Does A Child Eating Mud Suggest Iron Deficiency??

Posted on Tue, 22 Jul 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 22 Jul 2014 Answered on

Tue, 12 Aug 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : My 18 month old son has started to show tendency of swallowing small quantity of mud while playing in our lawn; since past 5-6 days. He enjoys playing with mud....but later while one of us is diverted towards something else; he puts a little amount into his mouth. He knows we scold him for that. Could it be due to some deficiency? Can you recommend a suitable medicine? We are based in XXXXXXX XXXXXXX Also, my baby does not drink milk. I still feed him during night. To substitue milk, I give him curds, buttermilk.

Answered by Dr. Meera Kotecha (34 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
give him iron supplements

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

Thanks for using health care magic.

Eating mud usually suggests iron deficiency. I would suggest you to give him iron supplements. Also give him food rich in iron like jaggery and green leafy vegetables in form of soup.

Eating mud may cause infection and worms. Give him syrup Albendazol 5 ml for worms.

Do not scold him for it as it may become attention seeking behaviour. Gently remove him from that place when he eats mud.

Giving curd in place of milk is fine. But both milk and curd are rich in calcium but not iron.

I hope I have helped you
Thank you
Dr. Meera kotecha

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Ashwin Bhandari