4 yr old with aneamia advice needed!

[pingu97]

I've been to the docotrs with my 4 yr old girl today and to cut a long story short, the doctor is pretty sure she is aneamic (no idea if thats spelt right but hopefully u know what i mean!), although she's not having a blood test till friday it's obviously not 100% definate yet, i'm getting myself prepared i am aware that it's low iron (I think), is this due to a poor diet as i'm starting to feel like a bad mum already, she does eat most fruit & 'select' veg but will not touch meat although the doctor did tell her to eat it and she actually had a whole piece of grilled chicken tonight! I know it's not really serious condition, but i'm still naturally worried & anxious for her, ive looked on loads of websites but just wondering if anyone has any experience or offer any advice, thanks x

[annie0000]

The doctor will check if there is any underlying cause of her anemia, it may not necessarily be her diet as I am sure there will be kids that don't touch any fruit or veg, she might simply be a bit run down after a bug, presumably you had a reason to take her to the docs in the first place.

Green leafy veg and red meat are the best sources of iron, but if your daughter is not keen on these, there are plenty of other sources that might be a bit more palatable to her, what about baked beans or lentil soup. It is often easier to hide vegetables in blended soups. A lot of foods are fortified with iron - breads for instance, or you could give her a vitamin supplement for a while.

I would wait 'til they get the results back, she may not be anemic at all - she may jsut be recovering from a bug and needing some time to build herself up again.

[pingu97]

Thanks for your advice! she hasnt been ill recently she's just very, very pale with dark eyes and has started falling asleep in the day and even at school, although she doesnt have aparticularly busy schedule and she goes to bed at about 7 and always asleep for 730 and then doesnt get up till at least 8, she also drinks LOADS, so she was 1st tested for diabetes, but it was ruled out, shes having a blood test this week so we'll see but have managed to persuade her to eat lots of meat & green veg the past couple of days, so if it is aneamia we're off to a good start!

[annie0000]

Good Luck with the test, I hope all goes well. My little boy is a bit anemic at the moment as well, he was in hospital with a complication of a strep throat, which caused him to bleed into his urine and also leak protien into his urine. Unfortunately, it also affected his appetite, so i am struggling with him and have resorted to vitamins to get some colour back in his cheeks! Check up today at hospital though and I am sure that he is much improved.