Free
E-newsletter
Subscribe to Housecall
Our weekly general interest
e-newsletter keeps you up to date
on a wide variety of health topics.
close window
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Prevention
By Mayo Clinic staffMost adolescents and adults receive much of their necessary vitamin D from exposure to sunlight. Infants and young children, however, need to avoid direct sun entirely or be especially careful by always wearing sunscreen.
Make sure your child is consuming foods that contain vitamin D naturally — fatty fish, fish oil and egg yolks — or that have been fortified with vitamin D, such as:
- Infant formula
- Cereals
- Milk
- Orange juice
Because human milk contains only a small amount of vitamin D, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all breast-fed infants receive 400 international units (IU) of oral vitamin D daily beginning the first few days of life.
References
- 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.
Find Mayo Clinic on