I spent a whole winter exhausted, blaming it on short days and a bad sleep schedule. It wasn’t until my doctor asked a few pointed questions that I found out my iron was low. The clues had been there the whole time.

You can’t measure your iron at home without a blood test, but you can spot the signs that make the test worth asking for.

Signs that point to low iron

• Constant fatigue that sleep doesn’t fix, and shortness of breath from stairs that used to be easy.
• Pale or washed-out skin, especially inside your lower eyelids. Pull it down and look; it should be a healthy pink.
• Cold hands and feet when nobody else in the room is cold.
• Brittle nails, thinning hair, or a tongue that looks smoother and paler than usual.
• Cravings for ice or dirt, weird as it sounds, is a known sign of iron deficiency.

What to do about it

• See your doctor and ask for a ferritin test. The eyelid trick is a hint, not a diagnosis.
• In the meantime, eat more iron-rich food: red meat, lentils, spinach, beans.
• Pair iron foods with vitamin C, like a squeeze of lemon or a glass of orange juice, which helps your body absorb it.
• Don’t self-supplement large doses. Too much iron is its own problem, and it should be dosed by a doctor.

The tiredness lifted within a couple of weeks of fixing my diet. I just wish I’d connected the dots sooner.