Blue sclera (iron deficiency?)

Aspen

Aspen

Established Member
Does anybody else have blue sclera? I recently noticed that the parts of my eyes that are usually white have a noticeable blue tinge to them. (I tried uploading a picture but my internet is painfully slow here, but they look like this.)

I read online it could be from Ehlers danlos or anemia/iron deficiency. I don't think I have EDS and I don't have anemia. My ferritin is on the lower end of normal (27 ng/mL). There's a lot of conflicting info about ferritin online. Some say anything under 30 is an absolute iron deficiency and that it should be closer to 70-80. Others say anything over 20 is fine.

Anyone else have blue sclera? And anyone have any insight into if low-ish ferritin is an issue?
 
Aspen said:
My ferritin is on the lower end of normal (27 ng/mL). There's a lot of conflicting info about ferritin online. Some say anything under 30 is an absolute iron deficiency and that it should be closer to 70-80. Others say anything over 20 is fine.
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I had low ferritin for two decades when M.E started and couldn't keep it in normal range unless I took iron. I felt awful when it was below 25 and much better when it was above 60. Most doctors go by 'gold standard' ref range which isn't reliable. This also includes B12 levels.
 
Hmm, just checked my last lab results and my iron serum was at 36ug/dL about a year ago. 11% iron saturation. Both below Labcorp's range.

Though, 7 years ago it was at 95, and I felt awful then too.
 
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Aspen said:
I don't have anemia. My ferritin is on the lower end of normal (27 ng/mL). There's a lot of conflicting info about ferritin online. Some say anything under 30 is an absolute iron deficiency and that it should be closer to 70-80. Others say anything over 20 is fine.
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According to NICE in the UK a result for ferritin of under 30 is evidence of iron deficiency in their Clinical Knowledge Summary on iron-deficiency anaemia :

https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/anaemia-iron-deficiency/

The level of ferritin which is considered right for each patient (in my non-medical opinion) should depend on what is wrong with them and how well they are. For people with thyroid disease ( which I'm personally familiar with) the usual recommendation for ferritin that I've seen is 90-110 mcg/L. I've also seen recommendations for levels of 70 mcg/L. The lower limit of the range has been moved up to 30 mcg/L by some testing labs in the UK but quite a few are still using 10 or 13 mcg/L as the lower limit despite the NICE guidance saying that levels that low are deficient. The subject is confusing because there is a lack of standardisation of reference intervals for ferritin. I've seen the top of the range for older, post-menopausal women be anything from 150-650 mcg/L.

...

Not exactly what you asked about, but for anyone who is anemic, it is a good idea to be aware that low vitamin B12 and/or low folate can also cause anaemia. And NICE has a Clinical Knowledge Summary about that too.

https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/anaemia-b12-folate-deficiency/
 
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