Bruising Associated with Vitamin Deficiency

Some might be surprised to find out that bruising can be a sign of vitamin deficiency. Yes, that’s right, your child might be in need of vitamin C, Vitamin B-9 and B-12 and vitamin K, as these are associated with bruising easily. Once your child starts taking these vitamins as supplements, you will see that the bruising will improve.

Vitamin C helps with the body’s collagen production, boosts the immune system and serves as an antioxidant. A very powerful little vitamin, isn’t it?

This is where bruising occurs - when collagen is low and cannot help maintain and repair connective tissue, bruising becomes more evident. Being an antioxidant, it helps with eliminating harmful molecules which damage cells in our bodies (which age and degenerate tissues and blood vessels). 
If your child has a mild vitamin C deficiency, they may experience easy bruising, low immunity, joint pain and a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases. However, if your child has a severe Vitamin C deficiency, it can show itself in bleeding gums, hair, nails and teeth loss, as well as blood vessel deterioration and, the scariest of them all, heart failure.

Vitamin K helps an enzyme that is important for the coagulation cascade. It is a process where blood flow is stopped by formed clots, which is crucial when healing injuries. So if your child is deficient in Vitamin K, you can imagine it can lead to substantial bruising (due to damaged or weak capillaries) and unstoppable bleeding. Unfortunately, vitamin K deficiency is prevalent in kids, so supplementing with this vitamin can be very useful in avoiding any complications in the future. 
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Vitamin B-9 (or folic acid) and Vitamin B-12 deficiencies aren’t as common as the others described in this article, but when it happens, it leads to easy bruising as well. The deficiency can make homocysteine levels high in the blood, damaging blood vessels.