What is scurvy? What causes scurvy?

2078 views

Scurvy is a disease caused by a diet that lacks vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Patients develop anemia, debility, exhaustion, edema in some parts of the body, and sometimes ulceration of the gums and loss of teeth.

The name scurvy comes from the Latin scorbutus. We have known about the disease in humans since ancient Greek and Egyptian times. This disease commonly is associated with sailors. In the 16th to 18th centuries they navigated long voyages without enough vitamin C and frequently perished from the condition. Modern cases are extremely rare.

Humans cannot synthesize vitamin C, which is necessary for the production of collagen and iron absorption. We have to obtain it from external sources. I.e. from fruits and vegetables, or some foods which are fortified with vitamin C in order to prevent the vitamin C deficiency known as scurvy.

Vitamin C deficiency is especially dangerous for the fetus (developing baby in the womb). Researchers from the University of Copenhagen reported in the journal PLOS ONE that pregnant women with a vitamin C deficiency can have babies whose brain did not develop properly.

Who gets scurvy?

Though it is a very rare disease, it still occurs in some patients. Usually elderly people, alcoholics, or those that live on a diet devoid of fresh fruits and vegetables. Similarly, infants or children who are on special or poor diets for any number of economic or social reasons may be prone to scurvy.

What causes scurvy?

The primary cause is insufficient intake of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). This may be due to ignorance, famine, anorexia, restrictive diets, or difficulty orally ingesting foods. Historically, scurvy was the result of long sea voyages where sailors did not bring along enough foods with vitamin C.

What are the symptoms of scurvy?

The symptoms may begin with appetite loss, poor weight gain, diarrhea, rapid breathing, fever, irritability, tenderness and discomfort in legs, swelling over long bones, bleeding, and feelings of paralysis.

As the disease progresses, a scurvy victim may present bleeding of the gums, loosened teeth, petechial hemorrhage of the skin. And mucous membranes, bleeding in the eye, proptopsis of the eyeball, constochondral beading, hyperkeratosis, corkscrew hair, and sicca syndrome.

Infants with scurvy will become apprehensive, anxious, and progressively irritable. They often will assume the frog leg posture for comfort when struck with pseudoparalysis. It is common for infants with scurvy to present subperiosteal hemorrhage, a specific bleeding that occurs at the lower ends of the long bones.

How is scurvy diagnosed?

Physicians initially will conduct a physical exam, looking for symptoms described above. Actual vitamin C levels can be obtained by using laboratory tests that analyze serum ascorbic acid levels. Sometimes, radiological procedures are ordered for diagnostic purposes and to see what damage scurvy has already done.

How is scurvy treated?

The disease is treated by providing the patient with vitamin C, administered either orally or via injection. Orange juice usually functions as an effective dietary remedy, but specific vitamin supplements are also known to be effective.