Nutritional rickets

Rickets is a disease caused by nutritional deficiencies in children. Children's bodies need vitamin D to absorb calcium and phosphorus from food. Rickets can occur if your child's body is not getting enough vitamin D or if his or her body has problems using vitamin D properly. This article provides information on nutritional rickets.

Rickets is a condition of soft and weak bones in children, usually due to excessive and prolonged vitamin D deficiency. Rare genetic problems can also cause rickets.
Vitamin D helps the child's body absorb calcium and phosphorus from food. Insufficient vitamin D makes it difficult to maintain proper levels of calcium and phosphorus in the bones, which can cause rickets.
Adding vitamin D or calcium to the diet often corrects the bone problems associated with rickets. When rickets is caused by another underlying medical problem, your child may need more medication or other treatment. Some bone deformities caused by rickets may require corrective surgery.
Rare genetic disorders involving low levels of phosphorus, another mineral component in bones, may require other medications.

Signs and symptoms of rickets may include:
Slow growth Slow to develop motor skills Pain in the spine, pelvis, and legs Muscle weakness Because rickets softens growing areas of tissue in the head baby's bones (growth discs), which can cause skeletal deformities such as:
Bowed or bent legs Thickened wrists and ankles Protruding sternum Talk to your doctor if your child has pain bone, muscle weakness, or obvious skeletal deformity.

Children's bodies need vitamin D to absorb calcium and phosphorus from food. Rickets can occur if your child's body is not getting enough vitamin D or if his or her body has problems using vitamin D properly. Sometimes, not getting enough calcium or lack of calcium and vitamin D can cause rickets in children.

Children who do not get enough vitamin D from these two sources may develop a deficiency:
Sunlight : Your child's skin produces vitamin D when exposed to sunlight. But children in developed countries tend to spend less time outdoors. They were also more likely to use sunscreen to block the sun's rays from triggering vitamin D production. Food: Oily fish, egg yolks and fatty fish like salmon and mackerel contain vitamin D. D has also been added to some foods and drinks, such as milk, cereals, and some juices.

Some children are born with or develop medical conditions that affect the way their bodies absorb vitamin D. Some examples include:
Celiac disease Inflammatory bowel disease Cystic fibrosis Kidney problems

Factors that can increase a child's risk of rickets include:
Dark skin : Darker skin has more melanin pigment, which reduces the skin's ability to produce vitamin D from sunlight. Maternal vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy: Babies born to mothers with severe vitamin D deficiency may be born with signs of rickets or develop them within months of birth. North Latitudes: Children who live in geographic locations with little sunlight are at a higher risk of developing rickets. Premature birth: Babies born before their due date tend to have lower vitamin D levels because they have less time to receive the vitamin from their mothers while in the womb. Medications: Some anticonvulsants and antiretroviral drugs, used to treat HIV infection, seem to interfere with the body's ability to use vitamin D. Exclusive breastfeeding: Breast milk does not contain enough vitamin D to prevent rickets. Exclusively breastfed infants should receive vitamin D supplements.

If left untreated, rickets can lead to:
Failure to develop Abnormally curved spine Bone deformities Dental defects Seizures

Exposure to sunlight is a good source of vitamin D. In most seasons, 10 to 15 minutes of sun exposure near midday is sufficient. However, if you have dark skin, if it's winter, or if you live in northern latitudes, you may not be getting enough vitamin D from sun exposure.
In addition, because of concerns about skin cancer, infants and young children are especially advised to avoid direct sunlight or to always wear sunscreen and protective clothing.
To prevent rickets, make sure your child eats foods that naturally contain vitamin D, including fatty fish like salmon and tuna, fish oils and egg yolks - or fortified with vitamin D, for example such as:
Infant formula Cereals Bread Milk, but not dairy foods, such as some yogurts and cheeses Orange juice Check labels to determine the vitamin D content of foods increase.
If you are pregnant, ask your doctor about vitamin D supplementation.
Guidelines recommend that all infants receive 400 IU of vitamin D. Because breast milk contains only small amounts of vitamin D, infants should be breastfed. Mothers should absolutely be supplemented with vitamin D daily. Some bottle-fed babies may also need vitamin D supplements if they're not getting enough from formula.
In addition, to improve rickets in children, parents should also supplement children with supportive products containing lysine, essential micro-minerals and vitamins such as zinc, chromium, selenium, B vitamins to help meet meet the nutritional needs of children. At the same time, these essential vitamins also support digestion, enhance nutrient absorption, help improve anorexia, and help children eat well. Parents can also apply dietary supplements and functional foods derived from nature for easy absorption by the baby. The most important thing is that the improvement of the baby's symptoms must take place over the long term. Combining many types of functional foods at the same time or changing many types in a short time can make the baby's digestive system unable to adapt and completely not good. Therefore, parents must be really persistent with their children and regularly visit the website vimec.com to update useful baby care information.

References: mayoclinic.org, who.int