RUNNING HEAD: Rickets
Rickets
Abstract: Without a proper diet or a serious lack of nutrition a person is making his or her self susceptible to all sorts of diseases. All people, young and old, need to have a healthy and nutritional diet if they want to avoid the many diseases caused by poor nutrition. One disease young children are at risk for is rickets. Rickets is caused by a vitamin D, calcium, and phosphorus deficiency. Rickets is the softening and weakening of the bones in children. Skeletal deformities and fractures can occur because the bones are so soft and weak. Rickets is seen during periods of rapid growth because during growth a great deal of vitamin D, phosphorus, and calcium are needed. “The predominant cause is a
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Rickets is seen during periods of rapid growth because during growth a great deal of vitamin D, phosphorus, and calcium are needed. “The predominant cause is a vitamin D deficiency, but lack of adequate calcium in the diet may also lead to rickets. Although it can occur in adults, the majority of cases occur in children suffering from severe malnutrition, usually resulting from famine or starvation during the early stages of childhood” (Rickets, 2007). If a child is severely lacking theses important vitamins and minerals when they are rapidly growing, then the body will compensate for the nutrients’ deficiencies. “Your body senses an imbalance of calcium and phosphorus in your bloodstream and reacts by taking calcium and phosphorus from your bones to raise blood levels to where they need to be. This softens or weakens the bone structure, resulting most commonly in skeletal deformities such as bowlegs or improper curvature of the spine” (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2006).
Affects:
Rickets affects the body in many ways. However, “vitamin D deficiency begins months before physical signs and symptoms of rickets appear” (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2006). The signs and symptoms do not appear overnight; instead the bones slowly soften and weaken over time. According to Wikipedia, some of the most common signs and symptoms of rickets are:
Signs and symptoms vary based on the type of Osteogenesis Imperfecta the patient has. The most common type is Type I. This is a mild type of the disease and often is not diagnosed until adulthood. Some common symptoms are brittle teeth, hearing loss in some cases, blue sclera, easy bruising, and mild delay in motor skills. In most cases there is little or no bone deformity, normal height,
2). In addition, this disease causes death, short stature, blindness, and hearing loss. “Seventy percent of children with malignant infantile osteoporosis die by the age of six years, and almost 100 percent do not live to the age of 10 years” (Stocks et al., p. 2). The main cause of death is bone marrow failure, due to non-functioning osteoclasts. Some children will also have delays in muscle coordination, nerve compression, low levels of iron, crossed eyes, tooth decay, abnormal hardening of the bones, and fractures. (“Osteopetrosis,” 2008).
According to the US National Library of Medicine, “rickets is a disorder caused by a lack of vitamin D, calcium, or phosphate”. What does this mean exactly? Vitamin D, calcium and phosphate are necessary to promote strong bone health. Without these essential components, our bones become brittle and weak. Impaired growth, skeletal deformities, decreased muscle tone, probability of bone fractures and dental deformities are likely.
Each article analysed, as well as professional interviews indicated that rickets is the leading disease connected to bone deformities such as Genu Valgum (Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, 2014; Bowed legs, Blount's Disease, n.d) This is supported by orthopaedic surgeon Dr David Hermann (Hermann, 2016) who stated in an interview ‘’It can be caused through a fracture, trauma or a disease, a common one of is Rickets.’’ To elaborate, rickets is a vitamin D deficiency common in children; it causes a child to suffer from submissive bones and joints, as well as excruciating muscle pain. Rickets can develop through a number of causes, for example; naturally darker skin and lack of sun exposure. It is a key element to the body because of its ability to break down calcium, ultimately creating strong and healthy bones (Rickets, 2016; Shapiro, F
Children in their developing age must consume adequate amounts of milk and dairy products in order to promote bone development and prevent the risks of obtaining rickets. Sodas hinder bone growth as it creates an acidic environment in the human body.
Another cause of osteomalacia, although very uncommon, is tumor induced, also know as oncogenic osteomalacia (Kaul et al., 2007). The most common tumor form is phosphaturic mesenchymal and this tumor releases excess fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF23). The release of FGF23 results in hypophosphatemia, or low phosphate levels in the body by decreasing small intestine and renal resorption of phosphate (William et al., 2011). FGF23 also inhibits 1α-hydroxylase which prevents the formation of the active form of vitamin D. In normal conditions, the bones increase the release of FGF23 when phosphate levels are high, so one can imagine how severe osteomalacia can result from the body being told it has too much phosphate when
The volume of rickets-related cases has been increasing internationally, and malnutrition persistently remains to be the leading cause. Malnutrition, amongst children diagnosed with rickets, occurs as a result of food insecurity due to unavailability of food, lack of access to food and poor utilization (due to a person's inability to select, take-in and absorb the nutrients in the food). Clinical social workers can and should always discuss the importance and, or the possibility of parents attaining a living wage to combat this illness. Medical social workers must presume roles as educator, facilitator, researcher, advocators amongst the interdisciplinary team to ensure optimal care for patients and to assist the family as they aim towards
Rickets is a disease that deals with a deficiency with Vitamin D. Vitamin D is important by controlling calcium and phosphate levels. If the blood levels of these minerals become too low, the body may produce hormones that cause calcium and phosphate to be released from the bones eventually this leads to weak and soft bones. (2) Throughout this paper we will go over a variety of characteristics involving the disease of Rickets, these includes things such as: causes of disease, risk factors, significance statistics of Rickets, diagnosis, treatment, disease changes and comorbidity/comortality.
Insufficient Vitamin D supply/intake: Vitamin D assists the absorption of calcium from the intestines. A lack of vitamin D causes bone to have insufficient calcium, which further weakens bones and increases the risk of
Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) is a genetic disorder that involves defective development of the connective tissue. The collagen production found in bones and other tissue is affected by a gene mutation. It is also known as “brittle bone disease.” Osteogenesis Imperfecta is inherited as an autosomal-dominant trait. It is characterized by abnormally brittle and fragile bones that are easily fractured by the least amount of trauma. OI affects both boys and girls the same and one out of 10,000 live births have been confirmed with the disease. There are four types of IO, they are type I, type II, type III and type IV. With type 1 being more common in infancy with a normal life expectancy expected. This paper will discuss the physical signs of OI, how this disease is often mistaken in child abuse cases and the nurses’ role in caring for the child with OI. (Ball, Bindler, & Cowen, 2015)
Not being safe or protecting yourself can lead to broken bones. Broken bones is not fun because you have to be in a cast or in a boot for awhile (Brown, Susan). The first phase or stage is inflammation. It is where you have been in a cast or boot for a few weeks and you feel a lot of pain. The second phase is modeling. This is where the bone is healing itself up trying to get the nutrient to do that. In order to do is heal faster you have to watch what you are taking into your body. It is proven that if you consume the right vitamin and nutrients then the bone or help your body 5% faster. "Vitamin B(6) has been linked to fracture and broken bone healing" (Brown, Susan). When having a broken bone, younger teens who are pregnant are more likely to break a bone during
Osteoporosis is a disease that causes bones to become weak and fragile. While reading the controversy on page 328 in our books it was interesting to me how this disease affects people more so by their gene, sex, age, and race. What also popped out to me was how later on in life we cannot make up the calcium we failed to take in our younger years. The amount of Calcium and Vitamin D we take as children affects us all the way into our older age. Of course taking Calcium and Vitamin D at any age is better than not taking any at all, but it does not stop osteoporosis it can only slow it down.
There are numerous factors that contribute to the development of this horrible disease, but the most important factor is vitamin D deficiency. When the minerals in osteoid crystallize, they require adequate concentration of calcium and phosphate. When the concentration is not at the correct level, ossification does not proceed normally (Huether & McCance, 2008). Vitamin D regulates the absorption of calcium from the intestine. When there is a lack of vitamin D, the concentration of calcium begins to fall (Huether & McCance, 2008). The body begins to regulate this calcium drop by increases the amount of PTH synthesis and secretion (Huether & McCance, 2008). An increase of PTH causes a clearance of phosphate and without the correct levels of phosphate mineralization of the bones cannot proceed in the correct manor (Huether & McCance, 2008). The abnormality of bone growth can occur in spongy and compact bone (Mayo
Adynamic bone disease (ABD) is increasingly recognized, especially in dialysis patients treated with oral calcium carbonate, vitamin D supplements, or supra-physiological dialysate calcium . The cause is unknown, but a constant low PTH level plays a major role. PTH maintains calcium levels in the body. A decrease in calcium levels causes an increase in PTH production, this now causes calcium to be resorb in the bones losing density and strength as a result. In ESRD patients the active form of vitamin D needed for bone metabolism produced in the kidneys is deficient.
The major defect in Osteomalacia is a deficiency of activated vitamin D , which promotes calcium absorption from the gastrointestinal tract and facilitates mineralization of bone.