Showing posts with label scurvy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label scurvy. Show all posts
Category: Scurvy
Scurvy - Disease of vitamin C deficiency
Scurvy is a historically documented disease and was encountered in earlier days by sailors on long voyages foregoing fresh fruits and vegetables.
Though many animals can synthesize it in their body and are free from scurvy, unfortunately man has to depend on his food sources for vitamin C.
Health care and nutrition guidelines recommend a daily intake of 75 to 100mg of ascorbic acid (vitamin C).
Inadequate or irregular intake of ascorbic acid can lead to clinical manifestations of this disease in two to three months.
Initial symptoms of scurvy disease include lethargy, tiredness and malaise.
With chronic deficiency scurvy progresses and is characterised by spongy gums, bleeding gums, loosened teeth, bleeding beneath the skin, bleeding from the mucous membranes, extreme weakness, myalgia, anemia, pain in the bones, easy bruising and retarded wound healing, oedema, perifolicular hemorrhage and corkscrew hairs and depression.
A relationship appears to be present between alcoholism and vitamin C.
When blood levels of alcohol are high, vitamin C appears to be excreted in urine in greater quantities causing deficiency.
This can be treated by supplementation of ascorbic acid in high doses till recovery.
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Scorbutus - Scurvy symptoms and signs
The typical scurvy symptoms and signs include general weakness, painful joints and muscles, hemorrhage of gums and mucous membranes, anemia, livid spots on the legs and corkscrew hair.
The signs and symptoms of scorbutus develop after 2-3 months of severe deficiency of vitamin C.
By this time much of the body stores of vitamin C are depleted and plasma concentrations may be nil.
This may be due to non inclusion of fresh fruits and vegetables in the diet.
Scurvy (scorbutus) may also arise due to dietary restrictions in illness, alcoholism or malabsorption.
The main symptoms of scorbutus (scurvy) are the reduced ability to produce and maintain collagen, which is very much required for the connective tissue fibres, bone matrix, cartilaginous tissues, dentin and the cementing substance of the vascular endothelium.
Lacking the cementing substance, the blood capillaries become permeable to red blood cells and hemorrhage occurs in the soft tissues of gums, mucous membrane and epidermis.
The scar tissue of the old wounds, which is made up of collagen, getting affected and the wounds opening up are indications of scurvy (scorbutus).
The lack of sufficient production of collagen causes bone formation to stop whereas the bone absorption goes on causing bone abnormalities, swollen joints, muscular and bone pains and loosened teeth.
In children there may be painful swelling in the legs followed by nausea, diarrhea and fever as scurvy (scorbutus) signs and symptoms.
The loss of blood due to hemorrhage, gastrointestinal bleeding and diffusion of blood into skin leads to anemia.
Lack of vitamin C may further alter the metabolism and absorption of iron and folic acid and increase the anemia and cause scurvy jaundice.
Scurvy symptoms and signs like bleeding of the conjunctiva in the eyes, dryness of eyes and blurring of vision may be encountered.
In scurvy, breathlessness, rapid heart rate and chest pain may be experienced and may lead to heart failure.
The manifestations of scurvy vary from person to person and many of the symptoms listed below may be experienced.
Signs and symptoms of scurvy
- tiredness
- malaise
- exhaustion
- fainting
- lethargy
- uneasy feeling
- irritability
- nausea
- loss of appetite
- weight loss
- livid (black-blue) spots on the legs (typical of scurvy)
- weak capillaries
- bleeding into skin
- easy bruising on small abrasions
- swollen and bleeding gums
- bleeding mucous membrane
- fingertip bleeding
- loosening of teeth
- dental cavities
- bleeding spots around the hair follicles
- corkscrew hair
- thinning of hair
- dry skin
- dry and red eyes
- bleeding in the eyes and eyelids
- bulging eyes
- gastrointestinal bleeding
- delay in the healing of wounds
- opening up of old wounds and bleeding
- rectal bleeding
- anemia
- jaundice
- painful muscles and bones
- swollen joints
- sore and swollen joints
- lung and kidney problems
- signs of neuropathy
- convulsions
- fever
- bilateral swelling in the legs
- general oedema
- depression
Signs and symptoms of scurvy in children
- painful swelling of legs
- signs of irritability
- anaemia
- bleeding in the ends of long bones
- vomiting
- diarrhea
- fever
- impaired growth of bones
Current topic:
Signs and symptoms of scurvy.
Scurvy treatment - Prevent scurvy
Home > Scurvy treatment and prevention
The scurvy treatment is simple and easy and in about a month of treatment complete recovery can be achieved. Our present food habits are to be evaluated and corrected to prevent scurvy.
Scurvy treatment
Treatment of scurvy involves intake of vitamin C rich citrus fruits, vegetables and vitamin C supplements. The medication regime for scurvy affected person is usually as follows.- The treatment involves intake of vitamin C at the rate of 100 mg 5-6 times daily for about 8-10 days followed by reducing the dosage gradually to 100 mg daily till all symptoms resolve.
- Alternatively one gram of ascorbic acid per day is given in split doses for about 4-5 days followed by 400-500 mg/day in split doses for 7 days. Then the dose is reduced gradually to 100 mg per day.
- For infants 50 mg/day of ascorbic acid must be given till complete recovery.
- The doses have to be divided and restricted to 100 mg at one time as absorption in the intestine is limited.
- Patients with gastrointestinal malabsorption problems may require administration of supplements through parenteral route.
- The patient must be given fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin C during and after the course of treatment to avoid recurrence.
- If neglected this disease is usually fatal.
The scurvy treatment responses
- *If detected early and proper action taken, recovery is complete and is usually successful.
- *The response and recovery from scurvy is usually very fast.
- *The hemorrhage of the gums and mucous membranes stops usually within 24 hours from the first step taken.
- *The bleeding into skin stops in about 48 hours and resolving of livid spots occurs in two weeks.
- *The muscle pain and bone pain goes away in two weeks.
- *Most of the symptoms of scurvy go away in a month time and recovery is total in most of the cases.
>Prevent scurvy
- *To prevent the chances for developing scurvy we have to eat healthy and balanced food.
- *In order to prevent the disease our diet must contain sufficient amounts of fruits, especially citrus fruits and vegetables which are rich in vitamin C.
- *Light, heat and air destroy the ascorbic acid and to minimize loss we should consume fresh food; we should not over-cook the food.
- *Wherever and whenever it is possible we should consume raw vegetables and fruits to prevent the disease.
- *Pregnant women require more supplies of vitamin c and sufficient supplements must be taken to prevent the development of this disease.
- *The requirement of vitamin C in infants is comparatively high and the nursing mother should take proper food and supplements to prevent it in infants.
- *Infants who are not breast-feeding and relying on cow milk run the risk of developing the deficiency as cow milk is poor in ascorbic acid and pasteurization destroys it. Hence supplements must be given to prevent scurvy.
- Proper balanced nutrition containing sufficient vitamin C prevents scurvy and is the treatment.
Scurvy causes
Signs and symptoms
Foods - Sources
Current topic:
Scurvy treatment and prevention.
What's scurvy - Definition - Causes
Home > Scurvy definition and its causes
Scurvy disease is an adverse health condition due the deficiency of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in diet.
What's scurvy and its definition
Definition: It is the fatal disease due to lack of/insufficient intake of ascorbic acid in diet leading to spongy gums, loosening of the teeth, livid spots formation on the skin , bleeding from most of the mucous membranes and bleeding into the skin.
Infantile scurvy definition: Infantile scurvy is an acute form (also called as Barlow's disease) affecting malnourished children and causes subperiosteal hemorrhages, paleness, bad breath, coated tongue and diarrhea.
Causes of scurvy disease
As described earlier the main reason for this condition is the diet deficient in vitamin C and its malabsorption.- Dietary deficiency of ascorbic acid may be due taking diet poor in this vitamin. Diet lacking fresh fruits and vegetables leads to the ailment.
- The process of food preparation sometimes leads to loss of ascorbic acid and is one of the causes of this disease. Food preservation and storage method also leads to this condition.
- Infantile scurvy is sometimes found in babies, whose mothers had taken very high doses of ascorbic acid during pregnancy.
- Infants who are not breast-fed if not given vitamin C supplements can develop the condition.
- Persons with digestive insufficiency and elderly persons with impaired digestion develop deficiency of vitamin C.
- Alcoholics due to impaired absorption can develop the deficiency of ascorbic acid.
- Persons under high stress and bedridden persons have the possibility of developing this ailment.
Though there are many causes for acquiring the scurvy disease, the definition of what's it, gives us clue about the treatment and cure by supplementing the diet with vitamin C.
Related topics:
Signs and symptoms
Treatment, cure and prevention
Foods - sources
Current topic:
Definition of scurvy and its causes.
Related topics:
Signs and symptoms
Treatment, cure and prevention
Foods - sources
Current topic:
Definition of scurvy and its causes.
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