Symptoms Of A Selenium Deficiency

Slow Wound Healing

Individuals who are deficient in selenium may exhibit slow wound healing as a symptomatic manifestation of their condition. Low levels of selenium cause a reduced production of thyroid hormone by the thyroid gland. Thyroid hormone helps with expediting the process of skin barrier formation by stimulating the activity of certain enzymes. These enzymes are vital factors in the epidermal cholesterol sulfate cycle that regulates skin cell differentiation, desquamation, and its function of serving as a barrier. When an individual is wounded, the factors within the blood develop a blood clot to stop any bleeding. Once the blood clot is no longer needed, it falls off or the body absorbs it. The cholesterol sulfate cycle takes over along with other processes to form a new layer of skin in the place of the damaged or missing tissues. When there are not enough thyroid hormones in the body due to a selenium deficiency, there is a delay in the functioning of the sulfate cycle and other healing processes because the enzymes are not being appropriately triggered from insufficiency of thyroid hormone.