8 Major Symptoms of Vitamin B12 Deficiency

Hey lovely reader 😊.Welcome back to another weblog. In today’s blog post am going to share what is Vitamin B12 and the 8 major symptoms of Vitamin B12 deficiency.

And guys one more request don’t just scroll down if you are really interested to know about this particular stuff, then please go through the complete article. It is loaded with information.

After all, it is all about our health and everybody knows how crucial is health! Health is Wealth🤗 Right guys?

What do you think how crucial is vitamin B12 for the body! If you ask me my answer will be it is as crucial as other vitamins.

What is Vitamin B12🤔

It is a very essential and water-soluble vitamin. The nervous system needs to function properly. Not only that, but it also helps to produce Red blood cells and DNA.

Vitamin B12 naturally found in animal based foods like meat, fish, poultry, eggs and dairy.

Other than the above-mentioned foods, it can also be found in foods fortified with vitamin B12 such as cereals, bread ( fortified with vitamins B12).

Unfortunately, vitamin B 12 deficiency is very common. There could be two reasons for deficiency to happen.

Either you are not getting enough vitamin B12 rich foods or your body is not able to absorb it properly from your diet.

If I say concerning the symptoms what does one assume however long it’ll be taken to indicate the symptoms! simply guess! Guys, it takes years to indicate the symptoms. Yes, you detected it right🤢.

Let me tell you one more thing as it takes a longer time to show the symptoms so it does take a longer time to cure as well.

Sometimes this could be mistaken as folate deficiency. Both are different vitamins but comes under one vitamin that is B vitamins.

Now let’s see people at high risk of Vitamin B12

• You are vegan/You eat vegetarian diet.

• If you are taking antacid for long term.

• There is a chance If you have undergone any surgery to remove part of your intestine.

• If you have certain kind of bad bacteria in your stomach.

• Elderly person(Above 50)

• If you are on certain kind of medication.

So now come to the main point, This article is all about major symptoms and signs of vitamin B12 deficiency. So let’s discuss it step by step.

Symptom No 1-Tingling Sensation in Body

The first and major symptom of vitamin B12 deficiency is a sensation of pins and needles in the body (Numbness).

You could feel a tingling sensation in your hand and feet. Vitamin B12 is important for the metabolic function it produces fatty substances knows as myelin.

B12 plays an important role to produce myelin. It acts as a protector for the nervous system. It protects your nerves, helps them to transmit sensation. Myelin helps to function the whole nervous system optimally.

If you have a deficiency of vitamin B12 then it does not function properly, may not able to produce enough myelin then it leads to damage of the nervous system. Which is the most serious side effect of long-term vitamin B12 deficiency.

Symptoms No 2-Issue With Movement

Long-term B12 deficiency is very dangerous and could harm the body. It might change your way of movement especially walking.

If it’s left untreated then the condition may be a lot worsens, you may lose balance and coordination.

You might feel a tingling sensation in your hand and feet which could make a person walk properly.

Normally it’s found in aged person however that doesn’t mean it’ll not affect youngsters. if it’s untreated then may affect youngsters yet.

Symptoms No 3-Pale/Yellowish Skin

Vitamin B12 is responsible for the production of red blood cells which carry oxygen through the body.

If you have a deficiency of vitamin B12 inside your body your skin tone may look pale or yellowish.

you can say it jaundice in simple language. It happens when the human body is not able to produce enough red blood cells.

Red blood cells carry oxygen and help to provide natural color to the skin. Without enough of these cells, your skin may look yellow.

The deficiency of vitamin B12 also creates a certain kind of anemia just because your body is not able to produce enough amount of red blood cells.

It is like vice versa process anemia could weaken the red blood cells or insufficient amount of red blood cells leads to anemia, so in both the cases it affects on liver badly. The liver produces a brownish substance known as bilirubin.

When your body does not have enough amount of RBC then it produces more bilirubin which gives more yellow or pale color to your skin tone.

Symptoms No 4-Shortness Of Breath & Dizziness

As I said if you are suffering from a deficiency of vitamin B12, then your body is not producing enough red blood cells, which leads to anemia.

Due to this anemic condition, you could find difficulties in breathing, Not only that you may experience dizziness kind of symptoms.

Anemia puts pressure on the heart to push the sensible volume of blood, which is eventually will increase the heart rate because it isn’t able to pump the blood due to a lack of blood cells.

Actually, it is directly linked to your red blood cell production. if the body is not producing enough red blood cells then there will be a shortage of oxygen which is a very obvious side effect.

But these are not the only symptoms so do not judge like this, possibly there are many reasons for dizziness and shortage of breaths.

It could happen due iron deficiency also,now corona has this symptom as well😨.

So if you notice any kind of breathing issue then immediately consult your doctor. There might be many more underlying causes.

Symptom No 5 -Tiredness & Debility

Tiredness and debility are the most common symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency. It is simply happening because your body does not have enough red blood cells due to vitamin B12 deficiency.

RBC is responsible for carrying oxygen throughout the body. without enough oxygen, your body will feel tired and exhausted.

This normally to happens to elderly people because their body is not able to absorb vitamin B12 from the diet.

This type of anemia is known as pernicious anemia

It is not able to produce a protein called intrinsic factor, which is responsible for absorption and prevents vitamin B12 deficiency to occur.

Symptoms No 6-Mouth pain & Glossitis

Vitamin B12 deficiency also affects oral health. An early sign of vitamin B12 deficiency could be a red and swollen tongue which is nothing but glossitis.

Due to vitamin B12 deficiency, reduction of red blood cells happens as a result of this your tongue may not get enough oxygen which could make it swell.

You will notice your tongue will change shape, color, the inflammation makes you feel pain in your tongue.

You could also see tiny tiny little bumps which will affect your test bud as well. Additionally, you may have other symptoms related to oral stuff like a mouth ulcer, you might feel the tingling sensation in your tongue.

you could also feel like burning sensation in your mouth.

Symptoms No 7- Poor/Disturbed Vision

Another symptom of vitamin B12 deficiency is poor or disturbed vision. It can happen when B12 deficiency is prolonged remain untreated might damage the nervous system.

There is a nerve called the optic nerve which goes to your eyes, deficiency of vitamin B12 could lead to disturbed eyesight.

The deficiency can damage those nerves, which travels from your eye to your brain. This condition is known as optic nephropathy.

Symptoms No 8- Emotional Instability

People with B12 deficiency often face mind and mood-related disorders. The reduced amount of oxygen reaching the brain might be the issue.

As per medical study lack of vitamin B12 helps to break down the brain chemical, which increases homocysteine, which could cause damage to the brain tissue.

But more research has to be done, it could be one symptom but mental health like depression, irritability is a big problem itself.

it could happen due to multiple other reasons. Supplementing with the vitamin could help to some extent but it’s not a permanent solution.

If you want to know more about depression then click here .

Outlook

Vitamin B12 deficiency is common, if you are at risk and see any warning symptoms mentioned above then you should consult your doctor.

For most of the people is easy to prevent by adding vitamin B12 rich food in their daily diet.

If you are not getting enough vitamin B12 rich food then try to include fortified foods and other dietary supplements.

In the next blog, I will share which food and what supplements you can take if are suffering from vitamin B12 deficiency.

I have tried to share information as per my knowledge. If you like my article then do let me know in my comment section and share it with your family and friends.

Thank you😊