Scurvy facts for kids

Photo of the chest cage with pectus excavatum and scorbutic rosaries.

Scurvy is a sickness that happens when your body doesn't get enough vitamin C. This vitamin is super important for staying healthy! Luckily, scurvy can be stopped and even cured easily. In the past, many sailors got scurvy because they didn't have fresh fruits on long trips. Today, it's much rarer.

People with scurvy might get spots on their skin, especially on their legs. Their teeth can become loose or even fall out. They might also bleed from their gums, nose, or mouth. Someone with scurvy often looks pale, feels tired, and has sore joints, making it hard to move.

What Scurvy Looks Like

Scurvy symptoms can start slowly. Here's what you might notice:

Early Signs

• Losing your appetite (not wanting to eat)
• Feeling a bit sad or down
• Losing weight or not growing
• Having diarrhea (loose poop)
• Breathing very fast
• Having a fever (high body temperature)

Later Signs

• Feeling angry or easily annoyed
• Having pains and tenderness in your legs
• Finding it hard to move (like a weak feeling)
• Having swelling in your arms and legs
• Bleeding from your mouth, nose, or gums

Why People Get Scurvy

Scurvy happens when your body doesn't get enough vitamin C. This can be for a few reasons:

• Not eating enough foods that have vitamin C.
• Going on a long trip, like a sea voyage, where there's no fresh food available.
• Not having enough food to eat at all, like during a famine.
• Over-cooking foods with vitamin C, which can destroy the vitamin. For example, boiling fruit juice for too long.

How Scurvy is Treated

Scurvy is usually easy to treat. Doctors can help in a few ways:

• Eating vitamin C pills or getting a vitamin C shot (injection). Shots almost always cure scurvy in babies quickly.
• Drinking orange juice is another good treatment, especially for babies. Before vitamin C was discovered, this was the main way to treat scurvy.

When someone gets help for scurvy, they usually feel much better very fast. Babies often start eating again after just a day or two of treatment. Most symptoms get better within about seven days.

Getting Vitamin C from Food

Eating enough vitamin C helps to prevent scurvy. The amount of vitamin C a person needs changes with their age. Pregnant and breastfeeding women also need different amounts.

Here's how much vitamin C is suggested each day:

• Babies: 30–40 mg
• Children and adults: 45–60 mg
• Pregnant women: 70 mg
• Mothers who are breastfeeding: 90–95 mg

Many yummy foods have a lot of vitamin C. Try to eat these regularly:

• Citrus fruits like oranges and limes
• Berries
• Cantaloupe
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Cabbage
• Spinach
• Potatoes
• Tomatoes
• Strawberries

Images for kids

• 

  X-ray of the knee joint (arrow indicates scurvy line).

• 

  James Lind, a pioneer in the field of scurvy prevention

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  Page from the journal of Henry Walsh Mahon showing the effects of scurvy, from his time aboard HM Convict Ship Barrosa (1841/2)

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  A child presenting a "scorbutic tongue" due to vitamin C deficiency.

• 

  A child with scurvy in flexion posture.

See also

In Spanish: Escorbuto para niños