You all must be aware of the fact take vitamin C is a very important nutrient that helps in keeping our health in good condition. Vitamin C is quite crucial for the development, growth, and repair of all body tissues. It’s also helpful in various body functions, such as creating collagen, absorbing iron, the appropriate functioning of the immune system, fast healing of wounds, and keeping cartilage, bones, and teeth healthy.
Vitamin C deficiency can lead to various health-related problems and the reasons for deficiency can be poor diet, alcoholism, anorexia, severe mental illness, smoking, and dialysis.
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The symptoms of severe vitamin C deficiency may take months to develop; there are some red flags to watch out for.
We have created a list of the seven most common signs and symptoms of vitamin C deficiency.
- Results in Rough and Bumpy Skin
Vitamin C is very helpful in keeping our skin in good condition as it plays a very important role in collagen production, a type of protein that is ample in linking tissues such as skin, hair, joints, bones, and blood vessels. If the vitamin C levels are low, a skin condition that is termed as keratosis pilaris may occur. In this condition, rough and bumpy skin occurs on the back of the upper arms, thighs, or buttocks because of the accumulation of keratin protein inside the skin pores. Vitamin C deficiency may lead to the formation of trifling acne-like bumps on the thighs, arms, and buttocks.
- Bright Red Hair Follicles
Hair follicles on our skin contain various tiny blood vessels that provide blood and nutrients to the skin. If the body is deprived of vitamin C, these small blood vessels turn flimsy and break easily, and results in small, bright red spots that start to appear near the hair follicles. This condition is termed as perifollicular hemorrhage and major sign of stark vitamin C deficiency. To solve the issues, vitamin C supplements are very helpful and solve the problem within two weeks.
- Dry and Damaged Skin
One of the major signs of Vitamin C deficiency is dry and damaged skin. Vitamin C is one of the major reasons for healthy skin and vitamin C deficiency can lead to dry and damaged skin. That is why dermatologists recommend eating fruits and vegetables for healthy skin because many fruits and vegetables contain vitamin C. It protects the skin from oxidative damage caused due to sun and pollutants like cigarette smoke or the ozone. Many times, wrinkled skin is also caused by vitamin C deficiency.
- Wounds and Cuts Take Time to Heal
Vitamin C deficiency slows down the rate of formation of collagen and it results in cuts and wounds healing slowly as compared to people with no vitamin C deficiency. Ailments like chronic, non-healing leg ulcers are suggestively more probable to be deficient in vitamin C. Vitamin C deficiency creates hindrance with tissue formation that results in wounds taking a long time to heal and it’s considered an early sign of vitamin C deficiency.
- Swollen and Painful Joints
Joints contain a lot of collagen-rich connective tissue, which can be negatively affected because of vitamin C deficiency. This deficiency, many times are quite severe and results in limping or trouble while walking along with bleeding inside the joints. Both of these ailments can be cured with vitamin C supplements and normally resolve within a week.
- Make Bones Weak
Vitamin C deficiency can create problems for bone health. Low intake of vitamin C is often associated with an augmented risk of fracture and osteoporosis. Vitamin C is significant for bone formation, and a deficit of vitamin C can upsurge the risk of developing weak and fragile bones.
- Bleeding Gums and Losing Teeth
One of the clearest signs of vitamin C deficiency is red, swollen, bleeding gums. The deficit in vitamin C makes the gum tissue weakened, and inflamed while blood vessels bleed quite often. Severe deficiency of vitamin C can even lead to tooth loss because of unhealthy gums and weak dentin, the calcified inner layer of teeth.
