Vitamin C Injections
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Vitamin C is an essential nutrient in our diet. It has many important roles our body’s immune function, including:
· wound healing
· preventing damage to cells
· building collagen
· producing chemical messengers called neurotransmitters
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Vitamin C is also available by prescription as an injection. The injectable vitamin C can be given into a vein (intravenously), into a muscle (intramuscularly), or under the skin (subcutaneously).
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Purpose of vitamin C injections
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Many people take vitamin C for general health or to boost their immune system. It’s also taken to treat vitamin C deficiency.
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Vitamin C deficiency can lead to scurvy. Characteristic symptoms of vitamin C deficiencyinclude:
· swollen and bleeding gums
· fatigue
· poor wound healing
· joint pain
· loose teeth
· colored spots on the skin
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Vitamin C injections are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating vitamin C deficiency. They’re also approved for helping to treat serious wounds from trauma or burns.
However, vitamin C injections are typically only used when vitamin C levels need to be increased quickly or when oral supplements can’t be taken due to poor absorption or other reasons.
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Off-label use
Vitamin C injections are sometimes used off-label for other conditions, including:
· cancer
· general health
· immune function
· weight loss
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Off-label drug use means that a drug that’s been approved by the FDA for one purpose is used for a different purpose that has not been approved. However, a doctor can still use the drug for that purpose. This is because the FDA regulates the testing and approval of drugs, but not how doctors use drugs to treat their patients. So your doctor can prescribe a drug however they think is best for your care.
General health and immune function
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Some people receive vitamin C injections for general health or to boost immune function and for convenience. The injection means they don’t have to remember to take a supplement pill each day.
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It’s true that vitamin C has an important function in the body, but it’s controversial whether taking additional vitamin C — orally or by injection — offers any advantage for people who consume adequate vitamin C in their diet.
Weight loss
Vitamin C injection is sometimes used for weight loss. Some research suggests that people who don’t have adequate vitamin C intake aren’t able to burn fat very well.
This means that it’s important to ensure adequate intake of vitamin C. However, there is no scientific research showing that taking vitamin C supplements orally or vitamin C injections causes weight loss.
