Grandmother Zhang recently are worried to death – originally more than 3 months ago daughter-in-law gave birth to a big fat boy, what a good thing ah, but, recently the child at night will be crying and fussing, all night long sweating, hold up feeding can not coax, see the little head of hair is getting thinner and thinner, this can be done ah? So, Grandma Zhang went to the pediatrician with her grandson in her arms. After a series of tests, the child was diagnosed with vitamin D deficiency rickets, and Grandma Zhang was confused and consulted the doctor carefully. Grandma Zhang: Doctor, what is this rickets? Doctor: Your grandson is vitamin D deficiency rickets, because the body is not enough vitamin D, resulting in disorders of calcium and phosphorus metabolism, calcium can not be properly deposited in the growing part of the bones, so the bones are diseased, affecting the healthy growth of the child. Grandma Zhang: The child is always crying at night is this disease? Doctor: In addition to affecting the bones, rickets also affects the function of nerves, muscles, hematopoiesis, immunity and other tissues and organs, among which, neuropsychiatric symptoms include excessive sweating, irritability, night terrors and night crying, especially in small infants within 3 months of age, irritability, such as the detoxification of the bowels at any time, “breath”, but these are However, these are not specific symptoms of rickets, not to say that children cry at night is rickets, so you still need to go to the hospital to check. I’m not sure I understand how the child got this disease. Doctor: When it comes to the cause of rickets, it’s a bit complicated, of which the root cause is vitamin D deficiency. The children’s body of vitamin D is part of the sun’s ultraviolet radiation skin from the 7-dehydrocholesterol into the child’s own body, as long as the sunlight into, now the children because parents are afraid to go out sick or out of danger, usually lack of outdoor activities, long-term indoor less daylight, sunlight exposure is naturally insufficient, resulting in sunlight to reduce the amount of vitamin D production in the body vulnerable to Rickets. Grandma Zhang: Oh, so, we are afraid of the child to wind, is not often take out of the sun, the future must pay attention. So, is there anything else related to this disease? Doctor: Yes. First of all, rickets is still related to diet. Inadequate calcium and phosphorus content in food or inappropriate ratio can also lead to rickets. The ratio of calcium to phosphorus in breast milk is 2:1, which is easily absorbed, while milk contains more calcium and phosphorus, but the phosphorus content is high and poorly absorbed, so the incidence of rickets is higher in milk-fed children than in breast-fed children. Of course, nowadays formula has paid attention to adjusting the ratio of calcium to phosphorus, and there has been a great improvement in calcium absorption than milk. In addition to breastfeeding, some children’s parents lack nutritional knowledge and pay too much attention to high sugar and high protein when adding complementary foods to their infants, resulting in children being partial and picky eaters, causing a lack of vitamin D and other trace elements in the body. In addition, due to the reduction of breastfeeding, partiality, picky eating and outdoor activities, the child’s physical fitness will decline, prone to respiratory and intestinal diseases, parents are now more concerned about their children, a small illness will be injected with drugs, and the long-term use of antibiotics, anti-diarrheal drugs and certain fever flush and other drugs will affect the normal metabolism of the child’s body, affecting the normal absorption of bile acid to vitamin D, resulting in vitamin D deficiency. Grandma Zhang: I probably understand how my child got the disease, then my child’s disease is not serious, right, what are the serious consequences of this disease? The doctor: your child is only night terrors, night cries, blood calcium is normal, X-rays are also normal, so it is still the early stage, not serious, but, if the disease is not treated in time, to the active stage, it will affect the child’s bone development. The child with active rickets will generally teethe later than the average child, the severe skull will become thin, pressed like a ping pong ball, 7-8 months of age children will appear “square skull”. Rickets children also have abnormal thoracic development, and the softening of the ribs can cause “chicken chest” and “rib beads”, a deformity that can have an impact on heart and lung function. Before and after learning to walk, due to insufficient bone calcification, the child will also appear “O-shaped legs” and “X-shaped legs”, not only affect the aesthetics, but also prone to fractures. The first thing you need to do is to get a good idea of what you’re doing. Doctor: the fundamental purpose of rickets treatment is to control the active period, to prevent deformities and recurrence, so early detection, early treatment, comprehensive treatment is very important. For active rickets, it is necessary to feed reasonably and insist on frequent sun exposure to actively prevent complications, moreover, it is necessary to take vitamin D orally and, at the same time, supplement appropriate calcium and other auxiliary drugs. Of course, these drugs must let the doctor decide, not just reduce and stop by themselves. Grandma Zhang: Yes, I will definitely follow the dosage required by the doctor and insist on giving the child the medication. Doctor, can this disease be prevented? Doctor: Rickets can be prevented. Moreover, prevention should start from the mother of the child. The fetus’ need for vitamin D and calcium and phosphorus is increasing in the second trimester (7th, 8th and 9th months), so it is very important to take good care of the pregnancy in order for the baby to be born without vitamin D deficiency. Pregnant women should go outdoors often, get more sunshine and eat more nutrients rich in vitamin D, calcium, phosphorus and protein. For newborns, breastfeeding should be promoted, and sun exposure should be started as early as possible (2-3 weeks after birth). Premature babies should start taking 800 IU of vitamin D orally daily after birth and change to 400 IU daily after 3 months; while full-term babies should start taking 400 IU of vitamin D orally daily two weeks after birth until 2 years of age. Children in infancy and early childhood grow faster and are prone to rickets, so we must insist on taking comprehensive preventive measures, advocating breastfeeding, timely addition of complementary foods and more sunlight are the easiest measures to prevent rickets. Grandma Zhang: I see, it is so simple to prevent rickets, thank you doctor. Doctor: You are welcome. After the active treatment with vitamin D and calcium, Zhang’s grandson’s condition improved very quickly, and now the little night crier sleeps well at night.