Wait… scurvy? In 2025? You’d think we left that one behind with wooden ships, eye patches, peg legs and oi me hartys. But no, this gnarly disease, once the bane of sailors on months-long sea voyages, is making a quiet (and frankly embarrassing) comeback and it’s happening in places you’d least expect.
Scurvy, caused by a lack of vitamin C, isn’t just an old-world problem. Today, it’s creeping back into modern lives, and not because we’re all lost at sea. It’s because we’re drowning in something else - ultra-processed foods, economic pressure, and dietary choices that skip the basics.
Source: PFN Ai Archives - Scurvy ridden pirate holding orange - on a wave of recovery
A recent report in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe reveals a concerning rise in scurvy cases among children in France, linking it to socioeconomic stress and poor dietary access, particularly post-COVID-19.
Turns out, it’s surprisingly easy to get scurvy in 2024. In Australia, a man who lived almost entirely on processed foods (think instant noodles, frozen dinners, the works) ended up with textbook scurvy symptoms — bleeding gums, joint pain, and those infamous bruises that show up out of nowhere. And he’s not alone.
The Lancet study, which analysed data from 2015 to 2023, found 888 French children hospitalized with scurvy, with cases spiking by 34.5% following the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers drew direct links between the surge and rising food costs, showing how inflation and economic instability deepened dietary disparities. Notably, children from lower-income households were disproportionately affected, with malnutrition rates also climbing sharply during the same period.
The pandemic’s ripple effect didn’t just heighten scurvy cases — it amplified severe malnutrition rates, with a 20.3% increase noted post-COVID. Surprisingly, the rise in scurvy wasn’t mirrored in unrelated health conditions like urinary tract infections or vitamin D deficiency, strengthening the argument that food insecurity and poor diets were the primary drivers.
Scurvy starts out subtly in the form of fatigue, irritability, muscle pain. Then it kicks it up a notch with swollen gums, loose teeth, and weird bruises. Left untreated? It can get ugly fast, leading to serious complications. However scurvy is insanely easy to prevent and fix. We’re talking orange juice, a handful of strawberries, or a daily handful of leafy greens. Vitamin C supplements work too, but really, it’s as simple as eating an orange or two.
Source: © Tatyana Gladskikh Dreamstime.com Children squeezing oranges
The Lancet study sounds the alarm - in a world where food abundance masks nutritional gaps, children in high-income countries are still falling through the cracks. With post-pandemic inflation pushing fresh produce out of reach for many families, policymakers need to take notice and fast.
Scurvy shouldn’t be making headlines in 2025, but here we are. So next time you’re at the grocery store, grab a punnet of strawberries or a bag of oranges. Your gums will thank you.
Writers note: As a lad back in the 70's I did an Atlantic crossing on a sailing ship from Capetown, up the coast of South America and to Antigua, in the West Indies. I boarded with exactly 31 oranges and as we crawled our way across the Atlantic via St. Helena, we finally arrived 30 days later with one orange to spare. I was determined to keep my VitC levels up. We also had to catch and eat fish as our food supplies ran out half way across. Not to mention the frozen body of a crew member who died midway journey. We had to make way for his body so sacrificed food to make space in the freezer.
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