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Rickets or
osteomalacia
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- Vitamin D plays a crucial role in Calcium and Phosphorus absorption in the intestine. It is very important to the formation of healthy bones. Vitamin D deficiency causes Osteomalacia in adults and Rickets in children.
- Vitamin D may be found in various foods. The body also generates it in the skin through exposure to sunlight -- it undergoes a change in the liver, and once again in the kidneys, in order to work properly. Vitamin D's function (along with other hormones) is to monitor and maintain normal Calcium and Phosphorus levels in
the blood. Because most food in the U.S. is fortified with
vitamin D, deficiency is quite rare.
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- Symptoms depend on when the deficiency of vitamin D occurs.
- Rickets occur in children with this condition. Because of a lack of Calcium and Phosphorus, the bones are not mineralized properly, making them soft and weak, with a high risk of fractures.
- There is also a disease called vitamin D-resistant Rickets, caused by the kidneys losing too much Phosphorus. Here, the problem is with the kidneys, not with vitamin D.
- Osteomalacia --
vitamin D deficiency in adults causes Osteomalacia. The
symptoms include muscle weakness, bone pain, and bone
tenderness. As in children, fractures can occur very easily
because the bones are soft and
weak.
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- Vitamin D deficiency can be due to:
- Eating too little vitamin D
- Problems absorbing vitamin D in the stomach
- Too little exposure to sunlight
(as in elderly in nursing homes)
- Kidney failure can cause vitamin D
deficiency because of the kidney's role in producing vitamin
D.
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- Vitamin D deficiency is easily treated with supplemental vitamin D taken by mouth twice a week.
- Patients with vitamin D resistance, or those who have difficulty converting vitamin D to its final active form, should be treated with a special, biologically active version of vitamin D.
- With treatment, symptoms improve
quickly. In children, however, some of the bone changes may
be permanent.
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- A healthy diet rich in fortified milk, fish, and liver will help prevent vitamin D deficiency.
- Adequate sunlight exposure allows
the skin to form enough vitamin
D.
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