Vitamin C Deficiency and Some Facts About Scurvy
I was watching a DVD on medicine a while ago with a friend and I felt this sudden interest in the topic Vitamin C deficiency. This was quite common in many poor countries like the Philippines, India and Africa. However, lesser and lesser incidence of the disease is observed these days. When I was growing up, I had several encounters with people suffering from scurvy.
Wikipedia explained that Scurvy (N.Lat. scorbutus) is a deficiency disease that results from insufficient intake of vitamin C, which is required for correct collagen synthesis in humans. The scientific name of vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is derived from the Latin name of scurvy, scorbutus. Scurvy leads to the formation of liver spots on the skin, spongy gums, and bleeding from all mucous membranes. The spots are most abundant on the thighs and legs, and a person with the ailment looks pale, feels depressed, and is partially immobilized. In advanced scurvy there are open, suppurating wounds and loss of teeth.
Scurvy was at one time common among sailors, pirates and others aboard ships at sea longer than perishable fruits and vegetables could be stored, and by soldiers similarly separated from these foods for extended periods. It was described by Hippocrates (c. 460 BC–c. 380 BC). Herbal cures for scurvy have been known in many native cultures since prehistory. In 1536, the French explorer Jacques Cartier, exploring the St. Lawrence River, used the local natives’ knowledge to save his men who were dying of scurvy. He boiled the needles of the arbor vitae tree (Eastern White Cedar) to make a tea that was later shown to contain 50 mg of vitamin C per 100 grams. Such treatments were not available aboard ship, where the disease was most common. It was a Scottish surgeon in the British Royal Navy, James Lind who first proved it could be treated with citrus fruit in experiments he described in his 1753 book, A Treatise of the Scurvy.
In infants, scurvy is sometimes referred to as Barlow’s disease, named after Sir Thomas Barlow, a British physician who described it. (N.B. Barlow’s disease may also refer to mitral valve prolapse.) Other eponyms include Moeller’s disease and Cheadle’s disease.
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Tags: health, Nursing, nursing education, Nursing Research, personal, scurvy, vitamin c deficiency
Vitamin C is very good for gum health as well. As you noted connective tissue needs vitamin C to be healthy. I think that people should know more about vitamin C and the bodily tissues supported by it.
Thanks for posting this. I thought the information about James Lind was particularly interesting. I wonder if I can find a copy of that book somewhere?
David Snape
Author: What You Should Know about Gum Disease
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This is a pretty good summary of general information about scurvy. Last year I put together a fairly detailed article on this subject that managed to attract some readers. Many of them are asking about statistics on the modern incidence of scurvy, however, and so far I have not been able to find anything specific.
Karlonia @ Scurvy Dog’s last blog post..By: Joe Henrich
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