Rickets, also known as “rickets”, is a condition that affects bone development in young children due to a deficiency of vitamin D, calcium or phosphorus.
Statistics show that over 70% of children up to three years old in our country suffer from rickets, in milder or more severe forms.
According to doctors, the increasing pollution of the environment, especially in cities, and the lack of exposure to ultraviolet rays have as a consequence the spread of rickets, less so in the countryside or in the towns on the Black Sea coast.
Rickets, also known as “rickets disease”, is a condition that affects bone development in young children as a result of a deficiency of vitamin D, calcium or phosphorus.
Vitamin D is essential for the absorption of calcium and phosphorus from the intestines, and its deficiency can lead to poor bone mineralization, which causes rickets.
“It can be a nutritional deficiency through an inadequate intake of vitamin D-rich foods or inadequate exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays, it can be a congenital deficiency in infants from vitamin D-deficient mothers, or a vitamin D deficiency secondary in malabsorption syndromes or in children who have long-term treatment with anticonvulsants”, states Dr. Gina Anica, primary pediatric doctor at Buzău County Emergency Hospital.
Symptoms of rickets appear after the age of three months and can extend for three years during the growing period. Most refer to deformations of some bone segments, important effects that affect the quality of life later.
Symptoms can vary depending on the severity of rickets, but can include bone pain and tenderness, bone deformities, especially in the legs, short height, delayed motor and dental development, muscle spasms, and bone fragility.
“Clinically, in principle, at the age of three months, a deformation of the skeleton, of the skull, the bones are softer, craniotabes appear, we have frontal bosses, a deformation of the chest, ribs, a deformation of the limbs, the spine vertebral in older children, with the appearance of scoliosis, kyphosis, with pelvic deformities”, says the doctor from Buzo.
The most important effect of vitamin D deficiency is a decrease in resistance to infections, especially respiratory infections. Children catch colds much more often and have complications.
Your pediatrician may perform a physical exam and order blood tests to measure calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D levels in your blood. X-rays can also reveal signs of rickets, such as bone deformities.
“Like anemia, unfortunately rickets is also common. There are quite a few cases and we must pay special attention, together with the family doctors, together with the family, to prevent the administration of the treatment, of the antibiotic in excess”, declares the doctor Gina Anica.
Symptoms appear from the first months of life. SOURCE Archive
Preventing rickets in children involves providing an adequate diet that includes sufficient sources of vitamin D, such as fortified milk, fatty fish, and exposure to sunlight. It is also important to follow your doctor’s recommendations regarding vitamin D supplementation, especially for children who have risk factors.
“I have always insisted on 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, nutrition with egg yolk, foods rich in vitamin D3, egg yolk or fish. If the child does not accept fish, there is also fish oil, there are products containing fish oil”, says doctor Gina Anica.
Rickets is mainly treated by supplementing with vitamin D, calcium and phosphorus under the supervision of a doctor. In some severe cases, surgery may be required to correct bone deformities.
2023-09-17 11:20:32
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