Vitamin D Deficiency

Each person is individual.  We get Vitamin D from food and sunlight.  If a child gets Vitamin D then their supply will be restored if it was at some point deficient.  There can be difficulties when a child does not have enough Vitamin D.

There are causal links between Vitamin D deficiencies and fractures in young babies. It is thought a deficiency could lead to weaker bones.  In severe cases a child may develop Ricketts.  This is a difficult illness to detect in young children and it is usually difficult, unless severe, to have radiological evidence of a Vitamin D deficiency and thus biochemical tests may be required.  Even if a child has a Vitamin D deficiency it does not necessarily mean that the child would be more susceptible to fractures or that less force would be required.  Medical research and knowledge on this issue is advancing.

Alongside Vitamin D deficiencies, there may be deficiencies of Vitamin C (Scurvy), Copper (Menkes Disease) and many other childhood illnesses which all have to be explored by the medical professionals involved in the care of a child.

There may also be haematological abnormalities which may result in a child’s blood not being able to clot properly.

There are many deficiencies that may affect the make up of a child and these all have to be explored and ruled out as a potential cause or contribution to injuries sustained by children.