Rickets is a common disease in children, as a lack of calcium and lack of attention to calcium supplementation can easily lead to rickets in the long run. Rickets can have a lifelong impact on children, so we should take this disease seriously. What are the early symptoms of rickets?
Early symptoms of rickets
Rickets is more common in children aged 2-3 years old, and the initial onset is more common in babies around 3 months old. After rickets occurs, the symptoms are mainly psychological, with early symptoms such as excessive sweating, crying, lack of sleep, and easy startle. Due to excessive sweating on the head, the head itches, and children often shake their heads and rub pillows, resulting in baldness in the headrest area.
The above symptoms can only indicate that parents and children may have rickets and need to take their children to the hospital for further examination, such as blood biochemistry tests, urine calcium tests, etc. Although rickets is mainly caused by a lack of vitamin D in the body, it is not advisable to supplement children with large amounts of vitamin D casually to prevent vitamin D poisoning. If the condition further develops, it can be seen that the child's muscles are relaxed and weak, especially the relaxation of the abdominal and intestinal muscles, which can cause the child's intestines to swell and become swollen like a frog's belly. The main changes in children with rickets are symptoms caused by bone lesions, which are characteristic manifestations of rickets.
How to treat rickets
1. More exposure to sunlight promotes the synthesis of vitamin D: If a child suffers from rickets, the first thing to do is to expose them to more sunlight. According to research, 1 square centimeter of skin exposed to sunlight for 3 hours can produce approximately 20 international units of vitamin D. Even if a baby's entire body is tightly wrapped in clothing, exposing their face and sunbathing for 1 hour a day can still produce 400 international units of vitamin D. Sunbathing should be done by opening windows or going to the yard. In winter, children should be exposed to more sunlight. In addition, maternal exposure to sunlight during pregnancy and lactation is also beneficial for ensuring the supply of vitamin D to infants and young children and preventing rickets.
2. Proper supplementation of vitamin D: foods rich in vitamin D should be added to the diet, and the supplementation of vitamin D in nutritional supplements must be done according to medical advice. According to the child's condition, the course of treatment is determined to be about one month. Generally, calcium supplementation is needed in the early stages of treatment. Whether long-term calcium supplementation is necessary cannot be standardized. Generally, with the supplementation of vitamin D, calcium absorption will naturally increase. Premature infants should be given vitamin D in advance. Infants and young children should also receive vitamin D supplements during the winter and spring seasons. If children have chronic diarrhea or other chronic diseases, intramuscular vitamin D injections may be necessary. The treatment of infants with hand and foot twitching requires emergency cessation of convulsions, calcium therapy, and subsequent supplementation of vitamin D.
The early symptoms of rickets need to be understood, and after understanding them, it is also necessary to know their treatment. This is the only way to achieve early detection and treatment.
