HeartVoice

Iron deficiency (aka Low iron stores) is a major public health goal and an important aspect of care for many patients. This is normally suspected especially in patients with anaemia ( a medical term for Low haemoglobin levels ) This problem affects a large proportion of the world’s population, in some studies as much as 1 in 5 persons! A latest 2020 study in England confirmed that prevalence of iron deficiency to be higher in women than men (10. 9 % vs 6. 3%) You can get iron deficiency screening at any health screening centers (we get many such requests at integrated wellness clinic!)

To simplify medical terms, chronic venous insufficiency refers to a wide spectrum of longstanding problems with the veins (often confused with the arteries which are vessels that bring blood to the legs from the heart). The insufficiency refers to a state of reflux whereby blood is stagnant within the vein as it fails to flow back up the legs towards the heart. This most commonly occurs in the lower limbs due to effect of gravity.

This is a very good question as lumps are a very common problem encountered in general practice. You should consult your family doctor to perform an initial history taking and physical examination to better understand how serious/suspicious the lump is. The purpose of the a physical examination on a lump is to determine if the lump had grown out from the skin layer or deeper layers of the chest (aka where the likely origin of the lump is). The majority of lumps that are felt by patients arises from the skin or its deeper layers (medically called the subcutaneous tissue).