Because the body has difficulty...B12 vitamin from foodover time, a vitamin B12 deficiency can occur. Various symptoms can occur. Since this vitamin deficiency affects the nervous system, it creates a “weird feeling” in the body, which we would like to describe to you in more detail below so that you can quickly identify the problem and correct the vitamin B12 deficiency.
What happens if you have a vitamin B12 deficiency?
Young people who do not follow a vegetarian or vegan diet basically have no problems supplying their bodies with the necessary amounts of the vitamin. Meat, fish and dairy products are ideal sources. In addition, according to the British National Health Service, our body can store the vitamin for around 4 years. For this reason, “symptoms of deficiency also appear gradually and can be broad.” But after the age of 50, things start to look different, according to Ada, a global company founded by doctors, scientists and commercial pioneers.
Vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms
According to Ada, if you have a deficiency, you may experience a “strange feeling in your hands, legs and feet.” This is expressed, among other things, by a feeling such as fine pinpricks (like when an arm or leg is “falling asleep”), numbness and tingling, which occur suddenly and without any obvious reason as a result of impaired blood circulation in the nerves.
According to Ada, other possible symptoms include:
- a pale, yellowish skin
- a red and painful tongue
- Mouth ulcers
- Aphthen
- Visual problems
- Problems walking
- Balance disorders
Vitamin B12 DeficiencyConsequences in severe cases:
- Mood swings
- Differences in thoughts, feelings and behavior
- Memory loss
- irritability
- Depression
- Psychoses
Vitamin deficiency due to medication
There are medications that promote vitamin B12 deficiency because they hinder the absorption of the vitamin. This includes metforminin diabetesis prescribed, but also the broad-spectrum antibiotic neomycin as well as chloramphenic acid, colchicine and some antispasmodic medications. Some medications that are taken for heartburn or stomach and duodenal ulcers can worsen an existing vitamin deficiency. If you are taking any of these medications and/or suspect a vitamin deficiency, speak to your doctor immediately.
Diagnose
In order to make a diagnosis, the doctor takes into account the patient's medical history. A blood test is also ordered to examine the size of the red blood cells, as the B12 vitamin is partly responsible for the healthy shape of the cells. Accordingly, oversized blood cells are consideredSigns of B12 vitamin deficiency. However, a blood test has limited reliability because it can show the amount of the vitamin, but not whether the body is able to use it.
You can find out more about the topic on theAda's page.
