Rickets/Osteomalacia

Ensure your children get the necessary nutrients their growing bones need. According to research or other evidence, the following self-care steps may be helpful.

• Get more daily D Make sure your child eats foods rich in vitamin D and calcium and spends a little time every day in the sun
  
• Take your child for a checkup Visit a healthcare professional to determine if your child’s rickets is caused by a treatable medical condition, and to determine the best nutritional treatment

About This Condition

Rickets is an abnormal bone formation in children resulting from inadequate calcium in their bones.
This lack of calcium can result from inadequate dietary calcium, inadequate exposure to sunshine (needed to make vitamin D), or from not eating enough vitamin D—a nutrient needed for calcium absorption. Vitamin D is found in animal foods, such as egg yolks and dairy products.
Rickets can also be caused by conditions that impair absorption of vitamin D and/or calcium, even when these nutrients are consumed in appropriate amounts. Activation of vitamin D in the body requires normal liver and kidney function. Damage to either organ can cause rickets. Some variations of rickets do not respond well to supplementation with vitamin D and calcium. Proper diagnosis must be made by a healthcare professional.
Osteomalacia is an adult version of rickets. This condition is treated with vitamin D, sometimes in combination with calcium supplements. Osteomalacia should be diagnosed, and its treatment monitored, by a doctor.

Symptoms

In children, symptoms of rickets include delayed sitting, crawling, and walking; pain when walking; and the development of bowlegs or knock-knees. Symptoms of osteomalacia include bowing of the legs and a decrease in height.

Healthy Lifestyle Tips

Direct exposure of the skin (i.e., hands, face, arms, etc.) to sunlight stimulates the body to manufacture vitamin D. However, both clothing and use of a sunscreen prevent the ultraviolet light that triggers the formation of vitamin D from reaching the skin. Depending on latitude, sunlight during the winter may not provide enough ultraviolet light to promote adequate vitamin D production. At other times during the year, even 30 minutes of exposure per day will usually lead to large increases in the amount of vitamin D made. If it is difficult to get sunlight exposure, full-spectrum lighting can be used to stimulate vitamin D production.
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