What are the symptoms of zinc deficiency in children?

If a child is zinc deficient, it will show up in the child's body, because when a child is zinc deficient, there are many symptoms. The biggest symptom of many children is yellow hair, and then the child will have a poor appetite. Many parents don't know this symptom of their children at all, and some parents think that their children are picky eaters. So if the child is really zinc deficient, what are the symptoms?

1. Loss of appetite: picky eating, anorexia, refusal to eat, general reduction in food intake, children have no sense of hunger, and do not take the initiative to eat;

2. Eat weird things. For example: biting nails, clothing, chewing toys, hard objects, eating hair, paper scraps, raw rice, wall dust, soil, sand, etc.;

3. Slow growth and development, height is 3-6 cm lower than that of the same age group, and weight is 2-3 kg lighter;

4. Low immunity, frequent colds and fevers, repeated respiratory tract infections such as tonsillitis, bronchitis, pneumonia, sweating, night sweats, etc.;

5. White spots appear on the nails, hangnails grow on the fingers, and geographic tongue appears (irregular red and white patterns on the surface of the tongue);

Hyperactivity, slow reaction, lack of concentration, and poor learning ability;

6. Vision problems: decreased vision can easily lead to night vision difficulties, myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, etc.;

7 Skin damage: When trauma occurs, the wound is not easy to heal; prone to dermatitis and stubborn eczema;

8. Delayed sexual development during puberty, such as: small testicles and penis, low testosterone levels, and low sexual function in males; late breast development and menstruation in females; late appearance of pubic hair in both males and females;

9. Recurrent oral ulcers

Precautions

Children can supplement zinc by eating kelp, seaweed, squid, oysters, yellow croaker, etc., especially oysters which contain high levels of zinc; animal offal, eggs, nuts, edible fungi, all of which are rich in zinc; green vegetables are also rich in zinc, among which celery is the richest in zinc.

Children should eat less refined rice and white flour to supplement zinc, because over-processing of food will destroy zinc. Therefore, the heat should be controlled when cooking food to reduce the loss of zinc.

Breastfeeding is encouraged. Breast milk contains zinc, which promotes the growth and development of infants, especially colostrum, which contains a large amount of zinc. Children who are bottle-fed need to add complementary foods on time and pay attention to supplementing foods rich in zinc.

Moderate intake of zinc-rich foods is also the most effective way to supplement zinc. For example, whole grains are rich in zinc; seafood is rich in zinc, and green vegetables are also rich in zinc.

Excessive processing of food can destroy zinc. Therefore, when cooking food, you should control the heat to reduce the loss of zinc.

When the content of iron, calcium, phosphorus, copper and other ingredients in food is too high, the absorption and utilization rate of zinc will be reduced. Food diversity should be ensured in daily diet, and efforts should be made to achieve a balanced diet.

The above is an introduction to the various symptoms of zinc deficiency in children. At the same time, we have also introduced various treatment methods when children are zinc deficient. First of all, the diet and life of the children must be improved in time. There are many foods in life that can supplement zinc. These foods can be used for children. When treating zinc deficiency in children, it is also necessary to check whether the child has calcium deficiency. If the child is calcium deficient, calcium supplementation is also required.