Rickets: Symptoms, causes, and treatments

It’s a skeletal disorder caused by the deficiency of vitamin D, calcium, or phosphate, which are some of the essential nutrients required to develop strong and healthy bones. As a result, people with rickets have weak and soft bones, stunted growth, and in most cases, skeletal deformities.

It is vitamin D that helps your body absorb calcium and phosphate from your intestines. Although you can get the required amount of vitamin D from various sources like milk, eggs, and fish, our body also produces the same amount of vitamin when exposed to sunlight.

A lack of vitamin D makes it harder for your body to maintain enough calcium and phosphate levels. When this happens, your body releases hormones that cause calcium and phosphate to leak from your bones. As a result, your bones grow weak and mushy when they lack certain minerals.

Rickets is most frequent in children between 6 to 36 months. As they are still growing, children are most vulnerable to rickets. In addition, children who live in areas with minimal sunlight, adopt a vegetarian diet, or do not consume milk products may not obtain enough vitamin D. This disorder is hereditary in some circumstances.

Who are the people most at risk of rickets?

A few risk factors for rickets include

Age

Rickets is most common among children between the age of 6 and 36. In this timeframe, children usually experience rapid growth when they require calcium and phosphate in abundance to develop bones.

Diet

If you have a vegetarian diet routine that does not include fish, eggs, or milk, you are at a higher risk of developing rickets. The risk is even higher if you have trouble digesting milk or have an allergy to milk sugar. Infants being fed only breast milk are also at a higher risk of developing vitamin D.

Skin colour

Since dark skin does not react as strongly as light skin to sunlight, it produces minimal vitamin D. People from Africa, Middle Eastern Islands, and Pacific Islands are at a higher risk of developing rickets.

Geographic location

Your body produces vitamin D only when they’re exposed to sunlight and hence you are at a high risk of developing rickets if you are located in an area that is exposed to very little sunlight. You’re also more vulnerable if you labour indoors during the day.

Genes

Rickets can be inherited in one form or another. This means that the condition is genetically transmitted. Hereditary rickets is a kind of rickets that stops your kidneys from absorbing phosphate.

Symptoms of Rickets

A few symptoms of rickets include

• Pain in bones of the arms, legs, pelvis, or spine
• Stunted growth and short stature
• Bone fractures
• Muscle cramps
• Teeth deformities, such as:
  • Delayed tooth formation
  • Holes in the enamel
  • Defects in the tooth structure
  • An increase in cavities
• Skeletal deformities, including:
  • An oddly shaped skull
  • Bowlegs
  • Bumps in the ribcage
  • A protruding breastbone
  • A curved spine
  • Pelvic deformities

Causes of rickets

Nutritional deficiencies or genetics are some of the most common causes of rickets.

Nutritional Rickets: Caused due to the deficiency of Vitamin D. This type of deficiency is caused due to,

• Insufficient exposure to sunlight.
• Lack of vitamin D in your diet.
• A diet very low in calcium.

Inherited Rickets: Several genetic diseases interfere with how your body absorbs vitamin D inside the body. Rickets is also caused by other hereditary disorders that impact how your body handles phosphorus.

Diagnosing rickets

A doctor diagnoses rickets through a physical examination. The doctor will check for pain in the bones by slightly pressing on them. The doctor might also conduct a few tests to make a rickets diagnosis. Some of these tests include:

• Blood tests to measure the levels of calcium and phosphate in the blood
• Bone X-rays to check for bone deformities

A small portion of the bone will be removed and sent to the lab for analysis called a bone biopsy in rare cases.

Treatment of rickets

Rickets’ treatment relies on replenishing the body’s deficient vitamins and minerals. This will eliminate the majority of the symptoms linked with rickets. The doctors will also encourage children to consume vitamin D-rich foods like fish, liver, milk, and eggs.

If your child has skeletal malformations, braces may be required to position their bones correctly as they grow. Your youngster may require corrective surgery in severe instances. To cure genetic rickets, a combination of phosphate supplements and high amounts of a particular form of vitamin D is necessary.

The aftermath of the treatment

Most children will be able to see the improvement of rickets in their bodies within a week. If rickets is treated when the kid is still young, skeletal defects frequently heal or disappear with time. On the other hand, skeletal abnormalities might become permanent if not addressed throughout a child’s growing phase.

Prevention

The best way to prevent rickets is to take in a wholesome diet containing adequate amounts of calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D. It is crucial for people with kidney problems to keep a tab on their body’s calcium and phosphate levels.

Although sunlight is vital for the body for the essential vitamin D, it is indispensable to understand that too much sunlight can damage your skin. Therefore, it is advised to use sunscreen to take care of your damaged skin.

People also ask

1. What is the leading cause of rickets?

One of the leading causes of rickets is the deficiency of vitamin D. This type of deficiency is caused due to,

• Insufficient exposure to sunlight.
• Lack of vitamin D in your diet.
• A diet very low in calcium.

2. What are rickets and their symptoms?

It’s a skeletal disorder caused by the deficiency of vitamin D, calcium, or phosphate, which are some of the critical nutrients required to develop strong and healthy bones. As a result, people with rickets have weak and soft bones, stunted growth, and in most cases, skeletal deformities. A few symptoms of rickets include

• Pain in bones of the arms, legs, pelvis, or spine
• Stunted growth and short stature
• Bone fractures
• Muscle cramps

3. Can rickets disease be cured?

Rickets’ treatment relies on replenishing the body’s deficient vitamins and minerals. This will eliminate the majority of the symptoms linked with rickets. The doctors will also encourage children to consume vitamin D-rich foods like fish, liver, milk, and eggs.

If your child has skeletal malformations, braces may be required to position their bones correctly as they grow. Your youngster may require corrective surgery in severe instances. To cure genetic rickets, a combination of phosphate supplements and high amounts of a particular form of vitamin D is necessary.