Hemoglobin Low???

This site gave some good information about anemia (low hemoglobin): http://www.drgreene.com/21_1025.html

I specialized in pediatric nursing, specifically oncology and hematology for years. There is a condition called milk induced anemia that causes this anemia. It can mimick some kinds of cancers, and I've seen loads of worried families waiting for a diagnosis. What happens is that milk blocks absorption of iron, so if a child drinks milk 3-4 times per day, no iron is absorbed from the diet. The treatment is to simply limit milk intake to once or twice a day and supplement w/a dr. recommended amount of iron. Please know that I am not making a diagnosis, only stating what I've personally seen to alleve your fears for now. Thanks, M

First thing first dont be scared.....My daughter is 2 1/2 years old and the doctor just told me the same thing. She told me to have her start eating dark fruits and more lettuce. My daughter already loves veggies and fruits it was just that she was not eating enough of the dark fruits. I guess there is more iron in the dark ones. My daughter said that the iron levels change all the time and unless it is a dramatic drop then there is nothing to worry about. Take a deep breath and good luck!

Here is a link you can read a little bit about it on...

http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/medical/heart/ida.html

Its possible she has just had a HUGE growth spurt, that article said that Rapid growth can be a a cause of it. There are also other causes like an internal bleeding issue the Dr. would need to do a stool sample to figure that out though.

Oh yeah also Too much Milk can make it so they don't absorb as much Iron as they are supposed to...

I hope you find out what is wrong soon. It's never fun worrying and wondering what is wrong especially when it comes to your child.

Here is another Internet article with a different slant:

http://www.drgreene.com/21_1025.html

Every article that I read said that anemia is common in toddlers and the most common cause is lack of sufficient iron in the diet.

While googling low hemoglobin and toddlers I also found a scientific article that stated that tests are not always an accurate indication of having or not having anemia. That is why they do additonal tests. I tried to copy the Internet address into this message but could not get it to work.

I also found a site that listed dietary amounts of iron needed by age and had a list of foods high in iron as well as the suggestion that the diet should include foods with vit c and iron at the same meal. An example was spaghetti with tomato sauce. This was a part of a site by Dr. Sears. If you are interested, here is the address.

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/TO43100.asp

I tried clicking on this address after sending the post and even tho the address changes color here and should get the site it doesn't bring it up for me. But if you type the address into your browser you should be able to get it.

I would like to add that lettuce does not contain iron. Dark green leafy vegetables do. They are spinach, chard, mustard greens, that sort of greens. The color of the fruit also has nothing to do with the amount of iron it contains. Many vegetables and a few fruits contain iron as do meats, seafood and iron enriched cereals, breads, and pasta. If you want to add foods high in iron to your diet look at the above site or query iron rich foods in your browser.

Here is another site that I found that discusses anemia and iron rich diets for everyone.

http://www.healthtouch.com/bin/EContent_HT/cnotesShowLfts...

Because of my research on the Internet I believe that it is most likely that your daughter just needs some more iron. I hope that this turns out to be the case. Let us know.