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anemic

hello I am concerned about dark circles under my eyes, when I took my son to his peditrician she saw my eyes and told me to have my hemoglobin checked.  When I was pregnant they told me I was anemic and put me on iron pills along with prenatal vitamins, That was 12 yrsago. I also suffer from daily  allergies and sinus problems. Could this be due to iron defiancy? I have of course been reading other causes of anemia like colon cancer and liver cancer and it has terrified me. I am 36 yr old female and also a vegetarian. I recently started taking iron pills and a daliy vitamin. I really dont have any other symptos besides dark circles and I will get cold more than other people around me. Thank you for your help.
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I have had dark circles under my eyes for years, if I had any of cancers mentioned above would I also have other symptoms by now ?
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351246 tn?1379682132
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hi!
If you are more prone to getting cold, then you could be either having allergic rhinitis and sinusitis or you could be having a high eosinophil count. Since you also have anemia, you should get a stool test to rule out worms. Worms increase the eosinophil count and also can cause anemia.
Other causes of low iron are kidney diseases (including stone and UTI), cancers (leukemias, Hodgkin's lymphoma's, myeloma, and other blood cancers), aplastic anemia and myelodysplastic syndromes (bone marrow disorders), cirrhosis of liver, lead poisoning, and in vitamin deficiency (you must especially get checked for B12 and folate deficiency). Low hemoglobin can also be due to increased destruction of blood or its components as seen in spleen disorders, sickle cell anemia, thalssemia etc. It can also be due to increased blood loss as seen in bleeding in your gastrointestinal tract, either due to esophageal varices, or polyps. In females it can be due to very heavy periods.
Apart from iron replacement, the treatment of anemia includes treating the cause. Hence, you need to consult a doctor, preferably a hematologist to find the cause. Take care!
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