My daughter came home today with a package of Iron pills issued by her school, she is 9 years of age.

Anyone else encountered this?

Another crack-pot air pollution control method? 

1 hour ago, sherwood said:

My daughter came home today with a package of Iron pills issued by her school, she is 9 years of age.

Anyone else encountered this?

Another crack-pot air pollution control method? 

They should not be giving iron supplement to children.   Even though iron is water soluble,  it is still stored in the body, and can definitely be a problem for some people.

 

Hope it states the amount in the supplement.  Depending on diet, may want or to avoid.

 

"Kids ages 4–8 years need 10 milligrams while older kids ages 9–13 years need 8 milligrams"

Depending on your location, anemia due to iron deficiency is not rare in Thailand.

 

Also, there have been studies in Thailand linking iron supplements to educational achievement: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0002916523436118

 

But why not ask your school? Surely the teacher of your daughter would be the person to give you the reason behind this?

Unless you are ill, most people should be able to get sufficient iron from regular food.

Too much iron is very unhealthy:

 

Large amounts of iron might also cause more serious effects, including inflammation of the stomach lining and ulcers. High doses of iron can also decrease zinc absorption. Extremely high doses of iron (in the hundreds or thousands of mg) can cause organ failure, coma, convulsions, and death.

Throw them in the bin. 

A kid with no known iron deficiency doesn't need iron supplements.

It is already bad enough that (all over the world) we get many of our foods fortified with iron. Flours, breakfast cereals, bread, for example.

As others have said too much iron poisons your organs and can lead to a myriad of other health problems. 

Maybe the school assumes that most of the students live on low income and eat mama noodles and rice and egg and need a boost. 

Not really their job to be medicating or supplementing other peoples kids.

If you want to be sure go and get her ferritin tested. It is like 4 or 500 baht at the local lab here.

10 hours ago, sherwood said:

she is 9 years of age

I'm not a doctor, but I play one on AN...

 

The only people who should take iron are menstruating women who suffer from anemia.

 

Men should never take iron tablets.

 

Your daughter is too young.

Throw them in the 🗑️

Unfortunately many Thais are lacking in iron because of their diet. Unlike Farangs Thai's do not eant much red meat which is a main iron supply to the body. Chicken, fish and pork are not red meats. My wife ended up in hospital in Melbourne because of her iron deficiency

6 hours ago, jts-khorat said:

But why not ask your school? Surely the teacher of your daughter would be the person to give you the reason behind this?

Agree, you'll get better answers from the ones handing out the pills. 

Asking a bunch of senior citizens on a forum why a elementary school did something will lead to pure speculation.   

did they have blood donation at the school? 

9 minutes ago, SiSePuede419 said:

I'm not a doctor, but I play one on AN...

 

The only people who should take iron are menstruating women who suffer from anemia.

 

Men should never take iron tablets.

 

Your daughter is too young.

Throw them in the 🗑️

That is mainly for westerners who do eat red meat which is the main supplier of iron to the body, but Thai's do not eat red meat. The quoted organizations are western organizations and their research is done on westerners who do have a diet of red meat and not on Thai's or other Asians who do not have a diet of red meat. The main meat that is eaten in Thailand is chicken ,pork or fish which are not iron supplying foods to the body

41 minutes ago, Russell17au said:

That is mainly for westerners who do eat red meat which is the main supplier of iron to the body, but Thai's do not eat red meat. The quoted organizations are western organizations and their research is done on westerners who do have a diet of red meat and not on Thai's or other Asians who do not have a diet of red meat. The main meat that is eaten in Thailand is chicken ,pork or fish which are not iron supplying foods to the body

Iron rich foods that Thais do eat, though question a couple:

Meat and Eggs

Beef

Chicken

Pork

Dried beef

Liver

Eggs (any style)

 

Seafood

Shrimp

Clams

Scallops

Oysters

Tuna

Mackerel

 

Vegetables

Spinach

Sweet potatoes

Peas

Broccoli

String beans

Dandelion greens

Kale

Chard

 

Fruit

Watermelon

 

Beans and Other Foods

Tofu

Beans (kidney, garbanzo, or white, canned)

Tomato 

Dried beans

Corn syrup ???

 

11 hours ago, sherwood said:

My daughter came home today with a package of Iron pills issued by her school, she is 9 years of age.

Anyone else encountered this?

Yeah, thalassemia is very common in the Thai population (30-40% of the population have it), iron pills help kids and are frequently given for this reason. 

IMO nobody should give any children pills, unless it is a doctor, obviously the school meals are not a good diet, but they spend money on tablets not good food. 

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3 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

IMO nobody should give any children pills, unless it is a doctor, obviously the school meals are not a good diet, but they spend money on tablets not good food. 

Or at least offered to the parents, if wanting, pick up at school.  

22 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

the school meals are not a good diet,

Good point, is this a low end government school or a high end international school?  Either way, I'd be curious as to their reason for handing out tables instead of educating the parents on proper diet.

Thanks for the replies.

Daughter has well balanced diet and I would rather the opinion of a doctor than a teacher so for the time being the pills will stay in the medicine cabinet.

Cheers 

The school food is abysmal as we all know, and yet many cheap foods are available like Fruit (bananas especially), Tofu, and Legumes, etc.. etc.

3 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Iron rich foods that Thais do eat, though question a couple:

Meat and Eggs

Beef

Chicken

Pork

Dried beef

Liver

Eggs (any style)

 

Seafood

Shrimp

Clams

Scallops

Oysters

Tuna

Mackerel

 

Vegetables

Spinach

Sweet potatoes

Peas

Broccoli

String beans

Dandelion greens

Kale

Chard

 

Fruit

Watermelon

 

Beans and Other Foods

Tofu

Beans (kidney, garbanzo, or white, canned)

Tomato 

Dried beans

Corn syrup ???

 

You missed out black pudding.

5 hours ago, brianthainess said:

as we all know

For some reason, whenever people use phrases like "as we all know", "everyone is saying", "everyone knows..." I think they are using those phrases to try and convince others. 

I ain't buying it. 

My kids got iron tablets with every vaccination and medical check from like 1yo onwards, every six months or so. No blood test, no explanation, just assumption that everyone's anemic. I understand many rural Thai kids might be, so I reckon that is the reason to just cut corners and give it to everyone.

 

Classic Thailand, binned every single bag.

the cheap iron pills will be of the type the body cannot use

 

the same stuff as in cheap supplements or even more expensive (c...trum) with all the WRONG type... zinc oxide, iron oxide, magnesium oxide...

 

 

but lack of iron,   pale white skin is one sign or tiredness,  can also be linked to adhd...

On 1/20/2024 at 9:29 AM, BritManToo said:

thalassemia is very common in the Thai population (30-40% of the population have it)

 

About one per cent of the Thai population are affected with thalassemic diseases.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1298980/

 

30% carry some kind of thalassemia gene,  but only 1% have the disease. 

 

Hemoglobin carries oxygen in the blood.

Thalassemia patients produce a pathologic hemoglobin (because their genes encode the wrong blueprint for hemoglobin). It wouldn't help them to have more iron (one of the building blocks of hemoglobin), on the contrary,  they have too much iron already because their body cannot put it to good use.

 

Talking about thalassemia:

On 1/20/2024 at 9:29 AM, BritManToo said:

iron pills help kids and are frequently given for this reason

Individuals experiencing anemia or hepatosplenomegaly may require regular blood transfusions and chelating drugs aimed at removing excess iron from the body.

they will not need iron supplements as their iron levels are already high.

 https://www.samitivejhospitals.com/center/detail/Thalassemia-and-Hematology-Center

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributing iron pills to school kids started in 2000.

 

The studies "proving" wide-spread iron deficiency anemia were often done with hill tribes, kids on welfare, people from the border areas., etc.

The studies sometimes read a bit funny,  e.g. on the same page we read 

"In the northeast Thai school children population, the prevalence of anemia is 31%"

and

"among 265 hill-tribe school children, 8-14 years of age, from Omkoi District, Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. Anemia was observed in 20 school children, of whom 3 had iron deficiency anemia."

https://www.tm.mahidol.ac.th/seameo/2014-45-4/18-625422.pdf

 

How much iron deficiency exists in the overfed Thai middle class children of 2024 I don't dare to guess. 

OTOH these pills are cheap and won't do much harm. 

 

 

 

 

 

It sounds like your daughter's school is providing iron supplements as a way to address potential iron deficiencies among students, which can be common in children. Iron is essential for growth and development, and schools often implement programs to ensure that kids receive the nutrients they need to thrive. If you're concerned about this approach, it might be worth discussing with a healthcare professional to see if there are alternative ways to ensure your daughter is getting enough iron in her diet.

Speaking of iron, I actually have a lot of iron furniture in my house and patio, and I've found it to be a great material. Iron furniture is not only durable but also adds a classic and elegant touch to any space. Just like ensuring your daughter has the right nutrients for her health, having sturdy furniture can contribute to a well-functioning home environment. If you're looking for ideas on incorporating iron pieces into your home, you might find this site helpful: https://wrought-iron-furniture.com/

On 1/20/2024 at 3:13 AM, KhunLA said:

On 1/20/2024 at 3:08 AM, brianthainess said:

IMO nobody should give any children pills, unless it is a doctor, obviously the school meals are not a good diet, but they spend money on tablets not good food. 

Or at least offered to the parents, if wanting, pick up at school.  

 

Agreed...  But where is the line drawn between that and Milk that many of us were 'forced' (encouraged) to take when children at school ???...     

 

Thus - If this were an 'iron rich' milk type drink offered at break time would there be concern or upset ?

 

 

There are similarities - but ultimately, what I see here is the 'state' taking measures for the welfare of children at poor state-schools where most parents are unlikely to both know about the dietary needs of their children or be in positions to improve their diet and status of health.

 

 

.... as politely as it cab be put while also not dancing around the subject, the Ops child schooling at the lowest rungs on the ladder... this sort of behavior is to be expected... as a getting their hair cut by a teacher, as is getting whacked by a teacher... 

 

 

On 1/20/2024 at 8:14 AM, sikishrory said:

Throw them in the bin. 

 

This is the way.

Sounds dodgy to me.....a nice little scam for someone in power.

 

Unless a properly qualified doctor recommended iron tablets, based on evidence they were required, this would be a big fat from me.

On 1/20/2024 at 9:25 AM, KhunLA said:

Iron rich foods that Thais do eat, though question a couple:

Meat and Eggs

Beef

Chicken

Pork

Dried beef

Liver

Eggs (any style)

 

Seafood

Shrimp

Clams

Scallops

Oysters

Tuna

Mackerel

 

Vegetables

Spinach

Sweet potatoes

Peas

Broccoli

String beans

Dandelion greens

Kale

Chard

 

Fruit

Watermelon

 

Beans and Other Foods

Tofu

Beans (kidney, garbanzo, or white, canned)

Tomato 

Dried beans

Corn syrup ???

 

 

EGGS, too.

I eat an average of 8.5 eggs per day.

0.8 mg of iron per egg, is my estimate...

 

TUNA, too.

1.5 cans of tuna, 150 grams tuna per can, 2.5 mg iron per can, approx

 

BINGO:  10.6 mg intake...approx   Requirement: 8 mg

 

But Wait, There's MORE!

 

 

 

It's always best not to obsess about one's dietary intake of just about anything....

 

 

SABAI, SABAI.....

 

Try not to worry about the iron thing.

 

But, it sounds like a bad idea to hand out iron, willy-nilly, in such an uncontrolled setting.

I would not do it.

 

Remain calm, and

Carry on...

 

 

 

 

 

Iron deficiency is very, very common in Thai children. Mass supplementation with iron is a sensible tool to help Thai children. It’s not a perfect method but not unwarranted. If your child is blood tested and shows no signs of iron deficiency, then you can toss it in the bin. But only after testing.