If you are wondering:"Scurvy - this is what a disease?", Then be sure to read our article to the end. In it, we will tell you what this ailment is. Also find out what are its symptoms and methods of treatment.
general information
Scurvy is a rather serious disease,which is caused by an acute shortage of vitamin C (or so-called ascorbic acid). It should be noted that the deficiency of this element in the human body can very quickly lead to a violation of collagen synthesis, as a result of which the connective tissue will simply lose its former strength.
Disease history
Scurvy is an ailment, the first information about whichbelong to the beginning of the 13th century. Historians have calculated that in the period from 1600 to 1800 gg. Of this disease, which usually arose on ships, about a million sailors died. These values exceeded the human losses in all battles of that time.
As for the continents, there are massivediseases took place only in isolated places, where a lot of people gathered (for example, in besieged fortresses, remote settlements, prisons, etc.).
Discovery of disease
As mentioned above, scurvy is an ailment thatis caused by a lack of vitamin C. This fact was proved only in 1932. Initially, this disease was attributed to an infectious nature. However, sailors during wandering around the world noticed that on ships where citrus fruits constituted a significant portion of the team's diet, the losses from scurvy were insignificant.
Soon, servicemen in the Navy began to receive rations, which differed significantly from the usual dinner of a military man. It included lemons, oranges and cranberries.
In 1747, after conducting the first clinicalA study by a marine hospital doctor, James Lind, proved that citrus fruits and greens are capable of preventing the development of the disease in question. The British admiral Richard Hawkins, who lost about ten thousand subordinates who died of scurvy during his entire career, spoke about the means of preventing scurvy in the same year.
When does the disease appear?
The disease of scurvy begins to develop at fullstopping the intake of ascorbic acid. As a rule, the symptoms begin to appear already on the 4th week. As for ordinary hypovitaminosis, the clinical manifestations in this case are less pronounced. They make themselves felt at a later date, namely in 4-7 months.
Main symptoms
Qinga (lack of vitamin C) in the first placecharacterized by the fragility of the vessels. As a consequence, a hemorrhagic rash appears on the human body. Also, patients often complain of excessive bleeding gums. This fact is due to the fact that collagen, in the production of which directly participates vitamin C, is an important component of the vascular walls.
As a result of such a disease a person weakensfixation of the teeth due to poor attachment of the periosteum in the wells and to the bones. In the future, scurvy (lack of vitamin C) can lead to their loss. In addition, a person has subperiosteal hemorrhage, causing very severe pain in all limbs.
It should be noted and the fact that the ailment in question contributes to a decrease in immunity and the appearance of hypochromic anemia.
Treatment process
Now you know what causes scurvy.It should be noted that finding this disease is relatively easy. For this it is necessary only to observe the manifesting symptoms. If you notice the signs described above, then your body is deficient in ascorbic acid.
Treatment of scurvy can be done by yourself,without contacting a doctor. After all, the therapy of this disease is reduced only to provide your body with a sufficient amount of vitamin C. But if you doubt that you have this particular disease, it is better to consult a doctor. The doctor will be able to quickly identify the presence or absence of this ailment and, if necessary, prescribe a vitamin complex.
Prevention of disease
Vitamins with scurvy can be purchased in pharmacies, and you can use foods that are rich in ascorbic acid.
Especially important is the prevention of this illness in winter, as well as long-term stay in those areas where it is very difficult to provide a full and balanced diet.
Daily need for ascorbic acid
Сохранение витамина С в продуктах происходит лишь subject to strict rules of their culinary processing and storage. If you are unable to obtain the required amount of ascorbic acid with food, then it is recommended to take this element in the form of pills or tablets. However, it should be noted that an overdose of vitamin C also threatens with the emergence of serious health problems. That is why it is very important to have information about the daily needs of the body in ascorbic acid. Thus, the dose for children ranges from 30 to 75 mg per day, and for adults - 50-120 mg. In addition, it is recommended to take other multivitamin complexes.
Folk remedies for scurvy
If you have such a diagnosis, you should notto postpone the treatment of this disease indefinitely. After all, the longer your body will experience a shortage of ascorbic acid, the stronger the symptoms will appear. Thus, a long-term lack of vitamin C can cause tooth decay, as well as problems with blood vessels, heart, etc.
Above, we already talked about what measuresmust be taken to overcome the aforementioned disease. If you do not want to take vitamin complexes purchased in a pharmacy, then we recommend using the popular recipes. Thanks to them, within a few weeks you will be able to notice a reduction in unpleasant symptoms.
So, consider the recipes of folk remedies against scurvy in more detail:
- To cure the disease, it is necessarytake fresh pine needles, rinse them in cool water, and then put them in a saucepan, add sugar and boil the jam. The resulting delicacy is recommended to be consumed together with tea and lemon three times a day.
- If you do not like sweets, then from the needles you cancook not a jam, but a decoction. To do this, take 30 g of well-washed pine needles, and then is filled with water in the amount of 160 ml. The resulting mixture is boiled for 20 minutes in the winter and 40 in the summer. Ready decoction must be drunk in two doses. Additionally, you can add a little fresh honey or a spoonful of sugar.
- For self-treatment of scurvy is oftenused and lemon water. To prepare such a means, 1 small fruit is squeezed into a glass. Lemon water is taken during the day. By the way, the resulting liquid can rinse and mouth.
- In case you do not have time to dolemon water, then the mentioned fruit can be consumed and just like that. To do this, it is washed, cut into slices, and then lightly sprinkled with sugar and eaten with water or tea.
In addition, when scurvy shouldeat a variety of citrus fruits for your taste (tangerines, grapefruits, oranges, etc.). You also need to include in your diet cranberries, cranberry juice, baked potatoes, fresh parsley and dill, green salad, sauerkraut and other foods high in vitamin C.
