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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffRickets 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.
- Greenbaum LA. Rickets. In: Kleigman RM, et al. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/214433730-7/0/1608/132.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2450-7..50050-5--cesec3_919. Accessed Aug. 13, 2010.
- Rickets: What it is and how it's treated. American Academy of Family Physicians. http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/children/parents/special/bone/902.html. Accessed Aug. 13, 2010.
- Rauch F. Etiology and treatment of hypocalcemic rickets in children. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Aug. 13, 2010.
- Rauch F. Overview of rickets in children. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Aug. 16, 2010.
- Drezner MK. Osteomalacia and rickets. In: Goldman L, et al. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/214808326-3/0/1492/956.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2805-5..50270-6--cesec7_12061. Accessed Aug. 16, 2010.
- Dietary supplement fact sheet: Vitamin D. Office of Dietary Supplements. National Institutes of Health. http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamind.asp. Accessed Aug. 16, 2010.
- Prevention of rickets and vitamin D deficiency in infants, children and adolescents. Rockville, Md.: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. http://www.guideline.gov/content.aspx?id=13540&search=vitamin+d. Accessed Aug. 17, 2010.
- Taylor JA, et al. Use of supplemental vitamin D among infants breastfed for prolonged periods. Pediatrics. 2010;125:105.
- Sunburn: Treatment and prevention. American Academy of Pediatrics. http://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/at-play/pages/Sunburn-Treatment-And-Prevention.aspx. Accessed Aug. 17, 2010.
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