Bleeding disorders are common. In addition to thinking about disorders relating to abnormal platelets or clotting factors, clinicians should consider disorders of vascular integrity in their differential diagnosis. We present a patient with atypical, spontaneous bleeding that was due to scurvy, an often overlooked cause. Clinicians should be aware of the risk factors for the development of scurvy, such as poor dietary intake, male gender, smoking, alcohol abuse, as well as its classic manifestations, including gingival bleeding, spontaneous bruising, corkscrew hairs, and poor wound healing, A heightened awareness may lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment.
Keywords: Scurvy; alcoholism; bleeding; hematoma; vitamin C.