Healthbeautyidea.com – Vitamin K deficiency is usually experienced by newborns. However, this condition can also be experienced by older persons, you know. What are the Vitamin K Deficiency Symptoms?
Vitamin K plays an important role in blood clotting. Clotting is a process that helps prevent excessive bleeding, both inside and outside the body.
Vitamin K has several forms, but there are two types that are most commonly found in the human body, namely vitamin K1 and K2. Vitamin K1 is obtained from green vegetables and some other vegetables. While vitamin K2 is mostly obtained from meat, cheese, eggs, as well as produced by bacteria in the intestines.
Deficiency of vitamin K in older persons is rare. This condition is more commonly experienced by newborns.
Vitamin K Deficiency Symptoms
Although relatively rare, children and older persons are equally at risk of vitamin K deficiency. People with a severe vitamin K deficiency can experience rapid bone loss, especially since vitamin K is indispensable for bone density. Other health problems that can arise are:
Blood on Wounds Difficult to Clot
The most striking sign of a person with vitamin K deficiency is that bleeding in wounds is difficult to stop or takes longer. If so, the blood will continue to flow and result in the body losing a lot of blood. This condition is extremely dangerous and life-threatening.
Wounds that are difficult to dry
Wounds that are difficult to dry is one of Vitamin K Deficiency Symptoms. Vitamin K deficiency can inhibit the blood clotting process. This can be seen when you have a wound on the skin. When the body does not have enough vitamin K, the wound will be difficult to dry and even bleeding will be difficult to stop.
Vitamin K acts in harmony with enzymes necessary for the synthesis of prothrombin, a protein involved in blood clotting. When the wound does not clot quickly, the body can lose a certain amount of blood that can be life-threatening.
Bleeding
One common sign of vitamin K deficiency is the occurrence of abnormal blood production that leads to bleeding. The usual bleeding is nosebleeds or bleeding gums. In extreme cases, bleeding can occur in the gastrointestinal tract.
The fetus does not develop
The fetus does not develop is one of Vitamin K Deficiency Symptoms. Vitamin K deficiency can also adversely affect the health of the fetus. Organ growth becomes disrupted and as a pregnant woman, you will be susceptible to internal bleeding.
Blood clotting
In addition to bleeding, blood clotting can also occur in those who are deficient in vitamin K. Because vitamin K deficiency is able to cause a decrease in blood prothrombin levels that are useful to normalize the blood.
Read also:
How To Prevent A Blood Clot
Hardening of the arteries
Vitamin K deficiency is able to cause excessive calcium deposition, especially in soft tissues. It is capable of causing hardening of the arteries.
Loss of bone strength
Vitamin K also plays an important role in bone health. Vitamin K plays a central role in the metabolism of calcium, the main mineral found in bones and teeth. Vitamin K2 activates the binding action of calcium from two proteins – the matrix of GLA proteins and osteocalcin. All of them help build and maintain bones.
When the body is deficient in vitamin K, the bones will lose their strength. This makes the bones weaker and more brittle.
5 Other symptoms
- Blood in the urine.
- Anemia.
- Excessive deposition of calcium in soft tissues.
- Hardening of blood vessels or calcium-related problems.
- Alzheimer’s disease.
Symptoms of vitamin K deficiency can be prevented by following the right diet. Diets rich in vitamin K include green leafy vegetables, eggs, and soy.
Patients who experience symptoms of vitamin K deficiency and are shown to be deficient can also take oral supplements after consulting a doctor.
