Vitamin K Deficiency Symptoms | Perfect Diet Way

Vitamin K Overview

There are two major kinds of Vitamin K. Vitamin K1 and Vitamin K2. Vitamin K1 obtains from plants, especially leafy green vegetables like spinach and kale. And Vitamin K2, which works similarly to K1, is created naturally in the intestinal tract.

Vitamin K performs an important role in coagulation, also known as blood clotting. Clotting is a process that helps prevent excessive bleeding both inside and outside the body.
The Human body needs vitamin K in order to produce the proteins that go to work during the clotting process. If you are vitamin K deficient, then your body does not have enough of these proteins. The major sign of vitamin K deficiency is bleeding too much.
It is Scientist’s believe that vitamin K helps bones grow and stay healthy, but they continue to study that relationship.

Vitamin K Deficiency

Vitamin K deficiency is quite rare in adults because many of the foods we eat contain excess amounts of K1, and because the body makes K2 on its own. Additionally, the body is good at recycling its existing supply of vitamin K. But some conditions and drugs can interfere with vitamin K absorption and creation, making it possible to become deficient.
Vitamin K deficiency is much more common in newborns. In newborns, the condition is called VKDB, for vitamin K deficiency bleeding.

Vitamin K Deficiency Symptoms

One of the major Vitamin K Deficiency Symptoms is excessive bleeding. Keep in mind that bleeding may happen in areas other than at a cut or wound site. The bleeding may also be apparent if someone:

• Gets blood clots underneath their nails.
• Bruises easily.
• Bleeds in mucous membranes that line areas inside the body.
• Produces stool that looks dark black and contains some blood.

In newborns, the Vitamin K Deficiency Symptoms are:

• Bleeding in the skin, nose, the gastrointestinal tract, or other areas.
• Sudden bleeding in the brain, which is extremely dangerous and life-threatening.
• Bleeding from the area where the umbilical cord is removed.
• Bleeding from the penis if the baby has been circumcised.

These were some major Vitamin K Deficiency Symptoms.

Vitamin K Deficiency Causes

Although Vitamin K Deficiency is not very common in adults, people are at increased risk if they:

• Are taking antibiotics.
• Have a diet that is extremely lacking in vitamin K.
• Take coumarin anticoagulants such as warfarin, which thins the blood.
• Have a condition that causes the body to not absorb fat properly known as fat malabsorption.

Coumarin anticoagulants interfere with the protein production which involved in blood clotting.
Some antibiotics cause vitamin K to become less effective in the body. Other antibiotics may cause the body to produce less of its own vitamin K.
Fat malabsorption leads to Vitamin K Deficiency may occur in people with:

• Cystic fibrosis.
• Celiac disease.
• A disorder in the intestines or biliary tract (liver, gallbladder, and bile ducts).
• Part of their intestine removed.

Newborns are at increased risk for Vitamin K Deficiency for a variety of reasons:

• Newborns do not produce vitamin K2 on their own in the first few days of life.
• Vitamin K does not transfer well from a mother’s placenta to her baby.
• Breast milk is very low in vitamin K.
• The liver of a newborn infant does not use the vitamin efficiently.

How To Prevent Vitamin K Deficiency

There is not any fixed amount of vitamin K that you should consume daily. But on an average day, nutritionists consider 120 mg enough for men and 90 mg enough for women. Foods including leafy green vegetables are extremely high in vitamin K and will give you all you need in one serving.
A single shot of vitamin K at birth can prevent this problem in newborns.
People suffering from fat malabsorption should speak to their doctors about taking a vitamin K supplement and having their levels monitored. The same goes for people taking warfarin and similar anticoagulants.

Vitamin K Deficiency Treatment

The treatment for vitamin K is the drug Phytonadione, which is vitamin K1. Most of the time doctors prescribe it as an oral medication. A doctor or nurse might also inject it under the skin (as opposed to into a vein or muscle). The dosage for adults ranges from 1 to 25 milligrams (mg).
Doctors will prescribe a smaller Phytonadione dose for someone who is taking an anticoagulant. Typically this dosage is about 1 to 10 mg. This is to avoid a complication due to anticoagulants interfering with the body’s vitamin K production.