I read a study that iron supplements may help adhd. my son, 4, has adhd and on no meds, and his iron has tested low, dark circles under eyes. try it?

Not the best answer: I saw the big study in "pediatrics" which only indicated that adhd kids are more likely to be iron deficient; i figured this meant kids carrying the diagnosis were eating less nutritious diets for whatever reason and this wasn't the cause. The smaller recent study just showed fixing true iron deficiency improves behavior -- no surprise. Junior deserves specialist management rather than "pop" rx.

Yes, but...: If your son has an iron deficiency anemia, he should be treated by his pediatrician or a ped. Hematologist - and if iron supplementation is indicated, then you should follow that advice. However, I am not aware of any benefit of using iron to treat adhd - he needs to be assessed by a child psychiatrist, who can review with you the accepted options for treating adhd.

Handle With Care!!: I'm sure you'd want no harm to come to your son. For this reason you wouldn't want to give him iron supplements w/out his pediatrician's supervision & monitoring. You might inadvertently give him too much. Our bodies do not excrete excess iron & and too much iron in the body can result in "iron overload" or "hemochromatosis." among other things iron overload can cause diabetes & liver damage.