Health encyclopaedia

Health encyclopaedia - Alphabetical Topic List

Scurvy

Scurvy is a deficiency disease caused by inadequate vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in the diet. Before people realised that the vitamin was important, scurvy was most strikingly evident in seamen on long voyages with a diet of salt pork and sea biscuits.

Today, it is comparatively rare but still occurs in people in poor circumstances, especially older people living alone on a poor diet. Signs of scurvy will appear one to three months after intake of a source of vitamin C stops. The exact period depends on how much vitamin C the body had previously stored.

• Symptoms
• Causes
• Diagnosis
• Prevention
• Treatment

• SARSScabiesScarlet feverScarsSchizophreniaSciaticaScoliosisScurvySeasonal affective disorderSecond opinionSelf-injurySeptic shockSexual health clinicsSexually transmitted infectionsShinglesShort-sightednessSick building syndromeSickle-cell anaemiaSinusitisSjogren's syndromeSlapped cheek syndromeSleep apnoeaSlipped discSmear testSmoking (quitting)SnoringSore throatSpina bifidaSpinal muscular atrophySports injuriesSprainsSquintStaphylococcal infectionsSterilisationStillbirthStings, insectStings, marine creaturesStreptococcal infectionsStressStretch marksStrokeSubarachnoid haemorrhageSubdural haematomaSudden infant death syndromeSuicideSunburnSupraventricular tachycardiaSyphilis

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