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Isolated woman with mobility issues found to have extremely rare scurvy
A 65-year-old woman battling mobility issues and social isolation was found to have scurvy, a condition that was extremely common among sailors and pirates in the 18th century.
In the modern age, we constantly hear about the horrific natures of conditions like cancer and obesity, but there’s a big wide world out there full of little-known health conditions. But one example could be the syndrome that makes you drunk despite not consuming alcohol.
Scurvy is the result of a severe vitamin C deficiency
If you’ve watched Pirates of the Caribbean then you’ll no doubt be somewhat familiar with scurvy, a condition that many sailors experienced a few hundred years ago. It’s not quite as extinct as pop culture has led us to believe, with a recent case study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal finding a woman in her 60s with the condition.
What initially presented as mobility issues in the hospital unraveled into a complicated mystery with scurvy at its center. The eventual diagnosis started when the unnamed woman witnessed unusual skin discoloration on both thighs, which doctors incorrectly diagnosed as a fungal infection.
Later at the hospital, doctors noted bruise-like patches on her groin and upper legs, and reddish-purple spots around her hair follicles. They soon realized it was a serious vitamin C deficiency, with tests confirming that there was practically zero presence of the vitamin in her body.
Scurvy is nasty, but it can be easily avoided
Serious cases of scurvy can cause everything from bleeding gums and loosened teeth to bleeding under the skin. Thankfully, it’s easily avoided if you follow your parent’s age-old advice – eat your fruits and vegetables!
The woman in the case study suffered the vitamin deficiency because of a combination of mobility issues and a poor diet. Because she was unable to do grocery shopping her meals were primarily comprised of canned soups, tuna fish, white bread, and processed cheese.
This case presents a complex example of food insecurity manifesting as an uncommon diagnosis, said Dr. Sarah Engelhart, a general internist at Mount Sinai Hospital and the University of Toronto, in a media release. A unifying diagnosis was uncovered only after a detailed assessment of her social and dietary history.
Though easily avoidable with a proper diet, there are communities all over the world that don’t have access to proper resources. In the US alone, 5.9% of the population have dangerously low levels of vitamin C, putting them at risk of scurvy.
There have also been reported cases in low-income areas of the world, with a particularly nasty breakout occurring in Afghanistan in 2002.
