Vitamin C Deficiency (Hypovitaminosis C): Signs & Symptoms

🧭 Overview

Vitamin C keeps collagen strong, blood vessels resilient, and immunity sharp. When intake is too low for weeks to months, symptoms appear and may progress to scurvy.

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What to Look For​

🩹 Slow Wound Healing
Cuts take longer to close; old scars may feel tender or reopen.

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🦷 Gum & Mouth Changes
Swollen, spongy, bleeding gums; tooth looseness in advanced cases; mouth soreness.

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🩸 Easy Bruising & Skin Bleeding
Tiny red/purple spots (petechiae), perifollicular bleeding, and “corkscrew” hairs from fragile capillaries.

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💪 Muscle & Joint Pain
Aches, joint tenderness, and in children, bone pain/limping from subperiosteal bleeding.

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😷 Infection Prone
Weakened skin/epithelial barriers and white-blood-cell function → more frequent or severe colds/infections.

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🧠 Mood & Memory
Fatigue, low mood/irritability, “brain fog,” and concentration problems.

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Who’s at Higher Risk​

🚬 Smokers (higher oxidative stress)

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🥤 Low fruit/veg intake, restrictive diets, heavy alcohol use

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🧬 Malabsorption (e.g., IBD, bariatric surgery), chronic illness, dialysis

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👵 Older adults or those with limited food variety