Updated: 23-07-2025
Rickets is a rare condition which affects children.
It is a disorder which affects bone development in the children.
The symptoms of rickets soften and weaken bones in children, which results in regular fractures, abnormal legs, decreasedbone strength and many others.
Rickets is caused by a high amount of vitamin D deficiency among kids.
The symptoms of rickets are various and are mentioned below.
Children affected with rickets have difficulties in learning, walking if not treated at the correct time. Early stage treatment will prevent rickets.
Signs and Symptoms of Rickets: Who Gets Affected by Rickets?
Types of Rickets
There are majorly 3 types of rickets, and its effects depend on the symptoms of rickets.
1. Vitamin D deficiency rickets: It is caused by the vitamin D deficiency in the children. It is a widely seen defect among children around the globe.
2. Hypocalcaemia Rickets: It is caused when there is a low level of blood calcium in the body along with vitamin D. It results in many deformities in the body, such as bone, teeth, nervous system, etc.
3. Hypophosphatemic Rickets: It is also known as vitamin D-resistant rickets. It is a rare type of rickets which is caused by the genetic disorders in the kidney which affectthe process of phosphates. This ends up causing low phosphate levels which weaken and soften bones.
Causes of Rickets
The causes of rickets are due to the extreme vitamin D deficiency.
Rickets occurs when a child doesn’t get enough vitamin D supplied to the body or if the child is unable to utilise the provided vitamin D in the body.
In some cases, causes of rickets are due to the lack of calcium levels in the body.
If there is an insufficient calcium level along with a vitamin D deficiency, it also causes rickets.
Cause of Vitamin D Deficiency
The lack of vitamin D in children is due to the below-mentioned 2 major reasons.
If a child is unable to consume any of these, then he/she will definitely get rickets.
1. Sunlight:
When skin is exposed to sunlight, the skin produces vitamin D.
Sunlight exposure doesn’t mean during the day.
Sunlight provides positive energy in the early morning times.
Hence, our ancestors, especially in India, followed taking newly born infants into the sunlight to increase vitamin D content.
Every day sunlight exposure for at least 15 min is needed for children.
2. Food
Allow kids to consume more food with Vitamin D content, such as fatty fish, egg yolks, milk, cereals, some fruit juices, and vegetables in every meal.
Who gets affected by rickets?
Rickets is most commonly seen in the past days.
But now it has decreased rapidly in the western world since the 20th century because of the food changes and fortified foods such as margarine and cereals with vitamin D.
Recently, rickets has been increasing in the UK. A child with an improper diet, less intake of vitamin D, and a decrease in calcium levels develops rickets.
Rickets can also cause it in children who are premature babies or children with some sort of medication which prevents vitamin D.
Dark-skinned children should have more exposure to sunlight to grab enough vitamin D.
Risk Factors of Rickets
The following are the factors which increase the risk factors of rickets and develop symptoms of rickets.
- Dark-skinned children cannot absorb vitamin D, as they need more exposure to sunlight.
- Premature Birth.
- Vitamin D deficiency in mother during pregnancy.
- Northern latitudes where sunlight exposure is very low.
- Medications which prevent or decrease the vitamin D levels in the body.
- Children with malnutrition who don’t get enough nutrients due to the lack of healthy food intake.
Signs and Symptoms of Rickets
Signs and symptoms of rickets can be identified in many ways.
Here are the few listed signs and symptoms of rickets.
- Bone Pain
- Frequent Bone fractures
- Low calcium blood levels
- Soft skull (craniotabes)
- Affects or difficulties in child physical growth
- Deformities in spinal, pelvic or carnival
- Bowed legs (genu varum) in toddlers
- Wrists widening
- Projection in Breastbone
Diagnosis of Rickets
Diagnosis of rickets is done by a procedure to identify the provided symptoms of rickets and know the type of rickets with the following tests.
- Blood tests – To know the calcium and phosphatase levels in the blood.
- Bone biopsy – To confirm ricketts (which is used in rare conditions).
- Urine Test – To confirm the diagnosis of rickets
- X-rays to check the below parts for the difficulties, abnormalities and symptoms of rickets.
- Skull
- Legs
- Chest
- Wrist and ankles
Treatment of Rickets
The best treatment to prevent and cure rickets is following a proper diet for rickets.
The treatment of rickets is purely based on symptoms of rickets.
The treatment process is provided below.
Rickets has been successfully treating many children since 1930 all over the globe.
- Initially, rickets treatments start with any of the supplements of calcium, vitamin D, or phosphate, depending on the type of rickets.
- Skeletal deformities are observed in the brain. Doctors may have to brace the brain to keep the bones in the right position. If the disorder is in severe condition, then a brain surgery is needed.
Also Read: Do you know why this vitamin D is important for everyone?
How to prevent rickets?
Rickets can be prevented in a natural and organic way according to the symptoms of rickets.
Rickets can be prevented by following the mentioned steps for infants and children.
- Maintain a proper diet.
- Take the child into the sun in early mornings for some time.
- If doctor prescribes it, give vitamin D supplements for the child
- Go for regular checkups to know the vitamin levels.
- Try to add more vitamin D, calcium, and phosphate foods to the child menu to increase the respective levels in the body.
- As kids are sensitive, there should be extra care with the foods provided. Always choose organic, natural and healthy foods.
- Keep kids away from processed, ready-made, unhealthy junk foods.
Complications of Rickets
If the rickets are untreated and left for a prolonged duration, it increases the lifetime complications in a child’s life, which may not be cured or prevented once a child is grown up, depending on the symptoms of rickets.
- Growth failures
- Abnormally spine cure
- Skeletal deformities
- Defects in dental
- Seizures
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Author’s Bio: Ashreetha Pendkar is a healthcare writer, trainer and digital marketing expert.
She loves to read healthcare content and spread her words about the importance of health to near & dear ones.
