Discuss vitamin C deficiency, including its symptoms and treatment.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The early signs of vitamin C deficiency can be difficult to recognize. Two of the most notable signs of a vitamin C deficiency reflect its role in maintaining the integrity of blood vessels. The gums bleed easily around the teeth, and capillaries under the skin break spontaneously, producing pinpoint hemorrhages.
When vitamin C concentrations fall to about a fifth of optimal levels (this may take more than a month on a diet lacking vitamin C), symptoms of scurvy—the deficiency disease of vitamin C—symptoms begin to appear. Inadequate collagen synthesis causes further hemorrhaging. Muscles, including the heart muscle, degenerate. The skin becomes rough, brown, scaly, and dry. Wounds fail to heal because scar tissue will not form. Bone rebuilding falters; the ends of the long bones become softened, malformed, and painful, and fractures develop. The teeth become loose as the cartilage around them weakens. Anemia and infections are common. There are also characteristic psychological signs, including hysteria and depression. Sudden death is likely, caused by massive internal bleeding.
Once diagnosed, scurvy is readily resolved by increasing vitamin C intake. Moderate doses of 100 mg per day are sufficient, curing the scurvy within about five days. Such an intake is easily achieved by including vitamin C-rich foods in the diet.