A Vitamin Deficiency & Skin Sores Not Healing

Your skin acts as a barrier to separate your delicate internal organs from the harsh environmental conditions outside your body. Over the course of your lifetime, you will likely experience several skin lesions and sores, which typically heal quickly. Persistent sores that do not heal often indicate the presence of an underlying condition, and can develop due to vitamin deficiencies.

Skin Healing Process

Following an injury, tissues within your skin respond to help close the wound, since an open sore provides a site of entry for infectious particles. The first stage in the healing process is the formation of a blood clot, which stops the bleeding. Over the next several days, your skin cells proliferate and migrate to the wound, eventually developing into mature skin cells. Most wounds also lead to the formation of fibrous scar tissue, which can range in size depending on the severity of the cut. Your skin cells' ability to proliferate and form new tissue in response to injury, as well as the synthesis of scar tissue, proves essential to wound healing.

Vitamin C

A deficiency in vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, can impede the healing process. Vitamin C allows your skin to form new collagen, a protein abundant in both healthy skin and scar tissue. The synthesis of collagen provides a framework upon which your skin can heal itself, and the production allows for the synthesis of strong skin and scar tissue. As a result, people suffering from a vitamin C deficiency experience impaired wound healing and might develop a reopening of old wounds due to a loss of collagen.

Vitamin A

A deficiency in vitamin A can also impair proper wound healing, leading to the development of skin lesions that don't heal. Vitamin A helps to promote the proliferation of your skin cells, helping specialized epithelial cells colonize a wound and contribute to wound healing. It also works together with vitamin C to support collagen synthesis, contributing to the new skin tissue. Failure to consume enough vitamin A can therefore hinder your skin's ability to respond to injury, and your body might not be able to heal skin sores.

Intake Recommendations

Consuming enough vitamin A and C helps support proper wound healing, to allow your body efficiently respond to skin injury. In general, women should consume approximately 700 mcg of vitamin A and 75 mg of vitamin C, according to the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University. Men require slightly larger amounts of each vitamin: 900 mcg and 90 mg of vitamins A and C, respectively. If you're interested in taking vitamin A or C supplements to promote wound healing, you must first consult a physician, since excessive intake of either vitamin can cause side effects.