FEELING a little funny?

It may be your Irish heritage and no...we don't mean the humour.

Hemochromatosis, a potentially fatal but easily treated genetic disorder is found to be quite commonplace in Warwick, owing to its strong Irish lineage.

Dr Lynton Hudson estimates about 1% of the Warwick population would suffer from excess iron while Australia-wide that rate sits slightly lower at 0.3%, according to an independent review published on the Australian Prescriber.

"We pick it up in blood tests early on and here in Warwick we have a heightened awareness of it," Dr Hudson said.

The local doctor said the condition, which causes a high level of iron in the blood, is most likely to be found in those of Irish descent.

"It has mainly Celtic bases, Irish, Scots, Cornish and Welsh," he said.

"In simple terms you need both parents to carry the gene for hemochromatosis to occur; if it's one parent you simply become the carrier.

"The issue in Warwick is that because a lot of the original family groups inter-married, this gene came from both sides."

The condition, which usually presents itself in the late 30's, 40 and 50s, is caused by a genetic error of iron metabolism leading to increased intestinal iron absorption.

"I would say around 10% of the population carries the gene," Dr Hudson said.

Warwick Historical Society president Janice Flood said Warwick's Irish and Celtic past had always been a strong one.

"Warwick has a real settled population, if you look back far enough most of the families here come from the same areas of Ireland and haven't moved away," she said.

As one of the first settlement areas to be developed outside of the cities, skilled agricultural workers were in demand.

"If you wanted somebody who could farm and somebody who knew their trades you couldn't do better than the Irish," Mrs Flood said.

"The Irish were known for having large families so the population has always been constant," she said.

The daughter of a full-blooded Irish woman and a hemochromatosis sufferer herself, Janice keeps her iron levels down by giving blood regularly.

"There aren't many foods that are going to make too much of a difference, so I eat normally and donate blood," she said.

High iron complications

Common symptoms...

• Fatigue, weakness and lethargy
• Joint pains leading to osteoarthritis

Other symptoms...

• Diabetes
• Liver disorders, enlarged liver, cirrhosis
• Decrease in body hair
• Discolouration or bronzing of the skin