Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin important in many of the body's functions and for proper growth, development and healing. The body excretes excess amounts of water-soluble vitamins like ascorbic acid into the urine, which means that humans need a daily supply of the vitamin. Severe vitamin C deficiency can result in a condition known as scurvy.
Role of Vitamin C
Vitamin C is important in the formation of proteins integral to the body's growth and development, like collagen and certain hormones and amino acids. Also, vitamin C is essential for wound healing and for recovery from burns. Vitamin C is also an antioxidant, helping fight off illnesses and the effects of aging, and improving the function of the immune system.
Causes of Deficiency
The main cause of vitamin C deficiency and scurvy is inadequate intake of vitamin C in the diet. Vitamin C is found mainly in citrus fruits. Other sources of vitamin C include green peppers, strawberries, tomatoes and leafy greens. According to the Merck Manual, certain conditions increase the body's daily requirement for vitamin C and can put a person at risk for vitamin C deficiency. These conditions include illnesses with fever, diarrhea, burns and smoking.
Symptoms
The initial symptoms of vitamin C deficiency include weakness, irritability, weight loss and muscle and joint aches. As the deficiency worsens and turns into scurvy, the person develops inflammation of the gums, or gingivitis, which then causes bleeding, dry and splitting hair and dry and scaly skin. Wound healing is impaired and leads to easy bruising and bleeding, including frequent nosebleeds or bleeding within the joints. Scurvy also weakens the immune system, leading to opportunistic infections.
Complications
Potential complications of long-standing vitamin C deficiency and scurvy include spontaneous bleeding around hair follicles, under the skin and within the whites of the eyes; lower extremity edema; and swelling of the joints, mimicking joint infections or septic arthritis. Gum swelling leads to the teeth becoming loose and falling out easily. Children with scurvy have thinning bones that can fracture easily. Anemia, or a low number of the cells that carry oxygen in the bloodstream, is another complication.
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