What is Rickets ?
Rickets is a disorder primarily caused by lack of vitamin D, calcium, or phosphate, which leads to softening and weakening of the bones.
It is a bone problem that usually occurs in children. Rickets can make your child's bones hurt. The bones soften and can break easily.
It causes soft, weak bones in children. It usually occurs when they do not get enough vitamin D, which helps growing bones absorb important nutrients. Vitamin D comes from sunlight and food. Your skin produces vitamin D in response to the sun's rays. Some foods also contain vitamin D, including fortified dairy products and cereals, and some kinds of fish.
Causes of rickets:
vitamin D helps the body properly control calcium and phosphate levels in the body. When the body is deficient in vitamin D, it is unable to properly control calcium and phosphate levels. If the blood levels of these minerals become too low, the body may produce other body hormones to stimulate release of calcium and phosphate from the bones. This leads to weak and soft bones.
Age plays a great part. Rickets is a disease of young children, starting at the age of sixth month or after, less commonly of adolescents, characterized by deficient bone formation. There is abundant formation of osteoid tissue but inadequate calcification.
Climate also has its influence, more prevalent in moist than in dry climates. Diathetic influences are second only to heredity. In the tropic the skin is more exposed to sunlight and severe forms of rickets are not usually seen.
Symptoms of rickets:
• Infant rickets symptoms:
• Deformed skulls
• Late-closing fontanelles
• Rib-breastbone joint enlargement
• Delayed sitting
• Delayed crawling
• Delayed walking
• Knobby enlargements on the ends of bones
• Bowing legs under weight
• Distorting pelvis under weight
• Spinal curvature
• Restlessness
• Lack of sleep
• Retarded growth
• Delayed crawling
• Delayed sitting
• Delayed walking
• Thin top of skull
• Thin back of skull
• Bossing
• Delayed closure of fontanelles
• Beading where rib joins cartilage
• Enlarged ends of bones
• Bowed leg
• Knock-knees
• Weak muscles
• Deformed chest
• Weak ribs
• Abnormal teeth development
• Tooth decay
Treatment of rickets:
The treatment goals include relieving the symptoms and correcting the underlying cause to prevent recurrence. If the condition is not corrected while children are still growing, skeletal deformities and short stature may be permanent, but if it is corrected while the child is young, skeletal deformities often reduce or disappear with time.
The symptoms disappear with the replacement of deficient phosphorous, and/or vitamin D.
Biologically active form of vitamin D could be used in people who have difficulty in converting vitamin D to its active form.
Including fish, liver and processed milk, which are rich sources of vitamin D in the diet.
Exposure to moderate amounts of sunlight.
Skeletal deformities could be corrected by maintaining a good posture and bracing could help in reducing the deformities.
Some skeletal deformities can be corrected only with surgical correction.
