Vitamin K deficiency usually experienced by newborns. But sometimes, vitamin K deficiency can also happen adults.People who are malnourished this can lead to a number of serious health problems, especially bleeding.
Vitamin K is a vitamin that plays an important role in producing substances in the body to support blood clotting.
Vitamin K deficiency can be recognized by the appearance of symptoms in the form of easy bruising, frequent nosebleeds, and dark stools accompanied by blood spots. Sometimes blood spots are also found under the nails.
In infants, vitamin K deficiency can increase the risk of bleeding. This bleeding can occur in the baby's organs, such as bleeding from the brain and gastrointestinal tract.
In addition, vitamin K deficiency in infants can also cause growth retardation and impaired bone growth. Therefore, babies need to get vitamin K injections after they are born.
Vitamin K is divided into 2 types, namely:
- Vitamin K1, also known as phylloquine, is vitamin K that comes from plants (food).
- Vitamin K2, also known as menaquinone, is vitamin K produced by the good bacteria in the intestines.
Causes of Vitamin K Deficiency in Adults and Babies
Vitamin K deficiency is very rare in adults. This condition is more common in newborns. In adults, vitamin K deficiency can be caused by the following conditions:
- Have a poor diet and rarely eat foods high in vitamin K.
- Taking blood-thinning medications, such as coumarin. Blood thinning drugs can interfere with the production of proteins that play a role in the blood clotting process.
- Undergoing treatment with antibiotics can decrease the production and effectiveness of vitamin K in the body.
- Suffering from impaired absorption of nutrients or malabsorption This condition can be experienced when you suffer from celiac disease, cystic fibrosis, and intestinal or biliary tract disorders. Malabsorption can also occur as a side effect of surgical removal of the intestine.
While in infants, vitamin K deficiency can occur due to:
- The baby does not get enough vitamin K intake while still in the womb, because of abnormalities in the placenta or the mother lacks vitamin K during pregnancy.
- The content of vitamin K in breast milk (ASI) is very little.
- The baby's intestines have problems, so they don't produce vitamin K.
To find out the exact cause of vitamin K deficiency, both in adults and infants, it is necessary to have an examination by a doctor. To find out if the patient has a vitamin K deficiency, the doctor will order blood tests to assess vitamin K levels and blood clotting function.
Anything DEffects of Vitamin K Deficiency?
Vitamin K deficiency can cause a number of health problems, including:
Heavy bleeding
The body needs vitamin K to produce certain proteins that play a role in the blood clotting process. When the body lacks vitamin K, the production of substances that function to clot blood will decrease. As a result, you are more at risk for heavy bleeding.
Osteoporosis
In addition to playing a role in the blood clotting process, vitamin K also has an influence on bone health and strength. Some studies show that a lack of vitamin K can decrease bone density, making you more at risk of developing osteoporosis.
Heart disease
Findings from a number of studies explain that vitamin K plays a role in maintaining healthy heart blood vessels. Therefore, people who are deficient in vitamin K have a higher risk of developing heart problems, such as coronary heart disease.
How to Meet the Needs of Vitamin K
Everyone's vitamin K needs are not the same, depending on age, gender, and general health conditions.
Adults are recommended to get vitamin K intake of 50-65 micrograms / day. Meanwhile, the recommended amount of vitamin K intake for children and adolescents is 35-50 micrograms/day. In infants, the recommended intake of vitamin K is 5-15 micrograms/day.
The need for vitamin K can be met by consuming:
- Fruits, such as avocado, mango, grapes.
- Soybeans.
- Vegetables, such as cabbage, broccoli, turnips, kale, cabbage and spinach.
- Meat.
- Egg.
To meet his vitamin K needs, babies can be given some of the foods above when he is allowed to eat solid food.
Apart from food, vitamin K can also be obtained by taking vitamin K supplements. However, the dosage needs to be consulted with a doctor. This is to prevent excess vitamin K which is also not good for health.