This month as you now know is Hemochromatosis Screening and Awareness Month.

In fact one of the first large scale social media research projects I ever conducted was with people who have Hemochromatosis or iron overload. So I have always taken an interested in the area.

Secondly and more importantly the mother of my daughter’s best friend has been diagnosed with Hemochromatosis ( or Haemochromatosis as it is spelled in England). To I thought I would put together an initial post to introduce our readers to the condition which is also sometimes called the celtic curse because of the high numbers of people of Irish heritage who inherit haemochromatosis. As well as Genetic Haemochromatosis, Iron Overload, and Bronze Diabetes.

Very simply put hemochromatosis is a hereditary illness whereby iron levels in the blood rise over time. If uncheck this can lead to cirrhosis of the liver or even liver cancer. Fatigue is the most common symptom while women may often miss periods and men suffer from erectile dysfunction.

That being said hemochromatosis responds very well to treatment. Most common is a phlebotomy. This is where a small amount of blood is taken which helps reduce the iron levels in the patient. There are also various iron reducing medications available. However people with hemochromatosis are advised to avoid alcohol and red meat.

We are hoping to run an interview with a patient with hemochromatosis later this month to help us raise awareness and support the month. So keep an eye on the blog for updates!

In the meantime it would be great if you could share your hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) story. Please share in the comments section below. You might wish to think about some of the following questions.

a) What were the symptoms of your haemochromatosis?
b) How old were you when you were diagnosed?
c) What test were you given for HH?
d) Do other member of your family have hemochromatosis?
e) What treatments did you receive and how effective have the been?

Thanks very much in advance.

PS Interestingly Ernest Hemingway had hemochromatosis as it is rumoured did Steve McQueen.