Rickets (osteomalacia) / Vitamin D deficiency

Rickets: Signs and Symptoms

The various signs and symptoms of rickets include:

• Bone pain or tenderness
• Dental deformities
• Impaired growth
• Increased bone fractures
• Muscle cramps
• Short stature
• Skeletal deformities
• Bumps in the ribcage
• Spine deformities

Rickets: Cause

The primary cause of rickets is a vitamin D deficiency in the body. Vitamin D is responsible for proper calcium absorption from the stomach. Sunlight is considered as the major source of vitamin D which lets human skin cells convert vitamin D from an inactive to active state. Due to the lack of vitamin D, dietary calcium is not properly absorbed, leading to hypocalcaemia. Foods rich in vitamin D are butter, eggs, fish liver oils, margarine, fortified milk and juice, and oily fishes such as tuna, herring, and salmon.

Rickets: Treatment

The primary objective of rickets treatment is to relive symptoms and correct the cause of the condition. The cause should be treated to prevent the disease come back.

• The best treatment of rickets includes replacing calcium, phosphorus, or vitamin D that is lacking
• Eating vitamin D-rich food such as fish, liver, and processed milk
• Exposure to moderate amounts of sunlight is encouraged
• If rickets is due to a metabolic problem, doctors would suggest vitamin D supplements
• Surgery may be needed to treat some skeletal deformities