Patient's question:
How is scoliosis treated?Doctor's answer:
Rickets is a common childhood disease, caused by a deficiency of vitamin D in the body, leading to abnormal calcium and phosphorus metabolism throughout the body, preventing normal deposition of calcium salts in the growth areas of bones, and ultimately resulting in skeletal deformities. Although rickets rarely directly threatens life, it develops slowly and is easily overlooked. Once obvious symptoms appear, the body's resistance is low, making it susceptible to complications such as pneumonia, diarrhea, and anemia.The main causes of vitamin D deficiency are insufficient intake of VitD in food or inadequate exposure to ultraviolet rays, which prevents the conversion of 7-dehydrocholesterol in the skin to cholecalciferol (VitD3). Additionally, rapid growth may require higher amounts of VitD.
The clinical manifestations of rickets include:
(1) General symptoms: Excessive sweating, especially during feeding and crying; irritability, frequent crying, and sleep disturbances.
(2) Skeletal changes: The head may show a large fontanelle, delayed teething, soft skull, square or saddle-shaped skull; the chest may have costal beads, depression at the upper edge of the costal margin, or costal margin flaring, forming Harrison's groove; it may also lead to pigeon chest or funnel chest; the distal ends of the ulna and radius may thicken, forming rickets bracelets, and O-shaped and X-shaped legs may appear before or after learning to walk.
Prevention of rickets includes increasing outdoor activities, getting more sunlight exposure, and breastfeeding as much as possible. Starting from two weeks after birth, daily oral intake of 400 units of VitD is recommended. If daily milk intake is 400–500 mL, calcium supplementation is not necessary.