Those of us who had to endure taking spoonfuls of cod liver oil as a kid have the disease rickets to thank for that most unpleasant of taste bud tortures. Rickets is a disease found mostly in children in whom a lack of certain vitamins results in a softening and weakening of the bones. Rickets is rare in the United States, but in the developing nations of the globe, rickets is still a major problem. Luckily, the treatments for rickets are simple, and almost always effective if the disease is diagnosed in time.
Rickets develops in a child when he or she lacks Vitamin D, phosphate, or calcium in their diets. Adults can also have rickets, but the vast majority of cases are found among children. Vitamin D helps to absorb the minerals in the foods that we consume, minerals like calcium and phosphorus that aid in building a strong skeletal system. Some nutritional sources of Vitamin D include dairy foods, eggs, and a variety of green vegetables. Your skin has the ability to synthesize Vitamin D, as long as it is exposed to the ultraviolet radiation from sunlight. Children that are kept out of the sun, or those in environments where there is little exposure to sunlight, run the risk of developing rickets. Populations residing in places in the higher latitudes of the northern hemisphere are susceptible to rickets. In the years that rapid growth takes place, between the ages of six months and two years, rickets can manifest itself if conditions are right, namely the aforementioned lack of sun and Vitamin D.
Vitamin D is absorbed from nutrients by the intestines, or it is produced by the skin with the help of sunlight. In your body, Vitamin D acts just like a hormone, regulating calcium absorption from the intestine and also controlling levels of calcium and phosphate in your bones. As Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, anything that reduces the body’s ability to digest or absorb fats will lower the amount of Vitamin D absorbed from the intestinal region. A Vitamin D deficient body is then unable to control calcium and phosphate levels. When blood levels of these minerals becomes too low, the body will “rob Peter to pay Paul”, taking calcium and phosphate from the bones to replenish the supply in the bloodstream. The result is rickets, a malady of the bones that causes a worsening level of softening and weakening in the bone structure.
Vegetarians that do not drink milk products, or individuals that are lactose intolerant (a condition where one cannot properly digest milk products) can develop rickets as well. When calcium and phosphorus are missing from your diet, which is rare in the United States today, rickets can come into play. Hereditary rickets is a form of the disease that one inherits, occurring because there is a kidney disorder that makes them unable to hold onto phosphates. There are also children’s ailments that keep them from absorbing Vitamin D properly, or do not allow them to convert it to its active form in their bodies. Babies being raised solely on breast milk, unless the mother is using a Vitamin D supplement, can get rickets, as can those on breast milk without proper exposure to the sun. Darker skin tones also play in role in rickets, if the person isn’t able to absorb enough sunlight because of their pigmentation.
The symptoms of rickets include bones that are painful, fever, the failure of teeth to form or their forming at a slower rate, and deformed teeth and tooth enamel. Rickets makes the chance of fractures to the bones increase, sometimes by themselves with no outside trauma or pressure applied. Skeletal abnormalities like bowed legs, a sideways curve of the spine known as scoliosis, and a hunched back are brought on by rickets. A progressive loss of muscle tone and muscle cramps is another sign, as are non-stop muscle spasms. If your physician suspects rickets is the culprit for any of these symptoms, diagnosis of the condition will be done with a variety of tests, X-Rays, or a bone biopsy.
Because rickets is brought about by a lack of certain minerals necessary for good growth, the treatment is usually to be sure that Vitamin D and calcium are present in the diet. Replacing these minerals in the body will eradicate the effects of rickets. This is where the cod liver oil remedy came in for so many of us growing up, but there are plenty of other sources of these needed minerals, such as liver, fish, and milk. Vitamin and mineral supplements can be necessary, and an increased exposure to sunlight could be ordered. An underlying disorder that is causing the case of rickets would be treated, and in cases where there is skeletal damage, braces may have to be worn for a period of time. Severe cases of the disease sometimes require surgery to correct deformities. Fortunately, bones are very quick to respond to an increase in calcium and Vitamin D levels, meaning that they can be strengthened in short order. Catching rickets when a child is young will insure normal growth in most cases, but left untreated long enough, it can affect the child’s height and cause permanent deformities.
