What is rickets? How can it be prevented?
What is rickets? How can it be prevented?
Rickets is a disease caused by the deficiency of vitamin D or calciferol in the diet. This deficiency causes increased loss of Ca2+ in urine therefore, no calcium ion (Ca2+) gets deposited in the bone. It is called rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults.
Symptoms :
-Bones of children suffering from rickets become thin, soft and weak due to poor deposition of calcium and phosphorus in them.
-The signs of rickets in children are bow legs (bent legs) due to deformation in long bones (leg bones).
Prevention/Control :
Rickets can be prevented by including food sources rich in Vitamin D in our diet which helps the body to absorb calcium.
Human skin contains a large amount of a compound called 7-dehydrocholesterol. When ultraviolet rays of sunlight fall on our skin, this compound is converted into vitamin- D. In our country, the new born babies are exposed to sunlight every day. This is done to produce vitamin D which will prevent rickets.
Rickets is a disease caused by the deficiency of vitamin D or calciferol in the diet. This deficiency causes increased loss of Ca2+ in urine therefore, no calcium ion (Ca2+) gets deposited in the bone. It is called rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults.
Symptoms :
-Bones of children suffering from rickets become thin, soft and weak due to poor deposition of calcium and phosphorus in them.
-The signs of rickets in children are bow legs (bent legs) due to deformation in long bones (leg bones).
Prevention/Control :
Rickets can be prevented by including food sources rich in Vitamin D in our diet which helps the body to absorb calcium.
Human skin contains a large amount of a compound called 7-dehydrocholesterol. When ultraviolet rays of sunlight fall on our skin, this compound is converted into vitamin- D. In our country, the new born babies are exposed to sunlight every day. This is done to produce vitamin D which will prevent rickets.
