Bedsores - Vitamins that may be helpful - Bed Sores/Pressure Sores

Antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin E, and glutathione are depleted in healing skin tissue. One animal study found that vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) applied to the skin shortened the healing time of skin ulcers.4 Another animal study reported that administration of oral vitamin E before skin lesions were introduced into the skin prevented some of the tissue damage associated with the development of pressure ulcers.5 A controlled human trial found that 400 IU of vitamin E daily improved the results of skin graft surgery for chronic venous ulcers.6 No further research has investigated the potential benefit of vitamin E for skin ulcers.

Animal research has suggested that vitamin C may help prevent skin ulcers,7 and in a preliminary study,8 elderly patients with pressure ulcers had lower blood levels of vitamin C than did ulcer-free patients. Supplementation with vitamin C (3 grams per day) increased the speed of healing of leg ulcers in patients with a blood disorder called thalassemia, according to a double-blind study.9 And while a double-blind trial of surgical patients with pressure ulcers found that supplementation with 500 mg of vitamin C twice a day accelerated ulcer healing,10 a similar double-blind trial found no difference in the effectiveness of either 20 mg per day or 1,000 mg per day of vitamin C.11

An older preliminary report suggested that large amounts of folic acid given both orally and by injection could promote healing of chronic skin ulcers due to poor circulation.12 No controlled research has further investigated this claim.

A controlled trial found that topical application of a hyaluronic acid compound with compression bandaging was significantly better than bandaging alone for healing chronic venous skin ulcers.13No research has investigated whether oral hyaluronic acid supplements might be similarly effective.

Zinc plays an important role in tissue growth processes important for skin ulcer healing. One study reported that patients with pressure ulcers had lower blood levels of zinc and iron than did patients without pressure ulcers,14 and preliminary reports suggested zinc supplements could help some types of skin ulcer.15 Supplementation with 150 mg of zinc per day improved healing in a preliminary study of elderly patients suffering from chronic leg ulcers.16 Double-blind trials using 135 to 150 mg of zinc daily have shown improvement17 only in patients with low blood zinc levels,18 and no improvement in leg ulcer healing.19, 20 A double-blind trial of 150 mg zinc per day in people with skin ulcers due to sickle cell anemia found that the healing rate was almost three times faster in the zinc group than in the placebo group after six months.21 Lastly, a preliminary study of patients with skin ulcers due to leprosy found that 50 mg of zinc per day in addition to anti-leprosy medication resulted in complete healing in most patients within 6 to 12 weeks.22 Long-term zinc supplementation at these levels should be accompanied by supplements of copper and perhaps calcium, iron, and magnesium. Large amounts of zinc (over 50 mg per day) should only be taken under the supervision of a doctor.

Topically applied zinc using zinc-containing bandages has improved healing of leg ulcers in double-blind studies of both zinc-deficient23 and elderly individuals.24
Most controlled comparison studies have reported that these bandages are no more effective than other bandages used in the conventional treatment of skin ulcers,25, 26 but one controlled trial found non-elastic zinc bandages superior to alginate dressings or zinc-containing elastic stockinettes.