Ascorbic acid, or vitamin C, is an important element for the human body, which is appreciated in many countries. Every second inhabitant of the Earth knows that this vitamin saves you from colds, therefore, in the cold season, everyone tries to actively lean on citrus fruits - tangerines, oranges, and also massively buy ascorbic acid in pharmacy outlets and supermarkets. Is vitamin C an ascorbic acid or not?
The body, due to certain characteristics, does not know how to accumulate vitamin C, so it is important to carefully monitor its use. In the human diet, foods that are saturated with this valuable substance are not so often present.
Therefore, the amount of this element can be compensated in the dosage form. Many patients are interested in the question, is vitamin C an ascorbic acid or not?
Structure
Ascorbic acid is a medicine that belongs to synthetic vitamins. The active ingredient is ascorbic acid. A drug is available in several forms, and the content of vitamin C in ascorbic acid in grams will be as follows:
- Dragees of 0.05 grams (fifty and two hundred pieces in polymer cans).
- Lyophilisate for the manufacture of a solution for intravenous and intramuscular use of 0.05 grams (3 milliliters in ampoules with a solvent, there are five ampoules in a package).
- Powder for the preparation of a solution for oral use (2.5 grams in sachets).
- Solution for injection (intravenous and intramuscular), in 1 milliliter - 0.05 grams.
Ascorbic acid contains vitamin C, which is vital for a person daily.
Indications
Ascorbic acid is recommended in the presence of the following conditions:
- An unbalanced diet.
- Mental and physical work.
- The recovery period after serious illness.
- Scurvy (a disease that is triggered by an acute deficiency of vitamin C).
- Alcoholism.
- Smoking.
- Burns.
- Prolonged fever (a pathological process characterized by a temporary increase in body temperature due to the dynamic restructuring of the thermoregulation system under the influence of pyrogens that cause an increase in temperature).
When is it still recommended to take a drug?
According to the instructions for ascorbic acid, vitamin C should be used in the presence of the following diseases:
- Hyperthyroidism (endocrine syndrome, which is triggered by an increased formation of thyroid hormones thyroxine, as well as triiodothyronine by the thyroid gland).
- Resection of the small intestine (complex surgical intervention, which consists in removing part of the organ, which leads to disruption of the digestive system).
- Peptic ulcer (an open ulcer that forms on the mucous membrane of the digestive system).
- Gastrectomy (surgery to completely or partially remove the stomach).
- Injuries.
- Tuberculosis (a disease caused by mycobacteria).
- Pregnancy
- Lactation
- Idiopathic methemoglobinemia (a pathological condition that is caused by an increase in the concentration of methemoglobin in the blood).
- Stress (the state of the body, which manifests itself as a result of the strong impact of certain negative or positive factors on it).
- Recovery in the postoperative period.
What are the limitations of the drug?
According to the instructions for use with ascorbic acid, vitamin C tablets have certain restrictions on the intake of:
- Increased Sensitivity.
- Diabetes mellitus (a chronic metabolic disorder based on a lack of intrinsic insulin and an increase in blood glucose).
- Hyperoxaluria (the name of the violation of the genitourinary system, which are distinguished by regular excessive excretion of oxalic acid in the urine).
- Nephrourolithiasis (a disease that is characterized by the formation of kidney stones).
- Thalassemia (a disease inherited by a recessive type, which is based on a decrease in the synthesis of polypeptide chains that are part of the structure of normal hemoglobin).
- Hemochromatosis (a hereditary disease characterized by impaired iron metabolism, resulting in excessive accumulation of this element in the tissues of the body).
How much vitamin C is in ascorbic acid? This is one and the same, therefore the amount will be equal depending on the form of release of the drug. Ascorbic acid in any concentration must be used with extreme caution in the following conditions:
- Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency.
- Sideroblastic anemia (a violation of the formation of hemoglobin with the deposition of iron in blood cells and internal organs).
- Kidney disease.
Daily Ascorbic Acid Requirement
Vitamin C in dragees and other forms of release is recommended to be taken by a person, depending on certain reasons:
- age
- gender
- activities;
- health
- climate;
- the presence of bad habits.
Diseases, stress, and fever and exposure to toxic substances increase the need for ascorbic acid.
In hot climates and in the Far North, the need for vitamin C increases by about thirty to fifty percent. The body of a young man better absorbs ascorbic acid than a more mature one, therefore, in people of retirement age, the need for vitamin C increases significantly.
Many people are interested in the question of whether vitamin C is ascorbic acid or not. Yes, it is one and the same.
Mode of application
From the instructions it is known that ascorbic acid is taken orally, and also administered intramuscularly or intravenously in certain concentrations:
- For adult patients, 0.05-0.1 grams per day should be used for prophylaxis, the therapeutic dosage varies from 0.05 to 0.1 grams up to five times a day.
- For children, prophylactic dosing is - 0.025 grams three times a day, therapeutic concentration - 0.05-0.1 grams three times a day.
- During pregnancy and breastfeeding with a lack of vitamin C in the diet, it is necessary to take 0.3 grams per day, the duration of treatment is about two weeks, then 0.1 g for prophylactic purposes to prevent hypovitaminosis.
- Ascorbic acid is recommended intramuscularly or intravenously in a dosage of one to three milliliters of a five percent solution.
The duration of therapy with drugs that contain vitamin C depends on the nature of the disease and is prescribed by a medical specialist.
Adverse reactions
Ascorbic acid, with improper dosing (excess), can provoke certain unpleasant conditions and diseases.
- Feeling tired.
- Migraine headaches (frequent and severe headaches).
- Hyperactivity.
- Flatulence (a symptom of diseases and pathological conditions or a sign of functional disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, manifested by excessive accumulation of gases).
- Insomnia.
- Moderate pollakiuria (an abnormal condition in which during the daytime there is frequent urination and urinary incontinence in adults or children).
- Nephrolithiasis (a disease characterized by the formation of kidney stones).
- Decreased vascular permeability with possible deterioration of tissue trophism.
- High blood pressure.
- Hypercoagulation (increased blood coagulation or thickening).
- The development of microangiopathies (a disorder in which a sufficient amount of oxygen and glucose does not get to the cells and capillaries of the brain).
- Damage to tooth enamel.
What other negative effects does the drug provoke?
Ascorbic acid can cause the following diseases:
- Hyperemia of the skin (overflow with blood vessels).
- Skin rashes.
- Painful sensations at the sites of intramuscular injection of the solution.
- Hyperglycemia (a condition characterized by an increase in blood sugar).
- Glucosuria (a congenital disease characterized by excretion of sugar from the body along with urine).
- Destruction of red blood cells.
- Thrombocytosis (increased platelet count in the blood).
- Hypoprothrombinemia (low levels of prothrombin in the blood, manifested by symptoms of bleeding).
- Hypokalemia (a decrease in the concentration of potassium ions in the blood).
- Neutrophilic leukocytosis (a process in which the cellular composition of the blood changes, the level of leukocytes rises).
- Erythropenia (a decrease in the number of red blood cells in the blood below normal).
- Thrombophlebitis (inflammation of the veins of the lower extremities, accompanied by the formation of blood clots in their lumen).
In all situations, the occurrence of negative effects requires symptomatic treatment.
special instructions
During therapy, blood pressure and adrenal gland functioning should be monitored, since vitamin C activates the compound of corticosteroid hormones. With an increased concentration of iron in the human body, ascorbic acid must be consumed only in minimal dosages.
What are the vitamins in ascorbic acid? There is one vitamin in it, and this is C.
It is important to consider that the use of vitamin C can cause deterioration of laboratory test results, such as the concentration of sugar in the blood and urine, as well as the activity of transaminases, bilirubin in the liver.
It is not recommended to use ascorbic acid without the permission of a medical specialist, especially women during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Is vitamin C an ascorbic acid or not? It is the same.
Generics
Medicines in which the active ingredient is ascorbic acid:
- "Pikovit."
- "Asvitol Askovit."
- "Makrovit".
- "Zernevit".
- "Seteb 500."
- Ascorutin.
- "Tsevikap".
- "Rostvit".
- "Tselaskon."
- Citravit.
A similar drug in the spectrum of influence, which belongs to one pharmacological group - "Upsavit" - chewable tablets. Storage conditions and shelf life are different for each of the forms of ascorbic acid release.