Vitamin C Oral: Scurvy Treatment and Prevention
Vitamin C guidance for treatment and prevention of scurvy, with age-based dosing and dose-related precaution notes.
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Source reviewed
source date listed on the source page
Guide category
Oral drugs
Safety boundary
Educational medicine information, not personal medical advice.
Kenza Health Hub presents this medicine page as structured health education. Check dose, route, interactions, pregnancy or breast-feeding considerations, and local protocol with a qualified clinician or pharmacist. Read our medical editorial policy.
Therapeutic action
Vitamin.
Indications
Treatment and prevention of scurvy (vitamin C deficiency).
Forms and strengths
- 250 mg chewable tablet.
- 500 mg tablet.
Dose and duration
Treatment of scurvy
The optimal dose has not been established. For information, treatment is administered at least 2 weeks or longer until symptoms resolve, then preventive treatment is given as long as the situation requires.
- Child 1 month to 11 years: 100 mg 3 times daily.
- Child 12 years and over and adult: 250 mg 3 times daily.
- Child 1 month to 3 years: 100 mg 2 times daily.
- Child 4 to 11 years: 250 mg 2 times daily.
- Child 12 years and over and adult: 500 mg 2 times daily.
Prevention of scurvy
- Child and adult: 50 mg daily, as long as the situation requires.
Contra-indications, adverse effects, precautions
- Ascorbic acid is well tolerated at indicated doses.
- May cause gastrointestinal disturbances and nephrolithiasis at doses > 1 g daily.
- May interfere with the measurement of glucose in blood and urine at doses >= 2 g daily.
- Pregnancy: no contra-indication; do not exceed 1 g daily.
- Breast-feeding: no contra-indication.
Source
MSF Essential drugs practical guidelines (January 2026)
This page combines source-derived medicine reference sections with Kenza editorial context, while leaving out the Storage and Remarks sections from the source batch.
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