How to Treat Rickets?
The goal of treatment is to control active phase and prevent skeletal deformities, requiring comprehensive measures: General treatment: Promote breastfeeding; if no breast milk, use vitamin D-fortified formula; timely introduction of foods rich in vitamin D such as animal liver, egg yolk, fish roe; increase outdoor activities and sun exposure. During active phase, avoid prolonged sitting, standing, or early walking to prevent skeletal deformity. After treatment, when motor function recovers quickly, limit excessive activity to prevent deformity. Vitamin D preparations: oral administration or high-dose shock therapy may be used. Applicable methods:
Oral method: For initial stage, give 35,000–10,000 IU vitamin D3 daily; during acute phase, 10,000–20,000 IU daily, continue for one month, then switch to preventive dosage. Suitable for general rickets patients.
High-dose shock therapy: Inject vitamin D3 3 million IU intramuscularly, depending on condition, 1–3 injections at intervals of 2–4 weeks; after last injection, start preventive oral dose one month later. Recommended for patients refusing oral intake, severe cases, or those with pneumonia, diarrhea, or acute infectious diseases. Calcium supplements: Calcium should be supplemented during vitamin D therapy, especially during high-dose shock therapy. Children with history of hand-foot twitching or infants under 3 months should receive calcium supplementation for 2–3 days before intramuscular injection to prevent sudden drop in blood calcium levels and subsequent hypocalcemic convulsions. Correction of sequelae: Mild skeletal deformities may self-correct after treatment or during growth. For pectus carinatum, funnel chest, or spinal curvature, strengthen physical exercise after rickets resolution—such as chest expansion exercises, push-ups, head-lifting exercises—twice to three times daily to accelerate correction. Severe lower limb deformities not corrected by age 4 affecting walking may require surgical correction.<Rickets>