Young babies with rickets can be fussy and have soft skulls. Infants and toddlers may not develop, walk, or grow well. Older children may have bone pain and bowed legs, or their wrists and knees may get wider. The picture on the next page shows some symptoms of rickets.
Your child will need a full physical exam. Blood tests and x-rays of the arms or legs can help your doctor tell if your child has rickets. Treatment depends on the type of rickets your child has. Your doctor will find out why your child has rickets and treat the cause. Nutritional rickets is treated with vitamin D and calcium. If your child has inherited rickets or has an illness causing the problem, a doctor who specializes in rickets may need to help.
Be sure your child gets enough vitamin D and calcium. Your doctor will tell you if your child needs extra vitamin D or calcium.
If you have a young baby whose only food is breast milk, your doctor may prescribe medicine with vitamin D. If your baby gets just over 16 ounces of formula per day, he or she will need extra vitamin D. Your doctor can also tell you if your older child needs more vitamin D or calcium. Your doctor will tell you about how much time in the sun is safe for your child. Hypophosphatemic rickets, for example, is a rare condition in which the kidneys are unable to process phosphate properly.
Low levels of phosphate in the blood lead to weak and soft bones. The most common type affects around 1 in 20, newborns. Calcium is also important for bone strength. Find out which foods provide calcium here. One study found that Alaska Native children had a higher risk of rickets due to poor nutrition , a lack of vitamin D supplementation, and latitude very little UV light reaches the earth from November to February in this region.
Get some tips on how to strengthen the bones naturally here. Depending on the underlying cause, a doctor will usually prescribe vitamin D supplements. Get more information on vitamin D and joint pain here. To add vitamin D to the diet, a person can consume :. Making dietary changes and spending some time outside each day can help prevent rickets in most children. If the cause is genetic, a doctor may prescribe phosphate and calcitriol supplements to reduce bowing in the legs.
If there is an underlying medical cause, such as kidney disease, treating it may help prevent rickets. A doctor will diagnose rickets by checking for symptoms such as bowed legs or a soft skull. To confirm a diagnosis, a doctor may recommend :. Blood tests : These look for low levels of calcium and phosphorus and high levels of alkaline phosphatase. X-rays : These may reveal calcium loss in bones or alterations in the structure or shape of the bones.
In this article , learn about osteoporosis , a condition that can affect older people. Your child will be referred to see a specialist urgently. The specialist will have your child undertake blood tests to check vitamin D, calcium balance, phosphate, kidney function, and bone turnover , urine tests and X-rays. Although rickets is usually caused by low vitamin D, most children with low vitamin D do not get rickets. Rickets is more likely in babies and children who also have low dairy intake, and in babies who breastfeed for a long time without starting solid foods at the normal age around four to six months.
Including foods with vitamin D in your child's diet may help prevent rickets. Foods with vitamin D include fresh fatty fish e. Some foods have vitamin D added, such as margarine and some breakfast cereals or dairy products. However, foods only provide a small amount 10 per cent or less of daily vitamin D needs for most people in Australia, and safely spending enough time in the sun is the best way to prevent low vitamin D.
See our fact sheet Vitamin D. Children with dark skin who live in the southern parts of Australia should have extra vitamin D supplements during winter. Regular follow-up with a paediatrician is needed to ensure that healthy levels of vitamin D, calcium and phosphate are maintained.
You child will have:. If my child has bow legs, will they straighten up once she is getting more vitamin D? Usually, within three months of treatment, an improvement in bone health and shape are visible on X-rays. With medical treatment alone, most bow legs improve dramatically and surgery is not necessary. The time to build strong bones is when we're kids and teens.
Children who start their adult lives with the strongest bones possible are less likely to have bone loss later in life. That's why getting enough calcium and vitamin D is so important.
To help your kids build healthy bones:. Reviewed by: Larissa Hirsch, MD. Larger text size Large text size Regular text size. What Is Rickets? What Causes Rickets? As the bones start to bend and become misshaped, kids with rickets can: have muscle weakness or pain be shorter than other kids their age have dental problems break a bone have bow legs How Is Rickets Diagnosed? Doctors diagnose rickets by: doing an exam, checking bones for tenderness or pain by pressing on them ordering blood tests to check calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D levels getting X-rays to look for bone deformities when bones are bent or misshaped How Is Rickets Treated?
If another disease causes rickets, a child will go to a specialist for care.
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