Paed thinks 5mo dd has rickets....

[mama2moo]

I took her for her appointment yesterday and he took one look at her and said he thinks she has rickets.

Her head is flat on one side - See profile photo. Her forehead is also a bit squashed.

I take her to a Cranial Ostteopath as her neck was tight from her being back to back and turning in labour and she only ever lay on one side.

I have been given vitamin drops and told to let her have half an hours sunshine a day - With NO Suncream??!!!

Anyone elses child had this? Does vitamin D really help? Should I go back for a 2nd opinion?

I assume the vits are vitamin D - yes it does help. Was she premature by chance, much of the vitamin D and calcium is provided to the baby in the last trimester so prem babies are more prone to it, but still it's v unusual.

I assume she's breast fed - breast milk is low in vitamin D so it can happen, rarely. Half an hours sunlight is not an issue providing you avoid noon times.

It can be a marker for other things though (cystic fibrosis, Inherited genetic disorders etc.) so I would expect him to refer you on to a geneticist too.

I would ask for a second opinion because of the latter.

Good luck

She wasnt premature.

Yes, they are multi vitamin drops. I have to give her 14 a day but the bottle says 7 a day for under 1's??

Interesting about it being a marker for other things. I will look into that and ask on my next appointment.

She was breast fed. I have moved her onto formula now.

Thanks for that. Everyone I have told doesnt believe its rickets because its such an old disease.

You don't have to (indeed, shouldn't) give her half an hour in the midday sun, but half an hour in the early morning or late afternoon will do her no harm; make it 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the afternoon if you want.

You need to get her out in the sun. As others have said not the hottest part of the day but she'll be fine going for a walk later afternoon or earlier morning. She won't burn and suncream isn't great for little ones skin anyway.

DS is on Dalivit as his vit D levels can go low (dairy allergic).

However, re: cystic fibrosis. The skin prick test at a few days old picks up something like 95% of cases, so wouldn't worry too much about this. She would need to be referred for a sweat test if your Paediatrician thinks it's a possibility.

Oh, and the vitamin drops absolutely do make a difference.

Story here

Rickets is, apparently, on the increase - an unfortunate consequence of our vigilance re wearing sunscreen, being less active/outdoors and general sun-avoidance.

My friend is a paed, and told me rickets is on the increase (she's seen a fair few cases) due to children being kept out of the sun and permanently covered in suntan lotion.

She gave me the same advice as your GP, so I wouldn't discount it if I were you.

Also, you may have been advised to give double the reccommended dose of vit drops to counteract her deficiency, perhaps?

Re the midday sun thing - It is the hottest part of the day you need, not just morning/evening sunlight. it's to do with the angle of the suns rays & strength of sunlight needed for our bodies to manufacture vit D. She doesn't have to be stripped off - face and arms exposed is fine. Sorry I haven't got my links to hand, but I looked into this in detail for our local PCT when they were making decisions about how to / whether to advise on vit D in pregnancy and for children. It]s a difficult message because it does go against the safe-sun stuff, but it's still true.

But I would burn if I spent half an hour unprotected in the midday sun at the height of summer. If I did it every day I'd be red and peeling and in PAIN. So would DD (DS would be absolutely fine).

I would be interested in the links; I can see that quite possibly in winter when the sun is all weedy you need to be out in the middle of the day, but in July/August? After all, sunset in mid-December (for London; figures will change depending on latitude) is 15.51 versus 21.20 at the moment -- so clearly you are getting vastly, vastly more sun now at 4 in the afternoon than you would be in December.

Thanks all. I am going to keep up with the drops for the 2 months until I see him again.

We went for a walk this morning at 9am and I let her have some sun.

Its so hard though when you are told different things about sun and protection!

I'd give her 15 mins at say 11am and another 15 at 1pm.

As someone else said, she's been given twice the usual vitamin prescription because she's deficient.

have you seen or been given a referrral to a paediatric physiotherapist about her flat head? Or did the cranial osteopath give you some ideas about positioning in the day and night to help improve her head shape?

if you search for plagiocephaly on here you will find lots of threads with good ideas

any exposure to good natural light is a big help. so keep her stripped off to nappies even in the shade/indoors as much as possible.

The benefit does not come only from direct sunlight.

I don't have any experience with vit D deficiency, but when you mentioned that her head is flat on one side and there is bulging on the forehead, I thought plagiocephaly. Photo of your DD's head, certainly looks like Plagio. Plagio is not dangerous, it is a 'cosmetic' problem. But do get a referral to have this confirmed.

I don't know if your DD's plagiocephaly is related to the vit D deficiency or a separate issue, but there is lots of advice on here and elsewhere on web about repositioning. (i.e. ways to stop your child continuing to lie on the flat bit of their head and thus try to correct it somewhat as the head continues to grow)

My youngest had this. For us the repositioning did not work fully and we ended up going for helmet therapy, which did. again, there is lots of info on here and web.
hth

The ricketts diagnosis is separate from the plagio yes? Sorry, your OP is a little unclear...

re the plagio:
Has your GP (or paed) given you some physio exercises to do with her to sort out the torticollis? (neck problem)
CO is all very well, but there are things you can do every nappy change to help her neck muscles strenghten and ease up the unevenness.

I have had 2 DC with plagio - 1 was corrected through repositioning, and one through helmet, it all depends on your child, and how mobile/placid they are when sleeping.

We were referred by my gp for her flat head.

I will keep going with 14 drops a day until we go back. We do try very hard to keep her on the bumpy side of her head. When she plays we put toys to that side and when she sleeps we move her head.

She is getting better. She will sleep on that side now and is rolling over - To that side.

I will upload a recent photo of her head tomorrow...

Hi

I read your post with much interest. Sorry this is long. I have two boys aged 4 and 6.

I have recently being diagnosed with a chronic illness and from internet research realised I needed to get tested for Vit D deficiency and found out I was mildly deficient. I then researched the internet and came across a site that highlighted symptoms of Vit D deficiency in babies and young children.

As your dr has said rickets and SOFT SKULL are signs of Vit D deficiency. My Four year old had severe brachycephaly (flat back of skull) we helmeted him for a while but we started too late.

Late onset of milk teeth is another sign of deficiency. My son didnt get his first tooth until he was one and his canines didnt come through until he was over 2

Respiratory problems and infections is another sign. My son had countless chest infections in his first year and was hospitialised on one occasion.

Late walking is another sign. My son didnt start walking until he was 18 months.

It's all too much of a coincidence in my opinion. I have a theory that I have been deficient for some time and that my son was also deficient from birth. I would suggest that it is quite likely that you may be deficient and should ask for a blood test and start taking supplements if you are. Vit D deficiency is the new big thing. New research suggests that is the cause of a lot of illnesses later in life.

I would be really interested in hearing from anyone who's children had mishapen heads and whether these other symptoms like my son's were also present.

Thanks for reading

Lindsay

How interesting, though of course I'm sorry you're experienceing this lindsay.

Both my children had severe plagio, and were late walkers... though I know for a fact there was no physical impediment to their walking, it was a psychological thing, particularly with my perfectionist daughter.

also looks like Plagiocephaly to me. My DS had this, was treated with a helmet from ahead4babies (google it - lots of info on their site). some doctors/hv's have NO experience of this condition (mine didn't).

how about getting back in touch via secretary to check when is best for the sun - mine would burn after 11am if they went half an hour with no cream (is yours naturally dark skinned perhaps?). you could also ask about the mega doses of vit d instead of daily doses - thought that was what they prescribed these days? is less hassle anyhow.