Rickets Research Paper

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A normal person’s childhood usually consists of running, jumping, crawling, and climbing doing what is considered “kid things”, often times people take for granted the value of all these normal activities. Some children are less fortunate than others, born with a disease that inhibits them from enjoying their childhood. A vitamin-deficiency known as rickets inhibits the body from sustaining the correct level of nutrients causing children to have weak, or softened bones (Healthline). Usually found in children ages three to six months, rickets is a skeletal disorder that is the lack of vitamin D, calcium, or phosphate in the body. Vitamin D is a hormone that helps with the absorption or calcium and phosphorus, assisting with the formation of …show more content…
The amount of vitamin D the mother has while she is pregnant determines the levels of vitamin D the baby will have, so it is very important mothers stay healthy and keep good levels of nutrients while pregnant. Though it is not likely to occur in the United States it is still seen occasionally, mainly in babies who are breastfed for too long because breast milk does not contain enough vitamin D the infant needs for proper growth. Fortified milk has decreased the problem in the United States tremendously (Sroda, Rebecca). Often times, if the mother does not have adequate vitamin D levels, the doctor will prescribe a vitamin D supplement while the mother is still breast feeding to ensure the child is getting enough nutrients. Not getting proper amounts of vitamin D or calcium within ones diet, or if the nutrients are not correctly absorbed will cause low blood calcium levels, which is known as hypocalcemia. Sunlight is very important in preventing rickets because it is a very good source of vitamin D. Because children in Africa have such dark pigmented skin, it is harder for them to absorb vitamin D through the sun. Rickets can be genetic, but is not very common, this is called hypophosphatemic hereditary rickets; it prevents the kidneys from taking in phosphate the way they normally would which is responsible for forming the bones and teeth in the
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