Susan
When I was a child, I had constant nosebleeds (like two a week, miniumum). I had a friend (thall. minor) who also experienced frequent nosebleeds when he was a child. My nephew, who also has thallesemia minor, bled when he was a newborn. The doctors searched for the reason for this and the answer was- "thallesemia minor." He also is prone to illness. For myself, I had a tendency to get sick easily, run down easier and I needed more sleep than the rest of the kids. I'm still like that, unfortunatley. My son also has beta thallesemia (no frequent nosebleeds though), but he is prone to getting rundown, gets sick easily, and needs more sleep than a lot of folk. I've read that what we have is considered to be "mild anemia" and that we don't have the "reserve of red blood cells" that most folk have. That would seem consistent with getting tired easier, etc., and if run down, could result in being prone to infection, etc., IMHO. I was warned about taking iron in excess, but a good steak, at times, or loads of garlic, seems to really lift my symptoms. Course you can't do that every day! Hope this helps! Susan