Vitamin B12 is essential for a number of bodily functions.
As well as keeping your body's blood and nerve cells healthy, it also helps prevent anaemia - which can make people feel tired and weak. Common symptoms of a vitamin B12 deficiency include fatigue, headaches and mouth ulcers.
But two signs that show up in your skin can also suggest you are lacking the nutrient. The NHS website says some people with anaemia caused by a vitamin B12 deficiency report having paraesthesia, or pins and needles as it is more commonly known.
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The sensation feels like "pricking, tingling or numbness on the skin" and is often experienced in the hands, arms, legs or feet. It happens because as B12 levels drop, it means the body produces less myelin, a fatty substance that covers and protects the nerves.
Another skin symptom that could signal your body needs more B12 is a "pale yellow tinge" to your skin. Research attributes the effect to the impact a vitamin B12 deficiency has on your body’s red blood cell production.
Some people develop a vitamin B12 deficiency as a result of not getting enough vitamin B12 from their diet. A diet that includes meat, fish and dairy products usually provides enough vitamin B12, but people who do not regularly eat these foods can become deficient.
Vitamin B12 deficiency anaemia is usually treated with injections of vitamin B12.
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