Vitamins are nutrients your body needs to carry out many of its metabolic functions. They also help maintain the health of many of the body's tissues, including the blood vessels. Easy bruising can result from fragile blood vessels or from the body's inability to clot off blood from the vessels located right under the skin. Two vitamins are particularly important to the health of blood vessels and the prevention of easy bruising: vitamin C and vitamin K.
Facts about Vitamin C
Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, is important for the growth, development and repair of many of the body's tissues and organs. Vitamin C is important for the production of collagen, a protein used during the repair of tendons, ligaments and blood vessels. Good dietary sources of vitamin C include citrus fruits, such as oranges, lemons and limes; green peppers; and sweet and white potatoes. Deficiencies in vitamin C can lead to decreased production of collagen, which impairs the body's ability to heal blood vessels and leads to easy bruising.
Vitamin C Deficiency
The most common cause of vitamin C deficiency is not consuming enough vitamin C-rich foods. This usually occurs among malnourished elderly adults. Symptoms include easy bruising even with light trauma, bleeding gums and loose teeth, weakness, irritability, and achy bones and joints. The easy bruising and bleeding can cause conjunctival hemorrhages, or blood spots in the whites of the eyes, and bleeding into the joints or the head.
Facts about Vitamin K
Vitamin K is an important nutrient involved the production of proteins that help in the clotting process. When a blood vessel ruptures, a complex molecular pathway takes place, with the goal of forming a clot and stopping the bleeding. Vitamin K helps make four of the proteins involved in the clotting pathway. Without vitamin K, the body is unable to form a clot, leading to easy bruising and bleeding.
Vitamin K Deficiency
Vitamin K deficiency results from poor dietary intake of foods containing vitamin K, or from conditions that interfere with the absorption of vitamin K from the digestive tract. Certain anticonvulsants, drugs to treat seizures, and antibiotics can decrease the levels of vitamin K. The most common symptoms of vitamin K deficiency are easy bruising and bleeding. This can lead to frequent nosebleeds, wounds that bleed easily or constantly, and bleeding from the digestive tract -- for example, the stomach or the intestines.
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