scurvy

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scurvy

• mokgadi

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contents

• Intro
• What is scurvy?
• What are the causes of scurvy?
• What are the signs and symptoms of scurvy
• Who discovered the cures for scurvy
• what is the cure for scurvy?
• Who are more at risk of contracting scurvy

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Intro

• Scurvy is are very serious disease,
• It can cause weakness, bleeding.
• If you read on you will find out

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What is scurvy

• Scurvy is nothing more than a serious deficiency
  of vitamin C and leads to the formation of livid
  spots on the skin, spongy gums and bleeding from
  almost all mucous membranes. Vitamin C is
  essential for the body to manufacture collagen,
  the connective tissue that helps form healthy
  bones, teeth, and capillaries, and promotes wound
  healing.
• The spots are most abundant on the thighs and
  legs, and a person with the ailment looks pale,
  feels depressed, and is partially immobilized.
  it's easily corrected with supplements . There
  are two forms of scurvy adult and infantile.
• It is characterized by bleeding under the skin,
  and extreme weakness.

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What are the causes of scurvy

• Inadequate diet Scurvy develops when the diet
  lacks adequate amounts of vitamin C. Certain
  conditions increase the body's demand for vitamin
  C and therefore increase the risk of deficiency.
  These conditions include pregnancy,
  breastfeeding, diarrhea, inflammatory diseases,
  burns, surgery, and exposure to intense heat or
  cold.
• Alcoholism Scurvy is most oftenly found in
  alcoholic peoples.
• Stress Another important cause of scurvy is
  stress which increases the utilization of
  ascorbic acid.

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What are the signs and symptoms of scurvy

• General weakness The first signs of the disease
  are exhaustion and general weakness. At the later
  stages, there is bleeding of the gums, because
  the lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) makes the
  capillaries fragile and their rupture is common
• Loosening of Teeth It is a commonest symptom of
  scurvy. If not treated earlier, it may be lead to
  chronic condition.
• Tiredness In the deficiency of vitamin-c, there
  is a feeling of tiredness.
• Irritability
• Aches and pains Due to the deficiency of
  vitamin-c, there would be pain in different parts
  of body.
• Weak capillaries The blood capillaries become
  fragile in the deficiency of vitamin-c.
• Bleeding from old scars
• Internal bleeding occurs in the affected area of
  the body.
• Fatigue
• Anemia Due to the deficiency of ascorbic acid,
  there will be shortage of blood in the body.
• Common cold/sore throat
• Heart attack
• joint pain
• black-and-blue marks on the skin
• poor healing of bruises
• gum disease
• spongy gums
• thin hair

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Who discovered the cures of scurvy

• Actually the cures were discovered by a Scottish
  doctor called James Lind. He discovered them by
  an experiment in 1753. he got 12 sailors, divided
  them into six groups, he gave one group cider the
  other three teaspoons of vinegar each day. He
  gave a different group one orange and two lemons
  each day mustard seeds with gin myrrh and so on.
  In six days the group that had an orange and
  lemons got better, one went to work the other was
  strong enough to act as a nurse.

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What is the cure for scurvy

• Increase in intake of fresh vegetables and
  fruits, especially citrus fruits are necessary to
  treat scurvy. Additionally, adults need to
  consume around 300-1,000 mg of ascorbic acid per
  day and 50mg/day in case of infants to
  effectively treat the disease.
• Since the body does not produce vitamin C, it
  must be obtained from fruits and vegetables. Some
  excellent sources of vitamin C are oranges,
  olives, guava, green peppers, watermelon, papaya,
  strawberry, kiwi fruit, mango, honey, mango
  powder, broccoli, tomatoes, cauliflower, cabbage,
  and citrus juices or juices fortified with
  Vitamin C.
• Alma or the Indian gooseberry is one of the
  richest sources of Vitamin C, whether fresh or
  the dried, powdered form.
• Raw and cooked leafy greens (turnip, spinach),
  red and green peppers, fresh tomatoes, potatoes,
  pineapple are also rich sources of Vitamin C.
• Vitamin C is sensitive to light, air, and heat,
  so it is best to eat fruits and vegetables raw,
  or minimally cooked in order to retain their full
  vitamin C content.
• Treatment of Scurvy with vitamin C is usually
  successful, if the deficiency is recognized early
  enough. If left untreated, the condition can even
  cause death

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Who are most at risk of contrasting scurvy

• Scurvy is common in persons who follow a very
  restricted diet especially lacking in ascorbic
  acid, or who are under extreme physiological
  stress or are chronic alcoholics. Infants can
  also develop scurvy if they are devoid of
  mothers milk, and switched to top-up milk,
  without providing sufficient Vitamin C
  supplements. Babies of mothers who take extremely
  high doses of vitamin C during pregnancy may also
  develop infantile scurvy.