Vitamin D Deficiency Treatment at a Glance

Because of its important functions, vitamin D is considered to be one of the most valuable vitamins. Vitamin D plays an important role in the regulation of calcium and phosphorus absorption, it has a positive effect on bone growth and development, and prevents bone-related diseases in children and adults, and many more. When the vitamin D levels are quite low, then there are chances for the patient to experience vitamin D deficiency symptoms.

All age groups can be affected by vitamin D deficiency and there are several situations when it can happen. The first situation is when the need for vitamin D is increased like in pregnant and lactating women or in children when their growth is the fastest. Another situation is when the body can't synthesize vitamin D because of some diseases like, kidney, liver or Crohn's disease. And finally, vitamin D deficiency can be caused when the intake of foods rich in vitamin D is inadequate or when people refuse to consume such food, vegetarians, for example.

The symptoms of vitamin D deficiency are sometimes hard to be recognized, mainly because some people manifest general symptoms like aches or fatigue. This is the reason why it is important to be able to recognize the vitamin D deficiency symptoms and react as soon as possible. For example, the following symptoms may occur in babies and children:

• Growth problems
• Delayed growth of the teeth
• irritability
• frequent infections
• soft skull and leg bones
• breathing problems
• muscle aches

In adults, the most common symptoms are pain in different parts of the body and when they get tired quite easily even when they don't do any activity. As time passes, these symptoms will worsen.

Fortunately, vitamin D deficiency can be easily prevented. Besides increasing the consumption of vitamin D rich foods, it is also good to use vitamin D supplements. However, after you have done all the tests and were diagnosed with a vitamin D deficiency you have to start treating your condition. Don't start the treatment yourself. Instead, let your doctor decide what would be the right dosage and treatment method. The best treatment at the moment is taking vitamin D shots. They can last for up to six months. There are also other types of vitamin D supplements like drops or tablets. However, keep in mind that you will have to continue with the treatment after you treat your condition. Now, when you already know that you can easily prevent vitamin D deficiency, it would be a good idea to take all the necessary steps to really prevent the occurrence of this condition.

This is a guest post by Alex who is writing for TheVitaminMag.com project, a health website that provides information about vitamins and supplements.

By Boris Washington