Rickets is the condition wherein the child has Vitamin D deficiency. This condition tends to be severe and prolonged. One of the characteristics of this condition is the presence of weak and soft bones.

The bodies of children that have this condition are fragile and are prone to deformity. This is not limited to babies or school-age children but even to teenagers aged 14 as mentioned in the findings posted online. Most children who experience this condition are young immigrants or the ones who do not receive enough nutrition such as in African countries. 

Sadly, there were other findings such as in the experiments done that concluded other causes of Rickets could not be just contributed to Vitamin D deficiency but also other causes such as the genetic defect or other health conditions.

If you suspect that your child might be possessing Rickets, you may check these apparent symptoms or appearance: 

I.Symptoms of Rickets: 

● The child has a bony necklace.

● He has curved bones.

● He also has big joints.

● His legs are bowed. 

● He has weak muscle tones

● He possesses a stooped posture.

● Widening of the wrists and ankle bones. 

● There might possible drowsiness and seizures.

Seizures are considered acute symptoms of this condition. Indeed, this condition may affect the child in different aspects. As most of these children lack Vitamin D, their motor skills could be highly affected by the said condition. Should a person not receive enough Vitamin D at a young age, there might be conditions that he might acquire in the future. 

Having Vitamin D deficiency can lead to: 

● Mostly probable to acquire the cardiovascular disease

● cognitive impairment in older adults

● severe asthma in children 

Hence, if a child's diagnosed with Rickets, it is highly recommendable that he takes the needed vitamin D as well as calcium and phosphate. There are different types of Rickets but this condition or the Nutritional Rickets is the most common type of Rickets because most children acquire this condition.

In knowing more about the Rickets, we must take note of the following risk factors of this condition.

II.The Risk Factors of Rickets:

The following contribute a lot to the development of Rickets in children. These could take place during the pregnancy of the mother. Hence, a parent should take note of the following factors: 

● hereditary metabolic diseases: These are genetic diseases. 

● Premature birth contributes to the low level of Vitamin D, phosphorus, and calcium.

● darkly pigmented individuals

● infants whose mothers are Vitamin-D deficient 

If these risk factors would not be avoided, chances are the infant might develop this condition in the long run. Although it is indicated that rickets might be hereditary, a pregnant woman should make sure that she intakes enough vitamin D, especially during the few trimesters or during the development of the baby's brain and bones in her tummy. The good news about this is, there are natural sources of Vitamin D. So, one must set a routine every day to make sure a child or a pregnant woman should get enough of this vitamin. 

III.Sources of Vitamin D:

The following are the sources of Vitamin D:

● SUNLIGHT: The sun emits vitamin D especially during the period that sunlight is still healthy for the skin (6 am-8 am). 

● FOOD RICH IN VITAMIN D: A pregnant woman could consume these kinds of food that are abundant in Vitamin D such as:

⮚ Oily fish- salmon, sardines, herring, and mackerel

⮚ red meat

⮚ egg yolks

⮚ fortified foods-breakfast cereals

● DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS

These sources are natural however, one must take the advice of the doctor first before taking some dose or amount especially with red meat. Some people have conditions like gout thus it is not advisable for them to take red meat often. Another, when it comes to the children with Rickets, a consultation with a pediatrician or your GP (general practitioner) could help the parent know how to manage the conditions caused by Rickets. 

In the next part of the discussion, we will talk about how this condition can affect the confidence and social skills of the children. 

IV. How Rickets Hampers the Social Skills of the Children:

As mentioned above, the first thing you'd notice with children that have Rickets is the deformity especially with their joints and bowed legs. This may affect their social skills especially when there are bullies at school or in their surroundings. Aside from that, sports activities that most children do would be limited to the child with this condition because he may experience a stooped posture and a short height. This may be a problem as to making him survive his everyday interactions with his fellow students. With this, it is strongly recommended for the child to have a stronger support group because the formative years are crucial for him. Once his confidence or self-esteem is hampered it might create a trauma that would not help him become more self-sufficient in the long run. Continuous therapy, guidance, and intake of food and supplements rich in Vitamin D could help him withstand challenges in his school life. 

Now, in the last part of our discussion, we will discuss a product that can aid parents in maintaining a proper posture despite the deformities in their bones and joints. This product is built using ergonomics. This product from Flexispot is made adjustable headrest to protect the head and neck. Hence, here is the:

V. Ergonomic Office Mesh Chair 1500F 1W and its Health Benefits:

Flexispot's Office Mesh Chair 1500F 1W is an ergonomic innovation and one of the best ergo chairs from the company. Its multifunction headrest could aid the child with Rickets while he studies or does his school tasks. In this time of the pandemic, it is apparent that most kids do online classes and spends more time in front of the computer thus this kind of chair could help a child relieve the lower back pain and pressure on his spine. Another is, as mentioned above a child with Rickets has bowed legs hence the overturn footrest of this product could help a child relax more even for long hours of studying or training in a day. Indeed, we may be able to assist the child to enjoy school and realize his capabilities with the help of this innovation from Flexispot.