What happens if scurvy isnt treated

If symptoms continue after a few days of dietary changes, talk with a doctor. For severe, chronic, cases of scurvy, a doctor may recommend high-doses of oral vitamin C supplements for several weeks to months. For these cases, a doctor may recommend high doses of oral vitamin C supplements for several weeks or longer. Most people begin to recover from scurvy fairly quickly after starting treatment. You should see an improvement in some symptoms within a day or two of treatment, including:.

People who smoke or have digestive conditions typically require at least 35 mg a day more than nonsmokers. Citrus fruits like oranges, limes, and lemons have traditionally been used to prevent and treat scurvy. Several other fruits and vegetables contain higher doses of vitamin C than citrus fruits. Many prepared foods, like juices and cereals, also contain added vitamin C. Vitamin C dissolves in water. Cooking, canning, and prolonged storage can greatly reduce the vitamin content in foods.

The recommended daily allowance for most people ranges between 75 and mg daily. For optimal health, it's a good idea to choose the foods that contain the most nutrients. Here are the 11 most nutrient-dense foods on earth.

Vitamin C is very important for your health, leading some to take vitamin C supplements. The vitamin C stored in your body becomes depleted over the course of one to three months. Because vitamin supplementation can help to pre-emptively avoid developing this nutritional deficiency on planned trips, scurvy is not typically associated with long stays at sea anymore. Scurvy is most common in developing countries where malnutrition is an epidemic, but it may occur in developed countries as well.

There are several predisposing factors that are associated with an increased risk of scurvy. Vitamin C is needed for the formation of collagen—a protein that makes up connective tissues in your body like skin, blood vessels, tendons, ligaments, bones, and cartilage.

With inadequate collagen , these tissues become fragile and weak. Scurvy can be diagnosed with a combination of diagnostic strategies, including medical history, physical examination, and a blood test.

Because the symptoms are vague, other, more common diagnoses may be considered before scurvy is considered. For example, your medical team may consider illnesses such as infections, hemophilia , a blood cancer like leukemia , idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura , or vasculitis.

Once you are diagnosed with scurvy, your medical team may also search for a cause. Your diet can be the reason for a vitamin C deficiency, but if you are eating enough vitamin C rich foods, a gastrointestinal problem could be causing your condition. Vitamin C blood levels are not commonly performed unless there is a specific request. However, if there is a concern that your vitamin C level could be the cause of your symptoms, a blood level of vitamin C also called ascorbic acid can be checked to confirm the diagnosis of scurvy.

A diet that is lacking in fresh fruits and vegetables oranges, lemons, potatoes, broccoli, tomatoes, spinach, and red peppers, to name a few can increase your chances of developing scurvy. If your diet seems to include an adequate amount of these foods, then your medical team may look to other causes of low vitamin C, such as gastrointestinal conditions that result in malabsorption.

Your medical team may evaluate issues such as diarrhea , irritable bowel syndrome IBS , or inflammatory bowel disease IBD. The treatment of scurvy is often simple, involving daily vitamin C supplementation for about one month or until your symptoms resolve.

And smokers also need a higher vitamin C intake because smoking reduces your vitamin C levels. To provide a reference, five servings of most fruits and vegetables provide more than mg of vitamin C.

If you cannot increase your vitamin C level through your diet, then you can take vitamin C supplements. If you are severely deficient in vitamin C, you might increase your intake of vitamin C rich foods and also take a supplement. Dosing depends on your ascorbic acid blood levels. Typically, children can take approximately to mg of vitamin C daily and adults can take between mg to mg daily.

When your vitamin C deficiency is corrected, some of your symptoms can resolve within a few days and others may not improve for weeks. Most people treated for scurvy feel better within 48 hours and make a full recovery within 2 weeks.

The GP may refer you to a specialist for treatment, support or advice. This depends on what's causing your scurvy. The best sources of vitamin C are fruit and vegetables. The best way to get enough vitamins and minerals is to eat a healthy, balanced diet. For a similar app available for Apple products, try Nutrition Info. It features a simpler design but still has the info you need when you're trying to eat healthy.

Meal Prep Monday Podcast. Trying to avoid a vitamin C deficiency? Meal prepping can help you keep stocked with home-cooked meals, making fast food and unhealthy takeout options much easier to avoid. Queue up this podcast for help getting started.

The minute episodes from personal chef and dietitian Allison Schaaf offer best practices and recipe ideas. By subscribing you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Health Topics. Health Tools. Reviewed: January 25, Medically Reviewed. The threat of scurvy speaks to the importance of vitamin C in the body. Vitamin C is a key antioxidant that plays many necessary roles, including immune system support, iron absorption, and collagen production, according to the National Institutes of Health NIH. According to the NIH, vitamin C is easy to find in fruits and vegetables, and the daily recommended amount is 75 milligrams mg for adult women and 90 mg for adult men.

But scurvy does still affect third-world countries, and is a concern for populations with poor nutrition, according to the Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center. Zive says scurvy usually presents as fatigue and inflamed gums. According to Winchester Hospital, in Massachusetts, early symptoms of scurvy include:. According to Winchester Hospital and Better Health Channel a project of the department of health in Victoria, Australia , later symptoms of scurvy include:.

Scurvy symptoms in children can be slightly different and, according to the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America, include:. According to an article published in July in StatPearls, risk factors for scurvy include:. Scurvy affects more men than women, and because vitamin C is found in whole fruits and vegetables, a deficiency is associated with poor nutrition, according to StatPearls.

Vitamin C deficiency is particularly prevalent among smokers, with vitamin C levels among smokers 33 percent lower than those of nonsmokers, research shows. Older children may experience scurvy if they have an unusual diet, perhaps because of anorexia nervosa , autism , or a developmental delay, according to the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America.

Finally, there are some health conditions that put people at a higher risk of developing scurvy, including type 1 diabetes , eating disorders , gastrointestinal issues, iron overload, restrictive diets, and allergies , according to StatPearls. Speaking of restrictive diets, following the trendy carnivore diet , which calls for eating only animal products, may lead to vitamin C deficiency. Nutrient deficiencies are a known risk of popular diets that severely restrict food groups, according to past research.