Bruises as a Symptom of a Serious Condition: Scurvy
A 37-year-old woman thought her bruises were due to using a massager, but the cause was stranger than expected. In a recent report, doctors documented that the woman was suffering from scurvy.
The culprit was different
According to the report, the woman went to the emergency room after experiencing acute pain, swelling, and bruising on the upper part of her left knee, symptoms that started after using an electric massager in the area. She had a genetic mutation that increased her risk of blood clots and was treated with anticoagulants. Additionally, she had very heavy menstrual periods. Anyone could injure themselves by applying too much pressure with a massager, and since initial tests did not find any other reason for her symptoms, she was sent home and told to stop using the massager.
However, a few weeks later, she had to go to the emergency room again because new symptoms appeared: dizziness and fatigue. She was hospitalized, and doctors suspected she was suffering from iron-deficiency anemia. She was then sent home with prescriptions for iron pills and weekly intravenous iron infusions.
Uncommon, but it exists
Thankfully, two days later, she was able to leave the intensive care unit, and shortly after, she also left the hospital. In the following months, her health improved, and subsequent tests showed that her heart problems had also been resolved.
Thanks to the general knowledge that we need regular doses of vitamin C in our diet, scurvy is no longer the fatal danger it was centuries ago. However, doctors occasionally come across a case of scurvy. There are also studies showing that cases of scurvy have been increasing in the U.S. lately, particularly in vulnerable groups such as children with sensory issues, the elderly, and people who do not consume fruits and vegetables.
Nevertheless, this was one of the strangest cases because pulmonary hypertension usually has nothing to do with scurvy. The authors of the report point out that diagnosing scurvy can often be challenging because, as in this case, the initial signs are usually non-specific symptoms, which could potentially have various causes. Therefore, despite its rarity, doctors hope that their report will provide valuable information to other colleagues that cases of scurvy still exist.
