Scurvy’s back! How to beat ancient Greek disease that causes horrific bleeds and skin rashes

IT sounds similar thing from the pages of a Dickens novel.

But determination are worrying signs that scurvy is rearing its caput erstwhile more.

With the cost-of-living crisis, much families than ever are struggling to afford basal items and are sacrificing much costly effect and vegetables.

Scurvy, which is caused by a deficiency of vitamin C — recovered successful effect and veg — was rife, particularly among sailors astatine sea, betwixt the 15th and 18th century.

It is considered uncommon successful modern times, with astir outbreaks owed to nutrient scarcity among refugees oregon successful war-torn areas.

But doctors are increasingly reporting scurvy successful developed countries.

The astir caller figures amusement that 188 radical were treated for scurvy successful English hospitals successful 2022, triple the 61 recorded successful 2008.

Dr Helen Wall, elder GP spouse from the NHS Oaks Family Practice successful Bolton, tells Sun Health: “Scurvy is caused by not having capable vitamin C successful your fare implicit a agelong play of time.

“Symptoms see feeling precise bushed and weak, feeling irritable, feeling sad, joint, musculus and limb symptom and swollen, bleeding, gums.

"I fishy dentists astir apt are seeing rather a spot of this.

“One of the cardinal things that is unique to scurvy is processing reddish oregon bluish spots connected the skin, usually the legs and feet.”

It comes arsenic doctors past week commented successful the diary BMJ Case Reports connected a 50-year-old antheral diagnosed with scurvy.

He had developed a tell-tale rash, described arsenic reddish pinpoints crossed his legs, and had humor successful his urine.

The unidentified antheral could not spend supplements helium had been advised to instrumentality by a doc aft having weight-loss surgery.

The squad wrote: “Further questioning revealed that helium was abbreviated of currency and neglected his diet, eating small successful the mode of effect and vegetables.

“He said that helium sometimes skipped meals altogether.”

Blood tests showed helium had nary traces of vitamin C successful his strategy astatine all.

The doctors from Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, Western Australia, said: “Scurvy is inactive seen arsenic a illness of the past, particularly successful developed countries.

“The rising outgo of surviving besides makes it harder for families to spend bully prime nutritious foods, portion determination person been galore reports of scurvy arising from complications pursuing bariatric surgery.

“Clinicians should beryllium alert of this fatal but easy curable information that whitethorn inactive hap successful this modern age.”

Other known hazard factors for the information see mental health illness, eating disorders, obesity and alcoholism.

Dr Wall says: “Vitamin C is recovered chiefly successful fruits and vegetables, and these are not foods that are easy accessible to galore of our colonisation cheaply.

'NO HOB TO BOIL VEGTABLES'

“Part of the contented is that tons of my patients unrecorded with an air fryer oregon microwave.

“They mightiness not person a moving hob to boil vegetables.”

More than 1 successful 5 Brits were surviving successful poorness successful 2021-22, according to the astir caller study by The Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Four successful 10 of those were successful “very deep” poverty, with an income mode beneath the poorness line.

But conscionable similar the Victorian era, wellness inequalities are incredibly prevalent today.

Life expectancy is already acold little successful the astir deprived parts of the UK, with radical dying astir 20 years earlier than those successful the wealthiest parts.

Signs of scurvy tin look arsenic aboriginal arsenic a period aft a regular intake of little than 10mg of vitamin C, which is indispensable for the wellness of bones, teeth and humor vessels portion besides supporting immunity and coiled healing.

Symptoms tin beryllium reversed rapidly by replenishing depleted vitamin C levels.

Similarly, a alteration successful fare tin resoluteness rickets, a bone-deforming illness caused by a deficiency of vitamin D that has besides made a comeback successful the UK successful caller years.

But erstwhile Dr Wall sees patients, she says: “One trouble I person is that erstwhile patients travel to me, often arsenic soon arsenic I commencement to speech astir fare and lifestyle, you tin astir spot their backs spell up.

“It doesn’t mean we’re blaming you oregon fobbing you off, oregon saying it’s not a aesculapian problem.

“But we cognize a immense portion of keeping america good is what we eat.

“It’s the halfway ground of our health, our immune strategy and our quality to enactment good and retrieve from illness.”

THE SYMPTOMS OF SCURVY

AND WHAT YOU CAN DO?

THE mean big aged betwixt 19 and 64 needs 40mg of vitamin C a day.

And it does not person to beryllium costly to get it successful your diet, says nutritionist and writer Rhiannon Lambert.

Rhiannon, who besides hosts the Food For Thought podcast, tells Sun Health: “Frozen vegetable options are mostly little costly and clasp overmuch of their vitamin C contented making them a large alternate for those looking to prevention money.”

Broccoli, peas, spinach and kale tin each beryllium bought frozen, which besides reduces discarded from caller vegetables going disconnected earlier you usage them.

Rhiannon says: “A 100g serving of frozen spinach tin incorporate up to 28mg of vitamin C, making it a large summation to a soup, casserole oregon stir-fry.

“Peas tin besides beryllium bought successful tins, truthful tin inactive beryllium portion of your fare if you don’t person a freezer.”

Other tinned goods precocious successful vitamin C see oranges, grapefruit oregon pineapple – but bargain them successful juice, not syrup, which is precocious successful sugar.

Rhiannon says: “Tinned fruits connection affordable, long-lasting options that tin beryllium stored for months without spoiling.

“A tiny tin of mandarin oranges tin connection up to 45mg of vitamin C, which meets the recommended regular intake for adults.”

Cooking from scratch utilizing tinned tomatoes tin up your vitamin C intake, too.

Rhiannon says: “Often little than 50p a tin, tinned tomatoes tin beryllium easy incorporated into meals similar soups, pasta dishes and stews.

“Garlic and bulb some incorporate tiny amounts of vitamin C.

“An fantabulous and often overlooked root of vitamin C is potatoes, with 1 mean murphy containing astir 20mg of vitamin C.

“Sweet potatoes tin beryllium roasted, mashed oregon utilized successful stews and curries.”

"When buying veg, spell for greenish beans, carrots, turnips and cauliflower.

Rhiannon says: “Cabbage is inexpensive – often little than 50p for a full 1 – and versatile, providing astir 32mg of vitamin C per 100g.”

‘HEALTHY FOOD TOO EXPENSIVE’

JENNY WARD made herself sick trying to spend to unrecorded aft retiring.

The 74-year-old, who received assistance from The Sun’s Winter Fuel SOS campaign, has emphysema, which she puts down to mediocre lodging and not being capable to enactment the heating on.

She’s besides been plagued by bugs arsenic a effect of a weakened immune system.

Jenny, from Wakefield, West Yorks, tells Sun Health: “I’m a miner’s daughter, I’ve ever worked and been good but I started getting bugs and being poorly due to the fact that I wasn’t capable to devour properly.

“I watched each penny. A batch of caller effect and veg was conscionable excessively expensive.

“I couldn’t spend effect and oranges to get vitamin C truthful I was utilizing herb foodstuff to effort and get the nutrients I need.

“I’ve been near with semipermanent wellness issues, I think, due to the fact that my fare was truthful atrocious portion I was awaiting pension credit.”

Jenny shopped arsenic smartly arsenic she could, buying high-protein tinned kidney beans for pennies arsenic a substitute for meat.

But she says: “A batch of my procreation unrecorded successful poorness and can’t spend the fare they should person to enactment healthy.

“It’s not conscionable pensioners that are struggling to spend groceries successful the cost-of-living situation though, it’s young people, families, mothers . . . 

“Vitamins and minerals and a bully fare shouldn’t beryllium extracurricular of what radical tin afford.

"It should beryllium a basal quality close to beryllium capable to devour good capable to enactment well.

“I’d consciousness poorly due to the fact that I couldn’t devour the close vitamins and things and that’s not right.

“It could beryllium storing up mediocre wellness for a batch of people.”