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Definition

By Mayo Clinic staff

Rickets is the softening and weakening of bones in children, usually because of an extreme and prolonged vitamin D deficiency.

Vitamin D promotes the absorption of calcium and phosphorus from the gastrointestinal tract. A deficiency of vitamin D makes it difficult to maintain proper calcium and phosphorus levels in bones, which can cause rickets.

If a vitamin D or calcium deficiency causes rickets, adding vitamin D or calcium to the diet generally corrects any resulting bone problems for your child. Rickets due to a genetic condition may require additional medications or other treatment. Some skeletal deformities caused by rickets may need corrective surgery.

Symptoms
References
  1. Kliegman RM, et al. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 19th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2011. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/208746819-6/0/1608/0.html. Accessed March 12, 2013.
  2. Ferri FF. Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2013: 5 Books in 1. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2012. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/about.do?eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-323-08373-7..00002-9&isbn=978-0-323-08373-7&about=true&uniqId=343863096-23. Accessed March 12, 2013.
  3. Carpenter T. Overview of rickets in children. http://www.uptodate.com/home. Accessed March 12, 2013.
  4. Carpenter T. Etiology and treatment of calcipenic rickets in children. http://www.uptodate.com/home. Accessed March 12, 2013.
  5. Gardner DG, et al. Greenspan's Basic & Clinical Endocrinology. 9th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2011. http://www.accessmedicine.com/resourceTOC.aspx?resourceID=13. Accessed March 12, 2013.
  6. Vitamin D. Office of Dietary Supplements. http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-QuickFacts. Accessed March 12, 2013.
DS00813 June 1, 2013

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