Rickets
By Davis Lyth
Rickets Definition
Rickets is a disease of children caused by vitamin D deficiency, characterized by imperfect calcification, softening, and distortion of the bones, resulting in bow legs.
Symptoms of Rickets
- Baby is floppy
- Bone pain
- Bone tenderness
- Bones break easily
- Costochondral swelling - there are prominent knobs of the bone at the costochondral joints; large beads show up under the skin of the rib cage
How do you become infected/affected?
Rickets is caused by vitamin D deficiency.
Treatment for Rickets
What you need to do is replace the vitamin that is missing in your body, which in the case of Rickets is vitamin D. You can get vitamin D by drinking/eating dairy products, going outside, and eating fish.
Interesting Facts About Rickets
- Rickets is more common in dark skinned people
- Can be caused by sunscreen over usage
- Is a risk for strict vegans
- It can be hereditary
- It gets its name from the Greek "rachitis", which means swollen spine
- It causes scoliosis
Mortality Rate
The mortality rate is 7.9 of 100,000 to 21.1 of 100,000.