Vitamins and bruising

[Forrests Mom <CARLTONL@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

These are from chapter 19 on Vitamin K in "Modern Nutrition, 8th edition"
edited by Maurice Shils. Actually it is hard to find quotes because it
develops the topic slowly.

"In the early 1930's, Dam and co-workers extended their work to show that
none of the established vitamins could prevent the hemmhoragic disease and
named the new vitamin "K" (for Koagulation)." (p. 342).

"Depression of the vitamin K-dependent coagulation factors is frequently
found in the malabsorption syndromes and in other gastrointestinal
disorders (e.g cystic fibrosis, sprue, celiac disease, ulcerative colitis,
regional ileitis, and short bowel syndrome). Severe abnormalities of
caogulation with extensive bleeding are not as common in these disorders as
in biliary obstruction, but they do occur with sufficient frequency to be a
concern of physicians dealing with these patients. .... Patients with
malabsorption should be treated with all of the fat-soluble vitamins.
Vitamin K should be given orally in doses of ... 1 to 2 mg per day or
parenterally in doses of .. 1 to 2 mg per week." (p. 352).

Looking in Rosenfeld's book "Symptoms," under Bruising, I do see this: "If
you've begun to bleed easily under the skin and also develop jaundice, it's
probably due to liver disease - the liver is not making enough vitamin K to
clot your blood properly."

Vitamin C deficiency could certainly be a cause of bruising as I see that
"the true hallmark of scurvy in the adult is perifollicular hemorrhages and
perifollicular hyperkeratosis, most common on the anterior aspect of the
thorax, forearms, thighs and legs and on the anterior abdominal walls."
(Shils, p. 915).

There is a photo there of someone's legs covered with little bruises.