Can eating ice sometimes be an indication of low iron?

Question

My 2 year old is fascinated with ice right now. She opens the drawer to get in the ice bin at least once an hour and has started throwing tantrums if she can't get any ice. I made an appointment for her iron levels to be checked because my mother has had issues with iron her whole life and I myself had iron issues when I was my daughter's age. My mother-in-law thinks I'm nuts for getting her an appointment and now I'm wondering if I should just cancel the appointment because my MIL has made me feel like I'm crazy for making an appointment because of my daughter's sudden obsession over ice and having heard eating ice can indicate low iron for years.

Answer

Could indicate other medical issues…. Never hurts to check

Answer

Don’t cancel the appointment it’s not ridiculous it can indicate low iron . But it can also indicate something else . I know I eat ice because of my iron levels . But when I take vitamins to help maintain my iron I don’t crave ice .

Answer

Yes! This is how i knew I had low iron when I was pregnant. I started eating ice and it got to the point that i had to fight the urge to pull over while driving to grab some ice from the side of the road... 🤢

Answer

Never hurts to check, especially if it runs in the family. My mom was addicted to ice for years! She would freeze water bottles, and bam them on the table every night to break up the ice getting on everyone’s nerves lol. One day, she was dizzy and went to the hospital. Her iron was so low she had to get a blood transfusion. After that, she never craved ice!

Answer

Keep the appointment. Better safe than sorry. A blood test will indicate if it’s iron

Answer

Since it seems to run in the family I will also request blood testing for thellesimia minor genetic trait and thalessimia intermedia or the cicle cell trait. These are genetic blood disorders passed by either parent but things can get real bad real fast if she inherited  gene from both of you rather than single one. I have the thalessimia minor but I did not exhibit a lot of symptoms as a child most children at 2 do not. I got diagnosed as 30 years old adult after constantly getting blue bruises on legs. I was just slower and weaker than average kid and was slightly anaemic. Many people with  African South Asian and Greek ancestors inherit the disorder but relatively little is known about it by general public. I never heard of it before diagnosis and did not even know had Greek ancestry. My closes directly Greek ancestor must have been living 200 years ago so it was not direct ancestor I knew.

Answer

It is a text book indication of low hemoglobin and possibly ferritin levels. Especiallg since it has not been one time occurance and she is throwing tantrums for it. Other symptoms include tiredness lack of motivation blue shadows under the eyes. In worst case scenario pins and needles and electric like sensations in fingers and toes and lack of sensation.

Can eating ice sometimes be an indication of low iron?

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