Health A-Z

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Harvard Medical School

Iron Deficiency

Diagnosis

Your doctor will ask about your diet and symptoms, including any signs of abnormal menstrual, rectal or urinary tract bleeding. Your doctor will examine you to check for unusual paleness in your skin and fingernails, and for other nail abnormalities. He or she may examine your rectum to see whether blood is being lost in the gastrointestinal tract.

The main test used to diagnose iron deficiency is a blood test called a complete blood count (CBC). If there is still doubt about the cause of anemia after a CBC, further testing may include checking the blood levels of iron and ferritin, a protein that binds iron in the blood, which may more accurately reflect the body's iron levels.

When abnormal iron loss is suspected because of bleeding, additional tests will be ordered to check for blood in the stool or urine, and to identify the cause of the blood loss. In women with abnormally heavy menstrual bleeding, a full gynecological exam and often other tests may be necessary.