Symptoms
of haemochromatosis
Symptoms in haemochromatosis are caused by having extra iron in your body. Your doctor will be taking blood tests regularly to check for signs that your iron levels are higher than normal. But even if these are raised, you may still not have any physical signs or feel unwell because there is not enough iron to cause problems.
As with any other changes in your body, it’s sensible to speak to your doctor. People with any medical condition are just as prone to all the other usual aches and pains and ailments that everyone gets. So don’t assume that anything you notice is due to haemochromatosis – see your GP or ask your specialist.
If you do have symptoms, your doctor may say you have ‘clinical penetrance’. This just means that the haemochromatosis is showing up physically. There is more about penetrance in the previous page in this section.
Quite rarely these days, haemochromatosis can cause other medical conditions to develop. This is less common now because haemochromatosis is usually well managed with treatment as needed.
The symptoms of these other conditions are covered in the next section, in the page on Complications and related conditions.
This page covers the symptoms of adult haemochromatosis. You can read about the symptoms of juvenile and neonatal haemochromatosis on those pages.
The information on this page is for:
- Adults with haemochromatosis or suspected haemochromatosis.
- Family, friends, carers, and healthcare professionals.
Find out about haemochromatosis in babies, children and young adults
On this page:
Early symptoms of haemochromatosis
The commonest early symptoms of iron overload in haemochromatosis are:
- feeling very tired (fatigue)
- arthritic pains in your joints, most often in the ankles, hips, or wrists and hands.
Joint pain in haemochromatosis is similar to osteoarthritis in the pain it causes and how it affects your joints. But it usually starts at a younger age than you’d expect with arthritis.
These symptoms can both start quite early on, sometimes years before any other symptoms or signs develop.
Later signs of haemochromatosis
As haemochromatosis progresses, a very small number of people may develop a change in the appearance of their skin. This is actually very rare, but something that people with haemochromatosis often worry about. Iron build-up can cause the skin to look bronzed or grey. When it does happen, it’s most often on the face, hands, forearms or lower legs.
The extra iron can affect how your hormones work (the endocrine system). This can cause different symptoms in men and women. Men might have problems getting an erection (impotence). And women might stop having periods earlier than at menopause.
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This content was last reviewed: September 2025
Our expert reviewers:
We would like to thank everyone who helped with creating and reviewing this page. Including Jeremy Shearman, Consultant Hepatologist and Gastroenterologist, South Warwickshire University Foundation Trust, Sister Kim Hicks, Medical Day Unit Haemochromatosis Nurse, Royal Cornwall Hospital, Treliske, Dr Indra van Mourik, Consultant Paediatric Hepatologist (retired). And all our patient reviewers.
Liver UK thanks CSL Behring for their kind donation to support the development of this information. CSL Behring has had no influence in the initiation, development or content of this project.
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