Rickets is an extremely common disease in Romania, and according to statistics, over 70 percent of children up to three years old suffer from this condition, in milder or more severe forms. The increasing pollution of the environment, especially in cities, the lack of exposure to ultraviolet light and the diet deficient in vitamin D3 result in the faster spread of rickets in urban areas than in rural areas or in the towns located on the Black Sea coast.
dr. Gina Anica
What is rickets and what are the causes of the appearance of this condition, as well as the treatment methods, was explained to them by the Primary Pediatrician at the Emergency County Hospital (SJU) Buzău, Gina Anica: “Rickets is a defective or delayed mineralization of the growing bone. The main cause of rickets is the lack of vitamin D, calcium or phosphorus. Vitamin D deficiency, which is the most common, can be a nutritional deficiency through an inadequate intake of vitamin D-rich foods or through inadequate exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays, can be a congenital deficiency in infants born to mothers with vitamin D deficiency or a secondary vitamin D deficiency in malabsorption syndromes or in children on long-term treatment with anticonvulsants. Similarly, calcium or phosphorus deficiency occurs in an unbalanced intake of foods rich in calcium or phosphorus or in children with various malabsorption syndromes and long-term anticonvulsant treatments.
The symptoms appear from the first months of the child’s life and can manifest up to the age of two or three. Easily recognizable signs are skeletal or skull deformity, forehead bulging or scoliosis. Another symptom that appears against the background of vitamin D3 deficiency, as the Buzoian doctor adds, manifests itself in the form of frequent and serious colds in children, which indicates low immunity.
“Symptoms appear somewhere from the age of three months and can extend to the growing period, two to three years. Clinically, in principle, it is seen around the age of three months, a deformation of the skeleton, of the skull, the bones are softer, craniotabes appear, we have frontal bosses (a bulge of the forehead), a deformation of the chest, of the ribs, a deformation of the limbs, a deformation of the spine in older children, with the appearance of scoliosis, kyphosis, with pelvic deformities, all these are important and affect the quality of life later. The most important effect of vitamin D deficiency is infections, decreased resistance to infections, especially respiratory infections. Children catch colds more often and have complications”.
Food rich in vitamin D3, the key to treating rickets
In terms of treatment, care during pregnancy and the intake of vitamin D3, not only from food but also from supplements, are particularly important. It is preferable for the mother to breastfeed the child, if she has this possibility, because breast milk ensures a better absorption of vitamin D3, therefore it is the most recommended method of feeding the child in the first months. If this is not possible, mothers can opt for powdered milk enriched with vitamin D3, and then the diversification of the child’s diet should include egg yolk or fish.
“Prophylaxis is very important, it starts from the antenatal period, from the last trimester of the mother’s pregnancy, when it is important to eat products rich in vitamin D, but also with vitamin D tablets, after which the baby’s prophylaxis follows: from the seventh day of life, vitamin D preparations are administered, 400 units per day mandatory until the age of 18 months, then we continue throughout the cold period, from September to April, throughout the growth period of 600 units per day, to maintain immunity the child throughout the period of growth.
The mother’s nutrition is important, nutrition from the beginning, I always insisted on feeding at the breast, breastfeeding. Breast milk ensures a much better absorption of vitamin D3, if it is not possible, there are also preparations, powdered milk formulas enriched with vitamin D3, a correct diversification after which, egg yolk nutrition, foods rich in vitamin D3, egg yolk egg or fish, if the child does not accept fish, there is also fish oil, there are products containing fish oil”added the pediatrician from SJU Buzău.
How does the Buzoian doctor define low immunity in children
In conclusion, the doctor also clarified what low immunity means, which does not refer to the fact that a child has a cold, but must be observed how often it happens and how serious the cold is. So, “a normal, healthy child also catches a cold seven to eight times a year. It’s normal for him to catch a cold, it’s important to see how he catches a cold, if his nose is running, he has a runny nose, he has a bit of a fever, but instead he stays there. If the respiratory infection is at the level of the upper respiratory tract, then it is good, we do not need to worry”, because this is how the child develops natural immunity, through exposure.
Instead, says the doctor from Buzo, “it is important that he does not end up with repeated pneumonias, that he does not end up being hospitalized frequently, then we are talking about a child with low immunity”. The specification is very important, especially in the context of “by the ear” medication, which can do more harm than good. Vaccination against influenza, against measles, against rubella, as well as the other vaccinations up to the age of one year, remain very important throughout the growth of the child, even in adults, because in this way complications can be avoided.
2023-09-25 21:07:34
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