Treatments For Scurvy

When individuals hear the word ‘scurvy,’ visions of pirates with peg legs, maps to buried treasure, walking the plank, and sailing the high seas in a grand ship tend to come to mind. While these pirates are the work of television and movies, their association with scurvy isn’t too far from the truth. Namely, scurvy is an affliction that has been around since the time of the ancient Greeks and Egyptians, though it became more prevalent with sailors in the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries. Scurvy is the name for a severe vitamin C deficiency that can lead to anemia, exhaustion, spontaneous bleeding, leg pain, swelling, and loss of teeth. It can affect anyone, not just pirates and sailors, and is fatal if left untreated. It is simple to treat, thankfully. Get to know the major treatment options for scurvy now.

Recommended Vitamin C Dosage

Modern cases in the United States are rare but have happened throughout history and still occur in malnourished parts of the world or following times of conflict. For example, cases of scurvy followed the Irish Potato Famine, the American Civil War, and (most recently) the War in Afghanistan in 2002.

Infants, formula fed or breastfeeding, need up to fifty milligrams of vitamin C per day while toddlers (ages one to three years) should have fifteen milligrams. Children and teens should consume between twenty-five and seventy-five milligrams per day and adults up to ninety milligrams. Exceptions to this are pregnant women and smokers, who should consume more than the recommended dosage.

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Injections Of Vitamin C

Vitamin C is a nutrient that helps the body produce collagen and absorb iron. Early signs of vitamin C deficiency are weight loss, fatigue, and irritability, which can appear as in as early as eight weeks. Worsening symptoms may be corkscrew hairs, shortness of breath, mood changes, fever, jaundice, and convulsions. Additionally, studies have shown a lack of vitamin C during pregnancy can lead to problems with fetal brain development.

They go on to say treatment involves administering vitamin C by mouth or by injection using the following chart at one to two grams per day for two or three days, five hundred milligrams for the next seven days, and one hundred milligrams for one to three months.

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