Because of the chemical properties of iron, it cannot be broken down and eliminated from the body. The iron accumulates in the liver and other major organs. Most often this is a silent disorder in younger years, rarely exhibiting any symptoms. As iron slowly accumulates, insidious signs and symptoms can suggest many other complaints, such as the early onset of arthritis or stomach complaints. All of these symptoms may or may not be present in one individual.
Many sufferers are still undiagnosed.
A simple inexpensive blood test will diagnose Haemochromatosis. The test is for iron studies. If these tests are elevated on more than two occasions and haemachromatosis is suspected, then a liver biopsy is performed to stage the disorder. This disorder will prove to be one of the most common genetic inherited disorders of this century. The prediction is that 1 person in every 300 of white Australian and Northern European populations will have haemachromatosis requiring treatment.