Disease/Disorder: Osteomalacia in children
Common Name: Rickets
Age of Onset: 6 to 24 months old and is uncommon in newborns.
Duration: If the disorder is not corrected while the child is still growing, then the skeletal deformaties will be permanent.
Commoness: It occurs equally in both genders, yet people with dark skin are at an increased risk. Overall it is rare in the United States.
Cause: Vitamin D is vital in controling calcium and phosphate levels in the body. If the body is deficient in vitamin D then the body tends to produce other hormones to stimulate the release of calcium and phosphate from the bones, which leads to the weakening and softening of bones. Lack of vitamin D production occurs in people who do not recieve enough exposure to sunlight.
Symptoms: These include bone pain or tenderness, skeletal deformaties (bowed legs, forward projection of the breastbone, bumps in the rib cage, oddly-shaped skull), increased tendency for bone fractures, dental deformaties, muscle cramps, impaired growth, and short stature.
Prognosis: The symptoms are slow in onset. In the beginning there is restlessness and irratibilty. Also, the child has issues with unnatural appetite, enlarged abdomen, and then loss of weight. Later, the child becomes easily tired and innactive with the softening of the bones and the developing of skeletal deformaties.
Treatment: The replacement of calcium, phosphorus, or vitamin D will eliminate most symptoms of rickets when the child is growing. Bracing may also be used to reduce or prevent deformaties. Later on in life, skeletal deformaties may require corrective surgery.
Source: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000344.htm
Common Name: Rickets
Age of Onset: 6 to 24 months old and is uncommon in newborns.
Duration: If the disorder is not corrected while the child is still growing, then the skeletal deformaties will be permanent.
Commoness: It occurs equally in both genders, yet people with dark skin are at an increased risk. Overall it is rare in the United States.
Cause: Vitamin D is vital in controling calcium and phosphate levels in the body. If the body is deficient in vitamin D then the body tends to produce other hormones to stimulate the release of calcium and phosphate from the bones, which leads to the weakening and softening of bones. Lack of vitamin D production occurs in people who do not recieve enough exposure to sunlight.
Symptoms: These include bone pain or tenderness, skeletal deformaties (bowed legs, forward projection of the breastbone, bumps in the rib cage, oddly-shaped skull), increased tendency for bone fractures, dental deformaties, muscle cramps, impaired growth, and short stature.
Prognosis: The symptoms are slow in onset. In the beginning there is restlessness and irratibilty. Also, the child has issues with unnatural appetite, enlarged abdomen, and then loss of weight. Later, the child becomes easily tired and innactive with the softening of the bones and the developing of skeletal deformaties.
Treatment: The replacement of calcium, phosphorus, or vitamin D will eliminate most symptoms of rickets when the child is growing. Bracing may also be used to reduce or prevent deformaties. Later on in life, skeletal deformaties may require corrective surgery.
Source: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000344.htm
