What are the characteristics of infantile kyphosis?

Rickets is a systemic chronic nutritional disease caused by a lack of vitamin D in infants and young children, which leads to calcium and phosphorus metabolism disorders. It is prone to occur in infants and young children aged 3-18 months. Parents must be aware of the symptoms of rickets and provide timely treatment when any abnormalities are discovered. So, what are the characteristics of infantile kyphosis? Let’s take a closer look.

1. General symptoms of rickets: In the early stage, there are symptoms of sleep disturbance, night terrors, crying, and irritability. As the disease progresses, there may be general muscle relaxation, hepatosplenomegaly, protruding abdomen, sweating, anemia, and developmental delay.

2. Head: Softening of the skull is more common in children under 6 months old. Pressing the center of the parietal bone or occipital bone with your fingers will feel the elasticity of a ping-pong ball. Square skull, extra large anterior fontanelle, and delayed closure (may be delayed until over 2 years old). The baby has late tooth eruption, and the deciduous teeth are not grown for more than 10 months, and the teeth are not strong.

3. Spine: mostly kyphosis, occasionally scoliosis.

4. Chest: The junction between the ribs and costal cartilage is enlarged, which is called "rib beads". The sternum protrudes forward and the anterior-posterior diameter of the chest cavity increases, which is called "pigeon chest". The thoracic wall is sunken into a groove along the attachment of the diaphragm, which is called Hao's groove.

5. Limbs: The epiphyses of the ulna and radius at the wrist bulge out to form blunt round protrusions, which are called rickets bracelets. The lower limbs are bent to form X-shaped legs, O-shaped legs, saber legs, etc.

1. Pay attention to the mother's health care during pregnancy

During pregnancy, the mother should strengthen her nutrition and eat more foods rich in protein and vitamin D, such as eggs, lean meat and animal liver; she should also get more sun exposure; and she should also take vitamin D preparations under the guidance of a doctor according to the specific situation.

2. Try to breastfeed

Because breast milk contains calcium and phosphorus in the right ratio, the vitamin D and calcium in the milk are easily absorbed. Therefore, if conditions permit, you should try to let your child drink breast milk.

3. Get more sun

Since sunbathing is economical, convenient and safe, it can be considered a good measure to prevent and treat rickets. Generally speaking, if children insist on basking in the sun for about 2 hours a day, their needs for vitamin D can be met. Therefore, the child can start sunbathing after one month and gradually increase the sunbathing time every day. But please note: it is best to sunbathe under the shade of trees in the summer and avoid direct sunlight; in the winter, you should not sunbathe through glass to prevent ultraviolet rays from being absorbed.

Children's daily physiological requirement of vitamin D is 400-600 units. If this dose can be guaranteed, the occurrence of rickets can be prevented. It is advisable to start adding vitamin D to children who are mixed-fed 2 weeks after birth. Parents should carefully calculate the daily dose of vitamin D intake through formula milk or fortified milk powder and then supplement it; or decide the dose to be supplemented under the guidance of a doctor. In addition, children who are malnourished, have weak constitutions, or grow and develop too quickly should pay attention to supplementing vitamin D to prevent rickets.

5. Treatment of rickets

Once a child is diagnosed with rickets by a doctor, the doctor should decide the dosage of vitamin D based on the severity of the rickets, i.e. mild, moderate or severe. Generally, the therapeutic dose for mild rickets is 1000-2000 units per day, and for moderate or severe rickets it is 2000-5000 units and 5000-10000 units respectively. Intensive treatment can also be given for severe rickets. It should be emphasized that the above treatments should be guided by a doctor.