What are the symptoms of calcium deficiency in infants and young children and how to supplement it?

Many parents are concerned about the physical development of infants and young children. They worry that their children's diet is not nutritious enough and that their babies cannot grow up healthily. In fact, infants are most likely to lack calcium, iron and zinc. When the corresponding elements are lacking, the body will have obvious symptoms. As long as the patient makes the corresponding diagnosis, the diagnosis can be confirmed. The symptoms of calcium deficiency in infants and young children are very obvious. Parents should supplement their children in time. So what are the symptoms of calcium deficiency in infants and young children and how to supplement them?

When infants and young children lack calcium, the first symptoms are soft skulls, large fontanelles, and a ping-pong ball feeling when the skull is pressed. Later, the chest bones become abnormal in shape, such as the sternum protruding like a pigeon chest and the lower edges of the ribs turning outward. If the bones in the lower limbs are weak, standing and bearing weight will cause "O" or "X" legs. In addition to bone changes, early symptoms include excessive sweating at night, baldness on the back of the head (occipital baldness), restless sleep and easy startling. Irritability and often crying for no apparent reason. Difficulty falling asleep. Even if you fall asleep, you can easily wake up. The above symptoms are called vitamin D deficiency rickets.

This disease is caused by insufficient vitamin D intake. Vitamin D promotes the absorption of calcium and phosphorus from the small intestine, allowing calcium to be deposited from the blood into rapidly growing bones, thereby hardening the bones. Therefore, calcium deficiency in infants and young children is caused by vitamin D deficiency.

Calcium supplementation for the mother will only prevent the mother from suffering calcium deficiency due to supplying nutrition to the baby, which will have little effect on the baby.

Calcium supplementation method:

First, getting proper sun exposure is the most effective, convenient and economical method. Let your baby play outdoors often. In spring and autumn, you can let your baby stay directly in the sun, and in the shade in summer, so that your baby's skin is frequently exposed to ultraviolet rays. Ultraviolet radiation can promote the conversion of 7-dehydrocholesterol stored in the skin into vitamin D3 through photochemical action. Exposure to sunlight allows the skin to store vitamin D3 for future use and will not lead to an excess of vitamin D. Don't sunbathe through glass windows, as the ultraviolet rays in the sun rarely penetrate glass windows. Also, try to expose as much skin as possible to increase the skin's synthesis of VD. There are more outdoor activities in the summer, so babies over one year old do not need to take VD to avoid accumulation in the body and causing poisoning.

Second, take vitamin D orally. There are many preparations of vitamin D, and parents can choose them on their own. The stomach acid concentration of infants is low, so it is best to choose organic calcium such as calcium gluconate and calcium lactate. After 2-3 years old, the stomach acid concentration gradually increases, and you can choose inorganic calcium with richer calcium content, such as calcium carbonate.

Give your child a daily dose. It is usually taken from half a month to one month after birth and continued until 2 and a half or 3 years old. When supplementing calcium, you must supplement VD at the same time to promote the absorption and utilization of calcium in the intestines. The ideal way to supplement calcium is to take VD and calcium supplements separately. Avoid putting calcium supplements in foods such as milk, rice soup or porridge. The phytic acid in food will affect calcium absorption, leading to a decrease in calcium absorption in the body. It is best to take calcium supplements between meals, so that the calcium can be better utilized by the body. Taking it during meals can easily affect the calcium absorption rate.

The symptoms and supplementation methods of calcium deficiency in infants and young children have been clearly introduced. When parents find that their children's diet cannot keep up with their growth, they can go to the hospital for a trace element test. After the examination, they can find out what the body is lacking and can also clearly supplement the nutrients. At the same time, the baby is too young, and the amount of drug supplementation should be controlled. Excessive calcium supplementation is not good for the body. Parents should supplement according to the doctor's advice.