Calcium Deficiency in Children

The importance of calcium is incontrovertible. It plays a really important role in maintaining strong, healthy bones and teeth, the release of enzymes and hormones, and enabling nerves and muscles to work well. Calcium abounds in your body. Besides the skeletal system where nearly 90 percent of calcium is stored, you can also find the traces of calcium in tissues, organs, and circulating blood.

The deficiency of calcium can have an effect on your bone (most severely), contraction of muscles, and other problems related to blood clotting mechanism and your nervous system. If your children’s bones are weak – the consequence of calcium deficiency – they can, in the end, lead to bony deformities, such as rickets.

The deficiency of calcium is the commonest problem encountered by a great number of children throughout the world. The decreased consumption of calcium and problems in the absorption from the intestine are common causes of calcium deficiency. In some cases, the lack of calcium in children can result from the low level of calcium in the mother.

Signs and Symptoms of Calcium Deficiency

Muscle cramps. This is usually the first alarm. Your child may complain about muscles ache, particularly in the arms, underarms, and thighs when they are moving or walking around.

Insomnia. If your child frequently has difficulty sleeping, it can be another sign of calcium deficiency in the body. In some other cases, your child does fall asleep, but may not have a deep or satisfactory sleep, or rouse from sleep several times at night.

Children who are calcium deficient may also have a delay in dentition or defects in enamel.

It is known that nails need sufficient amounts of calcium to develop healthy and stay strong. Therefore, another important sign that you should notice when your child lacks calcium is that the nails become weak with brittle edges.

Late signs of puberty. This usually occurs in girls whose body does not contain enough calcium. Besides the delay in puberty, they may also experience menstrual problems.

Treatments for Calcium Deficiency

There are many ways you can try to treat calcium deficiency in your child. You can take supplements to compensate for the needed calcium in the body. There are, nevertheless, natural ways of boosting the level of calcium in growing children.

• Ensure dairy intake in everyday diet. Since milk is a rich source of calcium, make sure your child drink milk on a regular basis.
• Green leafy vegetables, such as celery, spinach, fenugreek, are very rich in calcium, so add them to your child’s daily diet.
• Calcium is also abundantly present in red millet and finger millet. Encourage your child to eat foods that are prepared from millet.
• Since sesame seed is also a rich source of calcium, it is usually recommended to treat calcium deficiency.
• Don’t forget to let your child exposed to early morning sunlight for at least half an hour. Vitamin D produced can aid your body in synthesizing calcium.
• Fruits should also be included in the diet, especially ones that are high in vitamin C.

How Much Calcium Is Enough?

It is suggested that children from one to three years old should receive 700 mg of calcium every day; children from four to eight should take in 1000 mg of calcium every day, and nine to 18 years old should get 1,300 mg of calcium daily.

Hello Health Group does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.