Subscribe
Rickets
Rickets and osteoporosis are caused by a lack of what?
Rickets and osteoporosis are both caused by a lack of vitamin D and calcium. Rickets is commonly seen in infants and can present with abnormalities in skeletal development such as "ping-pong ball head", signs of wrist and ankle bracelets, square skull, funnel chest, pigeon chest, X-shaped legs, and O-shaped legs. Osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disease caused by reduced bone formation and increased bone resorption. It can be categorized according to its etiology into senile osteoporosis, postmenopausal osteoporosis, idiopathic osteoporosis, and secondary osteoporosis. Clinically, it can manifest as fatigue, bone pain, and fractures.
Does rickets have anything to do with milk powder?
Rickets is not necessarily linked to formula milk. Rickets is mainly a metabolic bone disease caused by a deficiency of vitamin D in the body, while the main components of formula milk are various nutrients, including trace elements and vitamins. If the formula contains insufficient calcium, it may exacerbate the symptoms of rickets. Therefore, the main requirement is to intake enough vitamin D. National child healthcare guidelines require that children be supplemented with 400 to 800 units of vitamin D daily from two weeks after birth until the age of two. Additionally, it is important to get ample sunlight in daily life and engage in reasonable outdoor activities to promote calcium absorption, which can effectively prevent rickets. The amount of vitamin D and calcium in formula milk cannot meet the growth and developmental needs of children, so additional supplementation is necessary. Thus, there is a certain connection between rickets and formula milk, but it is not inevitable.
The main manifestations of rickets in the early stage
Rickets generally refers to vitamin D deficiency rickets, mainly due to insufficient vitamin D in children, leading to calcium and phosphorus metabolism disorders. It is a chronic nutritional disease characterized by skeletal lesions. The main manifestations are changes in the fastest growing parts of the skeleton, which can also affect muscle development and changes in neural excitability. The initial symptoms of rickets are common in infants, especially those under three months old. The main symptom is increased neural excitability; the child is particularly prone to being agitated, irritable, crying, sweating, and shaking their head due to scalp stimulation, but these are not specific symptoms of rickets. Therefore, blood tests are still necessary in the early stages, showing decreased levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3, blood calcium, and blood phosphate, increased PTH, normal or slightly elevated alkaline phosphatase activity, and normal or slightly blurry calcification zones in skeletal X-rays. These are the early manifestations of rickets.
Clinical manifestations of rickets
Rickets, also known as vitamin D deficiency rickets, occurs because children do not supplement vitamin D in a timely manner after birth, leading to a deficiency of vitamin D in the body and resulting in a nutritional metabolic disease primarily involving skeletal changes. In the early stages, children mainly show symptoms related to mental and emotional state, such as irritability, crying, excessive sweating, shaking their heads back and forth, and rubbing their heads. Subsequently, symptoms like bald patches on the back of the head and softening of the skull bones may appear. As children grow, they may develop conditions such as a square-shaped skull, beaded ribs, pigeon chest, funnel chest, and bracelet-like deformities around the wrists and ankles. In severe cases, children may later develop X-shaped legs and O-shaped legs. If rickets is suspected, it is crucial to promptly conduct a blood test to measure the vitamin D level. If the level is below normal, it is essential to actively treat the diagnosed rickets.
Early symptoms of rickets
Rickets is a bone disease formed due to a deficiency of vitamin D, clinically referred to as rickets. The early clinical symptoms of rickets, which correspond to the early stages of vitamin D deficiency, primarily manifest as autonomic dysfunction, including night terrors, night sweats, and crying. In the early stages of rickets symptoms, parents often believe the cause to be calcium deficiency. Indeed, vitamin D deficiency can also impair calcium absorption, and these are linked reactions. Therefore, parents should pay attention to supplementing vitamin D, especially in areas with insufficient sunlight, ensuring that children receive less than two hours of sunlight exposure per day. During children's growth phases, it is essential to ensure adequate daily intake of vitamin D, with a basic amount of 400 IU being necessary.
Should I take vitamin D or D3 for rickets?
Rickets should be treated with D3, but strictly speaking, what we commonly refer to as vitamin D is D3, just phrased differently. Vitamin D3 helps promote the absorption of calcium by bones, preventing the occurrence of rickets symptoms. The main clinical manifestations of rickets appear in the deformation of bones, such as square skull, pigeon chest, flaring ribs, X-shaped legs, O-shaped legs, and other changes in bone status. The nervous system can show symptoms such as night sweats, nervous excitability, balding at the back of the head, poor sleep quality, and easiness to cry. For rickets, it is necessary to diagnose early, timely supplement with vitamin D to prevent symptoms from worsening, and also to get more sunlight and engage in outdoor activities, which helps the body synthesize vitamin D and absorb calcium.
What foods are good for rickets?
Rickets is a global chronic nutritional disease caused by a deficiency of vitamin D, leading to disorders in calcium and phosphorus metabolism and abnormal bone development. The main issue stems from the lack of vitamin D, which causes abnormalities in the body's calcium levels, thus it's important to ensure dietary intake of vitamin D. For early infancy, it is generally recommended to strengthen feeding practices. Infants under six months should be exclusively breastfed until six months of age, followed by timely introduction of complementary foods. Cod liver oil, which is rich in vitamin D, should be routinely supplemented starting from the second week after birth, along with regular monitoring of growth and development. As complementary foods are introduced, try to include vitamin-rich vegetables and appropriately supplement with calcium-rich foods, such as certain seafood, while being mindful of potential allergies in children. Additionally, it is beneficial to include some high-protein, nutritious foods. Most importantly, children should persist in outdoor activities to get ample sunlight and continue supplementing with cod liver oil.
Can rickets with rib eversion in babies be cured?
Babies with rib flaring can be treated, but it requires assessment based on relevant clinical symptoms and laboratory tests. First, it is necessary to understand that rickets is a metabolic bone disease caused by a deficiency of vitamin D, which often results not only in rib flaring but also in square skull, pigeon chest, and either bowlegs or knock-knees. Neurologically, symptoms may include night sweats, easy startling during sleep, and poor sleep quality. When these conditions occur, a physical examination by a specialist is essential, along with comprehensive tests, including measuring the specific levels of vitamin D, and selecting appropriate vitamin D supplements. If the symptoms of rib flaring are severe and accompanied by a noticeable pigeon chest, orthotic supports may also be necessary for correction. If rib flaring affects normal breathing, severe cases may require surgical treatment. Therefore, the extent of severity based on clinical symptoms will dictate the treatment approach—whether it is oral medication, orthotic correction, or surgery.
How to prevent skeletal deformities in rickets
Rickets is mainly caused by a deficiency of vitamin D. Therefore, within half a month after a child's birth, a preventive dose of oral vitamin D should be administered. Continue breastfeeding, allow the baby to get plenty of sunlight when the weather is warm, and timely introduce calcium-rich supplementary foods. In the early and active stages of rickets, appropriate supplementation with calcium and vitamin D can prevent the occurrence of skeletal deformities caused by the disease.
Causes of Rickets
Rickets, also known as Vitamin D-deficiency rickets, implies from its name that the cause of the disease is due to insufficient intake of Vitamin D in children, leading to disorders in calcium and phosphorus metabolism and resulting in nutritional disease with skeletal deformities. The incidence of the disease is higher in the north than in the south. Currently, the incidence of mild and moderate rickets is relatively high, while severe cases are less common because people are increasingly paying attention to the supplementation of Vitamin D for children. It is recommended that full-term infants start supplementing with 400 units of Vitamin D daily two weeks after birth, which is the physiological requirement. For premature infants, twins, and extremely low birth weight infants, the daily physiological requirement of supplementation is 800 units per day. After supplementing continuously for three months, it should be adjusted to 400 units per day as per the requirement for full-term infants. With such management, the child will not suffer from rickets. However, if there is no regular supplementation after birth, the lack of Vitamin D can lead to skeletal changes in the child, and once rickets is diagnosed, it requires high doses of supplementation.