I wasn't clear from the GP if the levels were a concern or not. Her ferritin was 10, apparently anything below 15 in an adult is low, but not sure how this translates to children.

I asked if there were iron supplements she would recommend (as DD is prone to constipation and I didn't want to just give her my spartone!), but the GP was very vague and just said to make sure she had plenty of iron in her diet (helpful - she's a picky eater).