Vitamin C for Bruising Easily
Severe vitamin C deficiency (scurvy) genuinely causes easy bruising, and repletion fixes it dramatically — but true scurvy is rare, and supplementing when levels are normal does nothing for bruising.
Overview
Verdict
How It Works
Dosing & Protocol
Typical dose
- Recommended dose
- 500 mg vitamin C daily with food; deficiency is corrected with 100-300 mg/day
- Expected timeframe
- 2-4 weeks in deficiency; no effect expected if replete
Protocol
- form
- Ascorbic acid, or a buffered form such as sodium ascorbate if plain ascorbic acid upsets your stomach
- duration
- 4-8 weeks; frank scurvy improves within days to weeks
- co factor
- Take with food. Evidence is mixed and depends entirely on status: vitamin C deficiency causes capillary fragility and perifollicular haemorrhage, and correcting it resolves the bruising quickly and dramatically. In people who are already replete, supplementation does nothing for bruising.
- titration
- No escalation needed - absorption falls sharply above 500 mg per dose, so splitting is better than increasing
- starting dose
- 500 mg vitamin C once daily with food
Evidence
What the studies say
Scurvy: reemergence of nutritional deficiencies
Leger D
Easy bruising and bleeding gums from vitamin C deficiency resolve rapidly with repletion.
Scurvy: a modern reminder of an old nutritional deficiency and its bleeding manifestations
Leger D
Perifollicular haemorrhage and easy bruising resolved within weeks of vitamin C repletion in patients with dietary deficiency.
Phlebotonics for venous insufficiency
Martinez-Zapata MJ, Vernooij RW, Simancas-Racines D +5 more
Flavonoid phlebotonics reduced symptoms of capillary fragility in chronic venous insufficiency.
Safety
Caveats
Easy bruising is a symptom that needs a cause. Get a full blood count and clotting screen: thrombocytopenia, leukaemia, liver disease, von Willebrand disease and anticoagulant effects all present this way, as does long-term corticosteroid use and simple ageing skin. Bruising with bleeding gums, nosebleeds, heavy periods or petechiae needs prompt assessment. Unexplained bruising in a child warrants safeguarding consideration. Safety ceiling: the tolerable upper intake level is 2000 mg/day; above that causes diarrhoea and raises oxalate kidney stone risk. Avoid high doses in haemochromatosis and G6PD deficiency (haemolysis risk), and in kidney disease. Vitamin C interferes with some glucose meters. Safe in pregnancy at normal doses.
Less likely to help if
Medical Disclaimer
The information provided on this website is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or before starting any supplement regimen.
Individual results may vary. The statements on this website have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Products and information are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.