Iron poisoning is an iron overload caused by a large excess of iron intake and usually refers to an acute overload rather than a gradual one. The term has been primarily associated with young children who consumed large quantities of iron supplement pills, which resemble sweets and are widely used, including by pregnant women—see overnutrition (approximately 3 grams is lethal for a 2 year old). Targeted packaging restrictions in the US for supplement containers with over 250 mg elemental iron have existed since 1978, and recommendations for unit packaging have reduced the several iron poisoning fatalities per year to almost nil since 1998. No known cases of iron poisoning have been identified that are associated with iron mining.
Read more about Iron Poisoning: Nature of Iron, Toxic Dosage, Symptoms, Treatment
Famous quotes containing the words iron and/or poisoning:
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Thorough the iron gates of life.
Thus, though we cannot make our sun
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—Andrew Marvell (1621–1678)
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—Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930)