5 ms·

Too high isn’t good either; the solution is downright medieval. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hemochromatosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20351443 htt

Too high isn’t good either; the solution is downright medieval. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hemochromatosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20351443 https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hemochromatos... https://www.webmd.com/men/features/too-much-iron-in-your-blood https://www.webmd.com/men/features/too-much-iron-in-your-blo... So don’t go gulping down the supplements all willy-nilly, either.

DelightOne 4y ago
> Treatment includes regularly removing blood from your body. Just regularly donate, no problem.
- hprotagonist 4y ago
  yup!
- seper8 4y ago
  Donating apparently also removes microplastics from your body...
  - CoastalCoder 4y ago
    I'm curious if the donated blood is processed in a way that removes those microplastics.
    - plorkyeran 4y ago
      Probably not, but if you're in need of a blood transfusion you have more immediate concerns.
  - SoftTalker 4y ago
    Any references for that? What about just drinking a lot of water so you have to pee more often?
    - robonerd 4y ago
      If there are any synthetic textiles in your home, it's probably a lost cause; plastic dust everywhere. Every time you eat, drink or breath, you'll be taking more in.
    - deluxeroyale 4y ago
      I think op might have been referring to this assuming PFAS and microplastics are all disposed off https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/world/blood-donations-remove-forever-chemicals-b2063500.html https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/world/blood...
      - seper8 4y ago
        Yes exactly :)
  - cma 4y ago
    Are they just freefloating in blood? Capillaries are tiny and I thought micro plastics were closer to 1mm than 1micron, despite the name. Capillaries are 8-10microns.
    - robonerd 4y ago
      They can get smaller than that: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microplastics#Nanoplastics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microplastics#Nanoplastics
- toast0 4y ago
  If you're diagnosed with hemochromatosis, you may not be permitted to donate; it seems to depend on your local blood banks. There's some amount of concern that because the donation is theraputic for the donor, they may not be forthcoming about other factors that should disqualify them, if present. Of course, if it hasn't been diagnosed and you're a regular donor, that's a happy accident.
  - im3w1l 4y ago
    That kinda makes sense. If you allowed them to donate even with disqualifying factors (but flushed it down the drain), it would fix the incentives. May not give enough additional blood to be worth the bother?
- retSava 4y ago
  If donating prior to high ferritin and onset of symptoms, that might be enough, but to handle the former, one needs much more frequent blood donations to push the level of stored iron level down than what donations allow. (at least in Sweden, where you can donate twice a year, but the initial treatment is biweekly iirc).
dhzhzjsbevs 4y ago
I'd hardly call a regular trip to give blood "medieval". They're not giving out leeches.
- hprotagonist 4y ago
  right; those are for cleanly healing scars. “your humours are imbalanced and you should be bled, you’ll feel better” is not far off from “your iron level is too high”, though…
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - phkahler 4y ago
    >> those are for cleanly healing scars. My go-to for that is Iodine.
    - metadat 4y ago
      I use those silicone scar strips. Wound healing technology is nearly magical these days.
    - hprotagonist 4y ago
      the normal use is reduction of venous congestion at an incision site after a major surgery, which i hope you’re not doing regularly enough to have a go-to!
      - phkahler 4y ago
        Think of it as helping tissue to find the correct shape and structure. Some claim this includes curing some cancers (skin cancer in particular). It is needed in some pathways to apoptosis.
  - yjftsjthsd-h 4y ago
    > “your humours are imbalanced and you should be bled, you’ll feel better” is not far off from “your iron level is too high”, though… The difference is that now we have both empirical evidence that it works, when it works, what the side effects are, and generally why it works. As opposed to cargo culting, poor cost/benefit analysis, and inaccurate understanding of what's actually happening.

DelightOne 4y ago

> Treatment includes regularly removing blood from your body. Just regularly donate, no problem.

hprotagonist 4y ago
yup!
seper8 4y ago
Donating apparently also removes microplastics from your body...
- CoastalCoder 4y ago
  I'm curious if the donated blood is processed in a way that removes those microplastics.
  - plorkyeran 4y ago
    Probably not, but if you're in need of a blood transfusion you have more immediate concerns.
- SoftTalker 4y ago
  Any references for that? What about just drinking a lot of water so you have to pee more often?
  - robonerd 4y ago
    If there are any synthetic textiles in your home, it's probably a lost cause; plastic dust everywhere. Every time you eat, drink or breath, you'll be taking more in.
  - deluxeroyale 4y ago
    I think op might have been referring to this assuming PFAS and microplastics are all disposed off https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/world/blood-donations-remove-forever-chemicals-b2063500.html https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/world/blood...
    - seper8 4y ago
      Yes exactly :)
- cma 4y ago
  Are they just freefloating in blood? Capillaries are tiny and I thought micro plastics were closer to 1mm than 1micron, despite the name. Capillaries are 8-10microns.
  - robonerd 4y ago
    They can get smaller than that: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microplastics#Nanoplastics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microplastics#Nanoplastics
toast0 4y ago
If you're diagnosed with hemochromatosis, you may not be permitted to donate; it seems to depend on your local blood banks. There's some amount of concern that because the donation is theraputic for the donor, they may not be forthcoming about other factors that should disqualify them, if present. Of course, if it hasn't been diagnosed and you're a regular donor, that's a happy accident.
- im3w1l 4y ago
  That kinda makes sense. If you allowed them to donate even with disqualifying factors (but flushed it down the drain), it would fix the incentives. May not give enough additional blood to be worth the bother?
retSava 4y ago
If donating prior to high ferritin and onset of symptoms, that might be enough, but to handle the former, one needs much more frequent blood donations to push the level of stored iron level down than what donations allow. (at least in Sweden, where you can donate twice a year, but the initial treatment is biweekly iirc).

dhzhzjsbevs 4y ago

I'd hardly call a regular trip to give blood "medieval". They're not giving out leeches.

hprotagonist 4y ago
right; those are for cleanly healing scars. “your humours are imbalanced and you should be bled, you’ll feel better” is not far off from “your iron level is too high”, though…
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- phkahler 4y ago
  >> those are for cleanly healing scars. My go-to for that is Iodine.
  - metadat 4y ago
    I use those silicone scar strips. Wound healing technology is nearly magical these days.
  - hprotagonist 4y ago
    the normal use is reduction of venous congestion at an incision site after a major surgery, which i hope you’re not doing regularly enough to have a go-to!
    - phkahler 4y ago
      Think of it as helping tissue to find the correct shape and structure. Some claim this includes curing some cancers (skin cancer in particular). It is needed in some pathways to apoptosis.
- yjftsjthsd-h 4y ago
  > “your humours are imbalanced and you should be bled, you’ll feel better” is not far off from “your iron level is too high”, though… The difference is that now we have both empirical evidence that it works, when it works, what the side effects are, and generally why it works. As opposed to cargo culting, poor cost/benefit analysis, and inaccurate understanding of what's actually happening.