Rickets is a common nutritional deficiency in infants and young children, also known as osteomalacia, with a higher risk of illness in infants after three months. Rickets is mainly caused by a lack of vitamin D. If parents can provide timely treatment during the onset period, rickets can be well controlled and deformities can be prevented. So what exactly is rickets? What are the symptoms of rickets?
What is rickets
Rickets, commonly known as calcium deficiency, is more common in infancy. Its main cause is a lack of vitamin D in the body, which is a bone matrix calcification disorder that can cause metabolic disorders of calcium and phosphorus in the body, leading to poor bone calcification. Insufficient exposure to ultraviolet radiation, inadequate or disproportionate calcium and phosphorus content in food, rapid growth and development, insufficient demand for vitamin D, chronic respiratory infections, chronic diarrhea, and chronic diseases such as liver and kidney diseases that affect calcium and phosphorus absorption are also causes of rickets in infants and young children.
Due to the slow onset of rickets, it is generally difficult to detect in a timely manner and not easily taken seriously. The main characteristic of rickets is the growth of long bone epiphyseal cartilage plates and incomplete calcification of bone tissue. Insufficient vitamin D leads to incomplete calcification of mature bone. Rickets is not contagious, but if infants and young children suffer from rickets, their immune system will be weakened, and they are prone to complications such as pneumonia and diarrhea, which can affect their growth and development. Therefore, the importance of actively preventing and treating rickets is particularly prominent.
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 mental symptoms, 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 the pillow, causing 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.
