Medical Insider – Dr. Ria P. Maslog
Rickets
Rickets refers to Vitamin D deficiency. We talked about this condition in our past issues and i want to refresh our minds the importance of Vitamin D in our health so we have to discuss Vitamin D.
Vitamin D or D3 is a naturally occuring substance produced by the irradiation with ultraviolet light of the provitamin, 7- dehydrocholesterol , which is predominantly animal sterol and is rarely found in vegetable foods.
Natural vitamin D is present in the following animal foods:
– egg yolk
– fish liver oils
– fish body oils
– drippings
– cow’s or human milk
We can have vitamin D by eating the very limited types of food containing the factor or as a result of irradiation of the provitamin in the skin with ultraviolet rays.
Some factors that may lead to rickets are:
– lack of exposure to the sun
– predominantly carbohydrate vitamin D less diet
– and maternal malnutrition
Clinically, rickets may present as:
– craniotabes
– caput quadratum
– soft border of the anterior fontanel
– rachitic rosary
– marked growth impairment
– mental retardation
– and delay in motor functions such as sitting, standing and walking
– children above 2 yrs of age, may have bowing of the lower extremities, widened wrists, knock knees, thick ankles, pronated feet, protruding abdomen, flabby muscles and the presence of Harrison’s groove.
Since human milk has a low Vitamin D content , it is advised by the health experts that at birth, all newborns should be started with Vitamin D supplementation and that mothers should expose their babies to early morning sun.
Expectant mothers should take adequate vitamin D to also ensure a better reserve for her newborn.