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Medical Author:

Douglas S Lee, MD

Coauthor:

Ruben Olmedo, MD

Medical Editor:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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A doctor diagnoses iron poisoning by observing the child. A normal physical exam and no symptoms for 6 hours indicates that the child experienced either little poisoning or did not eat any iron-containing substances.

If you can, tell the doctor the type of iron supplement and the number of tablets swallowed.

The doctor order blood tests for the child to determine these levels:

• Iron
• White blood cell count
• Serum glucose (blood sugar)

The doctor may perform an X-ray of the child's abdomen to confirm there are iron pills in the gastrointestinal tract, although sometimes they are there and not seen.

Laboratory and imaging tests are not usually sensitive enough to detect poisoning. Some tests are also too slow to affect the diagnosis and management of iron poisoning.

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