Symptoms of vitamin C deficiency

Children nowadays are generally more or less picky eaters, so parents are generally afraid that they will lack vitamins and will give them additional supplements. Among them, calcium and VC supplements are more common. VC is an indispensable vitamin for the human body. It can enhance the body's resistance, whiten the skin, and has anti-oxidation. However, too much or too little VC can have an impact on the health of the body, so VC supplementation must be done in moderation. Let's talk about the symptoms of VC deficiency.

So what are the symptoms of vitamin C deficiency?

1. General symptoms

The onset is slow, and symptoms of vitamin C deficiency may appear after about 3 to 4 months. There are no specific symptoms in the early stages, and patients often have symptoms such as pale complexion, fatigue, loss of appetite, and depression. Children may become irritable, fail to gain weight, and may have low-grade fever, vomiting, diarrhea, etc.

2. Bleeding symptoms

Skin petechiae are its most prominent manifestations. Scattered bleeding spots may appear when the patient's skin is slightly squeezed, and purpura and ecchymosis are prone to occur after the skin is bumped or compressed. As the disease progresses, patients may experience keratinization and bleeding around the hair follicles, and the hair roots may become curly and brittle. The gums are often swollen and bleeding, which can easily lead to secondary infection. Teeth may become loose and fall off due to alveolar necrosis. There may also be nosebleeds and orbital subperiosteal hemorrhage causing exophthalmos. Gastrointestinal bleeding, hematuria, intra-articular bleeding, and even intracranial hemorrhage may occur occasionally. As a result, the patient may suddenly suffer convulsions, shock, and even death.

3. Anemia

Due to long-term bleeding and the lack of vitamin C which can affect the absorption of iron, patients in the late stage are often accompanied by anemia and pale complexion. Anemia is often moderate, generally a cellular anemia with normal hemoglobin. In a series of cases, 1/5 of the patients may have megaloblastic anemia.

4. Bone symptoms

Subperiosteal hemorrhage of long bones or dislocation of the metaphysis can cause pain in the affected limb and lead to pseudoparalysis. One of the early symptoms in infancy is pain in the limbs and a piched frog position. Any movement of the limbs will cause pain and crying. This is mainly because the joint capsule is filled with bloody exudate, so the limbs can only be in a flexed state and cannot be straightened. There is obvious swelling and tenderness along the long bones of the affected limb. In a few children, the junction of the ribs and cartilage may be bulged due to subluxation of the metaphysis, arranged like beads, called "scurvy beads". Sharp protrusions may appear, and depressions can be felt on the inner side. This is different from the rickets rib beads, which are blunt and round without depressions on the inner side. Because of the pain caused by moving the ribs, the child may experience rapid and shallow breathing.

5. Other symptoms

Patients may develop edema due to water retention, and may also have symptoms such as jaundice and fever. Some patients experience decreased or even lost secretory functions of their tear glands, salivary glands, sweat glands, etc., resulting in symptoms similar to Sjögren's syndrome. Wound healing is impaired due to impaired collagen synthesis. The immune function is affected, making it easy to get infected.