Patient's question:
All symptoms: Sweating at night, feeling damp all overOnset time and cause:
Treatment history: The last time I consulted Dr. Xiong, he said the child is calcium-deficient and told me to buy Longgu Mushi Granules. However, I can't find this medicine online. I'm not sure if I remember it correctly.
Help needed: How to solve the sweating problem, and what kind of calcium supplement should the child take.
Doctor's answer:
Actually, there are certain objective standards for judging the quality of calcium supplements.1. Calcium Content. The calcium content varies greatly among different calcium supplements. For example:
- Calcium carbonate contains 40% calcium.
- Dicalcium phosphate (with 2 water molecules) contains 23% calcium.
- Tricalcium phosphate (with 5 water molecules) contains 17.7% calcium.
- Calcium acetate contains 22.2% calcium.
- Calcium citrate contains 21.0% calcium.
- Calcium lactate contains 13% calcium.
- Calcium gluconate has the lowest calcium content, at 9%. When using calcium supplements with higher calcium content, the dosage can be correspondingly reduced.
2. Solubility. Dissolution is the prerequisite for absorption. At 25°C, the calcium ion concentrations in the saturated solutions of different calcium supplements (mg/100 mL) are as follows:
- L- (Lactate calcium): 1345
- (Calcium chloride): 1300
- (Racemic lactate calcium): 702.8
- (Calcium gluconate): 370
- (Amino acid calcium): 224
- (Calcium hydroxide): 65
- (Citrate calcium): 20
- (Calcium carbonate): 0.56
To improve solubility, many manufacturers grind insoluble calcium (e.g., calcium carbonate) into ultrafine powder and then bind it. After ingestion, the drug rapidly disintegrates and reacts with stomach acid to form soluble calcium chloride, thereby overcoming its low solubility issue.