Scurvy

Scurvy is a disease caused by a severe lack of vitamin C in the diet. Bottle-fed infants who receive no other foods may show signs of infantile scurvy between 6 and 12 months age. But those who are breast-fed usually obtain sufficient vitamin C from the mother's milk. This is why breast-fed is very important to new-born babies.

Scurvy makes a child pale and irritable and fails to gain weight. Painful swelling in his limbs make him cry when he is moved. The adult who is affected with scurvy feels weak and short of breath. His skin may have many blue marks like bruises. The gums become spongy and bleed easily so that eventually the teeth begin to loosen.

However, scurvy is easy to cure. Just make sure that your diet is high in fruits and leafy green vegetable, supplemented by vitamin C tablets. This kind of diet can often remove all traces of the disease in less than a week.