95% of babies are “calcium deficient”. Pediatrician’s 360-degree analysis

The healthy development of baby\’s bones, brain, and teeth are all inseparable from calcium absorption. Many parents are confused about calcium deficiency and calcium supplementation. What is calcium deficiency? What is the cause of calcium deficiency? How to prevent it? Data show that 95% of children in my country have varying degrees of calcium deficiency. The calcium intake of primary school students in Beijing, Shanghai, and Inner Mongolia is only 33%, 55%, and 69% of the standard amount respectively. It can be seen that calcium deficiency is relatively common among children in my country. Five major manifestations of \”calcium deficiency\” in babies. The main manifestations of calcium deficiency in babies aged 0-2 are as follows: excessive sweating, night terrors, irritability, occipital baldness and bone changes. Manifestation 1: Hyperhidrosis caused by calcium deficiency is specific. Not all hyperhidrosis is calcium deficiency. The main manifestation is excessive sweating during sleep at night, especially after the baby is asleep. Hyperhidrosis caused by calcium deficiency is also called \”night sweats\” and \”night sweats\”. It is normal to sweat a lot during feeding or during activities, and it is not a calcium deficiency. Manifestation 2: Night terrors manifest as the baby suddenly waking up, crying, or even screaming at night. Mild calcium deficiency or early stage of calcium deficiency may not cause awakening, but may cause sleeplessness, grunting, and tossing and turning in the middle of the night. Manifestation 3: Irritability. Calcium-deficient babies are generally more irritable, less lively than other babies, and may cry for unknown reasons and lose their temper. Performance 4: Occipital Alopecia What is Occipital Alopecia? Mothers often wonder why there is a circle of light and barren land on the back of the baby\’s head. In fact, this situation is also very common. Manifestation 5: Bone changes If calcium deficiency is severe and continues to develop, bone changes will occur. ●Common baby rib valgus Rib valgus is very common clinically, which means the lower edge of the baby\’s ribs becomes raised. This requires an experienced doctor to make an accurate judgment. Another situation that needs attention is that some parents are used to lifting their baby\’s pants so high that the elastic band of the pants just presses against the ribs, which can also cause ribs to valgus. So when wearing pants, you should pay attention to: first, the elastic band should not be too tight, and second, the elastic band should not be higher than the ribs. ➤Babies 3 to 6 months old: Use your fingers to gently press the occipital bone or parietal bone to make it feel elastic like a table tennis ball (skull softening). ➤Babies aged 8 to 9 months: The head is square (square-headed), and the anterior fontanel is also relatively large. The fontanel cannot be closed until 18 months old. ➤Babies around 1 year old: On the chest, the junction between the ribs and costal cartilage can be seen to be enlarged like a bead, which is called rib beading; and thoracic deformities may occur, such as the protrusion of the sternum into a \”chicken breast\” and the eversion of the costal margins. Due to weakness of limbs and back muscles, children sit, stand and walk later than healthy children, and are prone to falls. ➤Babies aged 1-2 years old: When they can walk in the future, they may have deformities of their lower limbs bending inward or outward, forming \”O\”-shaped legs or \”X\”-shaped legs. ➤Children over 3 years old: Children after 3 years old may not have the above symptoms, some may only have leg pain, and some may only have sequelae of bone changes. In addition, children’s teething is also delayed and they are prone to tooth decay. TIPS: Ultrasound bone density measurement of \”calcium deficiency\” In addition to the above-mentioned mothers observing the symptoms and signs of \”calcium deficiency\” in their babies, you can also go to the child care clinics of major hospitals to assist in the diagnosis of \”calcium deficiency\” in children through ultrasound bone density. . Ultrasound boneIt has no radiation density, is safe and easy to operate, and is suitable for testing infants and young children. A study on the correlation between serum vitamin D and bone density was conducted in children aged 0-6 years old, and it was found that the correlation between the two is good, indicating that ultrasound bone density is reliable as an auxiliary diagnosis of \”calcium deficiency\”. It is recommended that parents try to go to a large and standardized hospital for diagnosis and treatment, because ultrasonic bone density has very strict requirements for the operation to ensure the accuracy of the results. 5 Common Causes of Calcium Deficiency in Babies Many times, \”calcium deficiency\” in babies is not simply a lack of calcium in the body, but more of a lack of vitamin D, because calcium can only be effectively absorbed with the help of vitamin D in the body. 1. Insufficient intake. Natural foods contain less vitamin D and cannot meet the needs. Milk contains very little vitamin D. Although the ratio of calcium to phosphorus in human milk is appropriate (2:1), which is conducive to calcium absorption, if the breastfed infant lacks outdoor activities or does not promptly supplement rich ingredients such as cod liver oil, egg yolk, liver paste, etc. Supplementary foods containing vitamin D are also prone to calcium deficiency. 2. Insufficient sunlight ● 7-dehydrocholesterol in the skin needs to be irradiated by ultraviolet light with a wavelength of 296-310nm before it can be converted into vitamin D3. Since ultraviolet rays cannot pass through glass windows, the lack of outdoor activities in infants and young children will cause endogenous vitamin D production. Insufficient; ●Tall buildings in big cities can block sunlight, and atmospheric pollution such as smog and dust will also absorb part of ultraviolet rays; ●During winter, sunlight is short and ultraviolet rays are weak, which can easily lead to vitamin D deficiency. 3. Infants born prematurely or with twins who grow too fast do not have enough vitamin D stored in their bodies, and they grow rapidly after birth, so they need more vitamin D and are prone to vitamin D deficiency or calcium deficiency. 4. Disease factors: Most gastrointestinal or hepatobiliary diseases can affect the absorption of vitamin D, such as infant hepatitis syndrome, congenital biliary stenosis or atresia, steatorrhea, pancreatitis, chronic diarrhea, etc.; severe liver and kidney damage can also cause vitamin D D hydroxylation disorder and insufficient production lead to calcium deficiency. 5. Drug effects Long-term use of anticonvulsant drugs can lead to insufficient vitamin D in the body, such as phenytoin and phenobarbital, which can increase the activity of the microsomal oxidase system of liver cells and accelerate the decomposition of vitamin D and 25(OH)D into inorganic substances. Active metabolites; glucocorticoids antagonize the calcium transport effects of vitamin D. Prevention of vitamin D deficiency or calcium deficiency in babies Preventing vitamin D deficiency or calcium deficiency should start from the fetal period. Babies under 1 year old are the focus of prevention. Specific routine prevention is as follows: During the fetal period 1. Pregnant women should bask in the sun and do more outdoor activities; 2. Pregnant women should drink more milk; 3. Supplement vitamin D during pregnancy: 400 to 800IU per day. However, many obstetricians and gynecologists believe that the safety of vitamin D to the fetus is not very certain, so they rarely prescribe vitamin D to pregnant women. 4. After 5 months of pregnancy, start supplementing with an appropriate amount of calcium (about 500 mg) every day. 0~3 years old 1. Vitamin D supplementation: 1. It is most important for babies to get more sun and outdoor activities, and it is also the most economical and effective. 2. Starting from the 10th day, supplement an appropriate amount of vitamin D every day, 400IU of vitamin D every day. Supplement vitamin D 800IU daily before premature birth or twins 3 months old. 3. Mother during breastfeedingMom should take an appropriate amount of calcium, cod liver oil, get more sun exposure, and drink milk powder every day. ●How to expose your baby to the sun? Basking in the sun refers to direct exposure of human skin to sunlight. Moreover, the exposure time is 0.5 to 1 hour every day. The parts that can receive sunlight in winter are the face, small hands and feet, buttocks, etc. Parents should decide the time and method of exposure according to the specific situation. Cod liver oil and sunbathing should be combined and complementary to each other. For example, if it is cloudy for a long time and cannot get sunlight, you can take 9 vitamin D pills (400IU each) per week. 2. Calcium supplementation: It is recommended that personalized supplementation be based on feeding methods, milk volume and bone density as a reference. It is not recommended that everyone supplement, and it is not recommended that everyone does not supplement. The following is the reference amount of calcium supplement: ●Baby 6 to 12 months: 100 mg per day ●Baby 12 to 36 months: 150~200 mg per day 3. Recommended milk volume: ●4 months (or 6 months) ) babies: all fed. ●Baby 6 to 12 months old: 600~800 ml ●Baby 1 to 2 years old: about 600 ml ●Baby over 2 years old: about 500 ml ●Children aged 3 to 6 years old: Get more sun, do more outdoor activities and Sports. If you don’t get much sunlight, you should always supplement with vitamin D. You can take 3 to 5 capsules of cod liver oil per week. 500 to 600 ml of milk every day. If the milk supply is insufficient, supplement calcium in an appropriate amount. The above are recommendations based on prevention. If the baby is diagnosed with \”low bone density\” or \”vitamin D deficiency\”, vitamin D and calcium supplementation must be carried out under the guidance of a doctor. In addition, we should also be alert to the existence of some pathological conditions such as \”hypophosphatemia rickets\” and \”hypocalcium-resistant D rickets\”, and diagnose and treat them as early as possible.