The importance of calcium:
Calcium is one of the most important elements that the children’s body needs in order to build it and grow strong and solid, as it is the main element that helps in building bones and teeth, and it is very important in order to regulate heartbeats, and it helps in the absorption of iron and important elements in the body, so it is necessary for the pregnant mother To eat foods rich in calcium, in order to supply the fetus with the necessary quantity that is sufficient to meet its needs.
Causes of calcium deficiency in children:
The most common cause of calcium deficiency in children is kidney failure, which may cause a deficiency in vitamin D levels, and there are other reasons for this deficiency that depend on the age of the child, including:
Premature birth:
This is because babies who were born prematurely may suffer from a lack of nutrients, a decrease in the parathyroid hormone response to vitamin D, and an increase in levels of calcium lost through urine, in addition to an increase in levels of the hormone calcitonin.
Calcium deficiency in newborns:
This condition occurs 48-72 hours after birth, and this may happen for several reasons, including:
Mother's suffering from diabetes:
The state of deficiency that the child suffers from and its severity depends on the severity of the diabetes condition that the mother suffers from. It leads to a lack of calcium, and in addition to that, mothers who suffer from diabetes have high levels of calcium in the womb, and this may cause inhibition of the functions of the parathyroid glands.
Exposure to suffocation during childbirth:
As this may delay the arrival of nutrients to the fetus, increase the production of the hormone calcitonin, and may cause kidney failure, and many conditions that can lead to a child's calcium deficiency.
- Having severe diarrhea.
- A congenital defect of the thyroid gland.
- rickets.
Calcium deficiency treatment:
Calcium deficiency is treated by creating all the necessary conditions for the body to obtain calcium, through:
- Ensure that the child gets sufficient amounts of vitamin D, which is the vitamin that helps absorb and deposit calcium in the bones, and maintain its normal levels in the blood, by exposing to the morning sun for a quarter of an hour, while revealing as much of his body as possible, so that the sun reaches his skin directly, or in the afternoon hours, and this vitamin can also be obtained from eggs and liver.
- Breastfeeding if he is an infant, but if he is weaned, it is advised to eat more foods that contain calcium, such as milk and dairy products, soybean milk, and green vegetables. A child from one to three years of age needs seven hundred milligrams of calcium per day, and this amount increases with age. The child, especially when he reaches adolescence, as his body grows rapidly and greatly.
- If the child suffers from low levels of calcium in the blood, then this is an advanced condition, and it is better to place him in the hospital to provide the necessary treatment, as they use special milk supplements, and the child can also be provided with an intravenous injection containing salt and calcium, to compensate for the deficiency of magnesium, as for the birth defect In the thyroid gland, the effect of this defect is determined, and it is treated either surgically if possible, or through alternative medicines for the hormones of this gland.
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