Patient's question:
I am 16 years old and have a hereditary rickets from my grandmother. It started from my great-grandmother. My grandmother said my great-grandmother's legs were much worse than mine. There is about a 5 cm distance between my two knees. When I was a child, my family didn't pay much attention, so I never received treatment. I want to know if I can still be treated at my age? How can I increase the distance between my knees a bit?Doctor's answer:
Rickets, also known as vitamin D deficiency rickets, is a systemic, chronic, nutritional disease characterized by bone inflammation, caused by insufficient vitamin D in infants, children, and adolescents, leading to disturbances in calcium and phosphorus metabolism.Recommendations: The treatment principle should be based on oral administration, with a general dosage of 2000 IU to 4000 IU per day, or 0.5 μg to 2.0 μg of 1,25-OH2-D3. After half a month, the preventive dose should be reduced to 400 IU per day. Strict indications are required for high-dose treatment. In cases of severe rickets with complications or inability to take oral medication, high-dose intramuscular vitamin D (200,000 IU to 300,000 IU) can be administered once, and the preventive dose should be adjusted after three months.
One month after treatment, a follow-up examination should be conducted. If there are no signs of complete recovery in clinical manifestations, blood calcium levels, and skeletal X-ray findings, differentiation from vitamin D-resistant rickets should be considered.