Why vitamin k deficiencies are rare

Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link. Vitamin K Deficiency Bleeding. Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. What is Vitamin K Deficiency Bleeding? Minus Related Pages. Vitamins are substances our bodies need, which we get from either the foods we eat or from a multivitamin.

Vitamins are normally stored in the body. Get Email Updates. To receive email updates about this topic, enter your email address: Email Address. What's this? Media Policy Makers. INR is based on a scale that compares results of different laboratories worldwide.

A normal INR is about 0. For someone taking a blood thinner, it might be about 2 to 3. Your doctor will be looking to see if the number is too high.

The treatment for vitamin K is the drug phytonadione, which is vitamin K1. Most of the time doctors prescribe it as an oral medication. A doctor or nurse might also inject it under the skin as opposed to into a vein or muscle. The dosage for adults ranges from 1 to 25 milligrams mg.

Doctors will prescribe a smaller phytonadione dose for someone who is taking an anticoagulant. Typically this dosage is about 1 to 10 mg. In infants, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that newborns get a single shot of 0. A higher dose may be necessary if the mother has been taking anticoagulants or anti-seizure drugs. If left untreated in adults, vitamin K deficiency can result in excessive bleeding and become dangerous.

But in almost all cases, vitamin K deficiency is treatable. In infants where VKDB is identified and treated quickly, the outlook is good. However, if the bleeding, known as an intracranial hemorrhage , lasts too long or goes untreated, brain damage or death can occur.

There is no set amount of vitamin K that you should consume each day. But on an average day, nutritionists consider mcg adequate for men and 90 mcg adequate for women.

Some foods, including leafy green vegetables, are extremely high in vitamin K and will give you all you need in one serving. People with conditions involving fat malabsorption should speak to their doctors about taking a vitamin K supplement and having their levels monitored. The same goes for people taking warfarin and similar anticoagulants.

Too little clotting can cause excessive bleeding from minor injury Too It is also needed for healthy bones and other tissues. Vitamin K, like vitamins A, D, and E, is a fat-soluble vitamin Fat-soluble vitamins Vitamins are a vital part of a healthy diet. Good sources of vitamin K include green leafy vegetables such as collards, spinach, and kale and soybean and canola oils.

Vitamin K deficiency can cause hemorrhagic disease of the newborn, characterized by a tendency to bleed. A vitamin K injection is usually given to newborns to protect them from this disease. Breastfed infants who have not received this injection at birth are especially susceptible to vitamin K deficiency, because breast milk contains only small amounts of vitamin K.

Hemorrhagic disease is more likely in infants who are breastfed or who have a disorder that impairs fat absorption or a liver disorder. Formulas for infants contain vitamin K. Risk is also increased if the mother has taken antiseizure drugs such as phenytoin , anticoagulants which make blood less likely to clot , or certain antibiotics. Newborns are at risk of vitamin K deficiency, because they do not get enough vitamin K before birth and because they cannot synthesize vitamin K on their own yet.

In healthy adults , vitamin K deficiency is uncommon because many green vegetables contain vitamin K and bacteria in the intestine produce vitamin K. If people have vitamin K deficiency, taking warfarin or related anticoagulants interfere with the synthesis of clotting factors which help blood clot and can make bleeding more likely or make it worse. Anticoagulants are given to people with conditions that increase the risk of blood clots. These conditions include having to stay in bed for example, because of an injury or illness , recovering from surgery, and having atrial fibrillation Atrial Fibrillation and Atrial Flutter Atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter are very fast electrical discharge patterns that make the atria upper chambers of the heart contract very rapidly, with some of the electrical impulses People who take warfarin need to have blood tests periodically to check how quickly their blood clots.

Disorders that impair fat absorption and that thus reduce the absorption of vitamin K such as blockage of the bile ducts Overview of Gallbladder and Bile Duct Disorders The liver produces bile, a greenish yellow, thick, sticky fluid. Bile aids digestion by making cholesterol, fats, and fat-soluble vitamins easier to absorb from the intestine. For more information, see the section on causes above.

Q: Why is vitamin K deficiency rare in adults? A: Low levels of vitamin K are rare in healthy adults because it is easy to obtain sufficient quantities of the vitamin by eating a balanced diet, and the body is able to produce some vitamin K on its own.

Q: What foods are high in vitamin K? A: Examples of good sources of vitamin K include: [18]. Q: Does vitamin K deficiency cause bruising? A: Vitamin K deficiency can cause a person to bruise easily. However, there may be other causes of bruising. Vitamin K deficiency can also cause heavy bleeding. Q: Can vitamin K deficiency cause anemia? A: Vitamin K deficiency in itself does not cause anemia. However, the heavy bleeding that can be a symptom of the deficiency, may sometimes be associated with anemia.

Read more about Anemia ». Q: Can vitamin K deficiency cause hair loss? A: Hair loss is not a symptom of a lack of vitamin K. However, hair loss may sometimes be a symptom of anemia or a deficiency of another vitamin, such as vitamin D.

Read more about Vitamin D Deficiency ». Q: How is vitamin K deficiency treated? A: Low levels of vitamin K in adults can often be treated with dietary changes to include more leafy green and other vegetables.

Sometimes, a doctor may recommend vitamin K supplements, typically in the form of phytonadione tablets or injections. Newborn babies will usually receive a vitamin K shot to prevent deficiency. Accessed November 10, MSD Manual. Lab Tests Online. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed August 9,