Vitamin C plays many key roles in the body. This essential nutrient aids in the healing process, prevents damage to cells, and produces necessary neurotransmitters. With Vitamin C IM you can receive a direct dose of this revitalizing nutrient to support your overall health and wellness.
Orchidia Medical Group of Naples, FL, is a trusted expert in targeted wellness treatments, including intramuscular vitamin C injections. As your provider, we will carefully plan and implement a fully patient-centered wellness treatment plan that accommodates your needs and expectations. Contact our team for a consultation today, and we will partner with you to incorporate vitamin C injections and other proven wellness treatments into your routine.
Wondering how the treatment works, whether or not you’re a candidate, or why vitamin C in the first place? Read on to learn more about this treatment and how it can enrich your overall wellness.
Many Hats: The Widespread Benefits and Applications of Vitamin C
For such a small and simple chemical, vitamin C is associated with a very broad set of important applications throughout the body, from heart health and wound healing to preventing several common chronic diseases. The following breakdown is a non-exhaustive summary of just some of the major benefits correlated by researchers to vitamin C.
Antioxidant Action
A now commonplace word found plastered across supplement label after supplement label, antioxidants are still misunderstood. The basic gist of how antioxidants work on a molecular level goes as follows:
- Molecules in the body become unstable and potentially dangerous, thanks to the presence of an unpaired electron
- These molecules are called “free radicals,” and can damage surrounding tissues/structures, contributing to chronic disease risk
- Antioxidants are compounds that can donate electrons, stabilizing free radicals and restoring a healthy balance between free radicals and antioxidants
Vitamin C is among the class of molecules that can stabilize free radicals. Notice how we refer to a “healthy balance” between free radicals and antioxidants. Contrary to the common misunderstanding, the body actually produces and uses a small number of free radicals for key purposes related to cell signaling and immune function. The goal, then, is to keep this amount low, not to eliminate free radicals altogether.
Thanks to the antioxidant action of key micronutrients like vitamin C, you can prevent a wide range of diseases and other problems caused (or contributed to) by free radicals, including macular degeneration, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and more.
Stress Management
Another word working its way into common parlance, cortisol is often referred to as the stress hormone, and for good reason. Miss out on sleep, overwhelm yourself with projects, or stand up to speak in front of a large crowd, and you will likely feel the negative effects of this hormone. Like free radicals, cortisol has its important uses, but consistently (and needlessly) elevated levels can contribute to increased blood glucose and weight gain, increased cardiovascular disease risk, anxiety and/or depression, and more.
Multiple clinical findings have revealed the ability of vitamin C to reduce cortisol levels in people with hypercortisolemia (“excess” + “cortisol” + “blood”). It won’t replace a well-balanced diet (though it is part of one) or improved sleeping habits, but it can still alleviate stress, which in turn reduces chronic disease risks.
Immune Support
When it comes to bolstering immunity, vitamin C provides a multi-fronted range of benefits that engage with several key processes. For example, vitamin C’s role in the skin is believed to involve supporting collagen function. This is evidenced in cases of scurvy (vitamin C deficiency), which are associated with bruising, bleeding, and slowed wound healing.
White blood cells (leukocytes) rely heavily on vitamin C to protect themselves from oxidative, or free-radical-related damage. Vitamin C also assists these immune cells in the process of infiltrating infected or otherwise damaged areas.
Eye Health
The antioxidant action of vitamin C bears great importance in the prevention of cataracts. When the fluid surrounding the lens of the eye is high in vitamin C, it is more resistant to becoming oxidized by the light, which results in that characteristically cloudy appearance.
While it may not prevent or cure age-related macular degeneration, vitamin C is still instrumental in slowing the progression of this potentially debilitating disease. Once again, it’s the antioxidant power of this micronutrient that is credited in this case. Vitamin C acts as a strong line of defense against the free radicals damaging the retinal cells in the center of the eye.
And Many More…
This is just a snapshot of the benefits of vitamin C, which also include improving iron absorption, reducing cardiovascular disease risk, improving key cognitive functions, and more.
Don’t We Get Enough Vitamin C From Food?
In the best possible case—a person in good overall health who follows sound nutrition and lifestyle practices—a well-balanced diet (rich in colorful fruits and vegetables) is usually sufficient for supplying all the vitamin C the body needs. And to be sure, vitamin C injections are not a replacement for sound nutrition, but a boost.
However, there are many confounding variables that can affect your need for vitamin C, your vitamin C intake, and/or your body’s ability to utilize and retain it, including dietary choices and restrictions, cooking methods, metabolic issues, lifestyle factors, illnesses, and more.
Cooking loss: As vitamin C is a water-soluble nutrient that doesn’t hold up well under high temperatures, any cooking methods that involve larger amounts of water (i.e., boiling) can sap much of the vitamin C content from the food. While loss still occurs with pan-frying or steaming, the effect is much less dramatic.
Lifestyle factors: Smokers, heavy alcohol consumers, and those who don’t consume enough fruits and vegetables are all at greater risk for vitamin C deficiency.
Medical factors: Crohn’s disease, celiac disease, appetite suppression due to chemotherapy, pregnancy, and many other factors can decrease your body’s absorption and/or increase your body’s need for vitamin C in such a way that increases deficiency risk.
Age: Even if none of the above factors are an issue, elderly populations are more affected by vitamin C deficiencies for several reasons, including low dietary intake, chronic illness, greater sensitivity to deficiency symptoms, and more.
What Exactly Is Vitamin C IM Injection?
The IM in vitamin C IM injection stands for “intramuscular.” This term refers to an injection technique in which the substance is administered directly into muscle tissue. This allows for the substance to be expediently ferried into the bloodstream. Intramuscular injections offer several advantages over oral ingestion of vitamin C, though the nature and extent of these advantages varies on a case by case basis.
Vitamin C IM Injection Treatment Steps
Our top priority at Orchidia Medical Group is to ensure that every patient is confident, comfortable, and duly informed of the details before each treatment, including vitamin C IM injections. As such, the first step before you set foot in a treatment room is to ensure you’re happy with the treatment plan and have everything you need for prep, treatment day, and aftercare.
When it’s time to proceed with the treatment itself, the first step is to inspect and clean the target injection site. Typically, an alcohol swab is used to clean the area. Then, the syringe is prepped, and the patient is comfortably positioned. It’s important to relax while the injection is being administered, as contracting the muscle(s) in the treatment area can increase pain and potentially cause tissue damage. Then, the needle is inserted at a 90 degree angle to the skin, which ensures it reaches far enough to inject the vitamin C directly into muscle tissue.
After the injection has been administered, the area will be bandaged, and you are free to carry on with your daily activities as before. As for after effects to be expected, mild swelling, redness, and sensitivity around the injection site is common. These issues should resolve within one to two days, or slightly longer. If there is bruising, it may take a week or more to resolve depending on the circumstances.
When Should Someone Consider Vitamin C Injection Over Oral Ingestion?
Most studies conclude that vitamin C injections outperform the oral ingestion route when it comes to the absorption efficiency, but that isn’t the full extent of the benefits of taking the injection route. For example, patients who are unable to orally ingest vitamin C can be administered vitamin C injections to avoid deficiency. High-dose injections are also used to facilitate wound healing and, as research is beginning to suggest, possibly even fight cancer. Point being, vitamin C injections accommodate a wider range of patients and scenarios, including serious clinical applications.
Vitamin C Injection FAQ
Do IM vitamin C injections hurt?
Everyone’s pain perception and sensitivity is unique, but most people report mild to moderate discomfort during the injection that resolves soon after. Clients who are especially thin, while still eligible for vitamin C IM injections, may experience a greater amount of discomfort. Immediately after the vitamin C is injected, the body sends “reinforcements” to the injection site in the form of fluid, which can cause a tingling or burning sensation.
How big of a dose of vitamin C do I need?
First, it’s important to understand the difference between recommended daily allowance and tolerable upper limit. In the case of vitamin C, most healthy adults are recommended to consume somewhere between 50-100 mg a day, which varies by gender and age. However, the tolerable upper limit, which refers to the amount of vitamin C that can be safely absorbed at one time without increasing risks of side effects or other issues, is 2,000 mg a day.
High-dose vitamin C injections exceeding the recommended daily amount are indicated in many different scenarios, some of which are outlined above (e.g., wound healing, severe deficiency, etc.). Hence, the amount that’s most beneficial for you is highly case-dependent, and is best determined in a personal consultation with our expert providers.
How often should I get vitamin C injections?
Like the above question, the answer to this one depends on the case – namely, why you were recommended to receive vitamin C injections in the first place. For example, a vitamin C injection regimen for wound healing may entail having injections done every day for 1-3 weeks. In the general use case, however, people looking to simply keep their vitamin C levels up with regular infusions can benefit from injections every 2-4 weeks. As always, several factors can affect the treatment frequency you are recommended.
Is it possible to “overdose” on vitamin C?
As a water-soluble nutrient, the body simply passes excess vitamin C through the urine. However, this doesn’t mean that consuming more than the upper limit of 2,000 mg cannot produce any harmful side effects in the short-term. Typical symptoms of excessively high doses of vitamin C include gastrointestinal distress, nausea, heartburn, diarrhea, and gas.
Choose Orchidia Medical Group for a Patient-Centered Vitamin C Injection Experience
Our knowledgeable and experienced team works for you, meaning we structure all of our treatments around your unique circumstances, needs, and preferences as much as possible. Orchicia Medical Group of Naples, FL prioritizes keeping every client informed throughout the treatment process, including providing guidance and care after sessions.
Contact us for a consultation today, and we’ll partner with you to create a vitamin C IM treatment plan that delivers results.
