Vitamin B12 Deficiency Symptoms
Symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency might take several years to show up and the diagnosis can be complex as well. Also, sometimes a vitamin B12 deficiency overlaps mistakenly as a folate deficiency. Lower levels of vitamin B12 can lead to your folate levels to drop down. However, if you are suffering from vitamin B12 deficiency, maintaining low folate levels will simply cover up the deficiency and you are unable to treat the underlying condition. Following are nine signs and symptoms of an actual vitamin B12 deficiency:
Pale skin
People having a deficiency of vitamin B12 often appear pale or have a yellow tinge to their skin and the whites of the eyes looks like they are going through jaundice. The pale skin appears when a deficiency of vitamin B12 leads to problems with your body’s ability to produce red blood cells. Vitamin B12 plays a key role in the production of the DNA which further helps in red blood cells production. However, without enough DNA formation, the instructions to build red blood cells stays incomplete and the cells remain unable to divide any further which leads to a type of anemia known as megaloblastic anemia. In case of megaloblastic anemia, the red blood cells producing in the bone marrow are fragile and larger in size. These red blood cells are too big in size to move across the bone marrow and enter the blood circulation. Therefore, there are lesser red blood cells circulating in your body and your skin may appear pale in color. The fragility of red blood cells also indicate that many of them will collapse eventually leading to an excess of bilirubin. Bilirubin is a brownish red substance that the liver secretes to break down the red blood cells. Excess amounts of bilirubin also gives your skin a yellow tinge.