A man in his early fifties showed up at a hospital in Western Australia with a painful rash extending from his abdomen to his ankles. It had the pinpoint splotches associated with bleeding between skin layers. Doctors got to work on a diagnosis, running multiple tests for autoimmune diseases, blood disorders, and blood vessel inflammation, but they all came back negative. There were no signs of trauma, internal bleeding, or arthritis. Doctors decided to run a final test and discovered that the man had no detectable levels of Vitamin C. The culprit was scurvy, the disease that ravaged sailors from the 15th to the 19th centuries. In cases of scurvy, a severe lack of Vitamin C leads to general bodily dysfunction, which can manifest as anemia, gum disease, poor wound healing, skin hemorrhages, and general weakness. It can be fatal if left untreated. Since the human body is unable to synthesize Vitamin C itself, it must gain it from food, and fresh fruits and vegetables are good sources. Researchers suggest that the return of the disease is likely due to consumers being unable to afford fresh fruit, as well as other factors. In the case of the man in Western Australia, doctors noted that he had financial constraints that caused him to rely primarily on highly-processed foods, lacking in fruit and vegetables. Scurvy can be reversed with a regimen of Vitamin C, with patients seeing relief within as little as 24 hours.
