Scurvy is a disease currently rare, caused by a severe lack of vitamin C that manifests itself through symptoms such as easy bleeding of the gums when brushing teeth and difficult healing, and its treatment is done with vitamin C supplementation, indicated doctor or nutritionist.
Ascorbic acid, which is vitamin C can be found in citrus fruits like orange, lemon, pineapple and acerola, and in vegetables like potato, broccoli, spinach and red pepper. This vitamin remains in a juice for about half an hour and does not withstand heat, so vegetables rich in this vitamin should be eaten raw.
The daily recommendation for vitamin C is 30 to 60 mg, but higher intakes are recommended during pregnancy, breastfeeding, women taking the birth control pill and people who smoke. You can avoid scurvy by consuming about 10mg per day.
Symptoms of lack of vitamin C
The signs and symptoms of severe vitamin C deficiency are:
Adults:
- Easy bleeding of the skin and gums;
- Difficulty in wound healing;
- Easy fatigue;
- Pallor;
- Swelling of the gums;
- Loss of appetite;
- Deformities and dental falls;
- Small bleeding;
- Muscle pain;
- Joint pain.
Babies:
- Irritability;
- Pain in the legs to the point of not wanting to move them can generate the position of frog leg;
- Loss of appetite / difficulty gaining weight.
These symptoms begin 3 to 6 months after stopping consumption of foods rich in vitamin C and rarely occur in newborns.
The diagnosis of scurvy is made after examining the individual and reviewing eating habits. The disease can be verified by observing signs of osteoporosis such as generalized osteoporosis, scro- cubic or Fraenkel line, halo or Wimberger ring sign, and trummerfeld zone. Costal rosary and Pelkan spur may also indicate scurvy.
Learn more details of the symptoms of lack of vitamin C here.
What causes
The cause of scurvy is the lack of vitamin C in the body. The lack of this vitamin impairs the formation of collagen, which supports the skin, ligaments and cartilage, and chondroitin sulfate, which together generate the typical signs and symptoms of the disease.
The rebound spike may occur when the subject takes excessive doses of vitamin C and then stops abruptly.
Scurvy Treatment
The treatment for boar is done with the supplementation of 300 to 500mg of vitamin C per day for 3 months.
A good home treatment for scurvy is increased intake of food source of vitamin C like acerola, strawberry, pineapple, orange, lemon, celery, red pepper and others. It is recommended to take 90 to 120ml of fresh orange juice or ripe tomatoes to make, every day, for about 3 months, as a way to supplement the treatment.
