The memory is still fresh in Dr. Bakhtiar Choudhary’s mind. One of his patients had brought her seven-year-old daughter with severe body pains. “She was from UK and her Vitamin D count was three. After taking Vitamin D supplements, she was okay. She is still under treatment but is much better,” he recalls.
Such cases are likely to go up in the cold winter months, say doctors. With the recent drop in mercury levels, a set of health issues among adults came to the fore, especially those caused by the lack of the ‘Sunshine vitamin’ or Vitamin D.
While medical experts feel the awareness about Vitamin D among adults is still quite low, one wonders if we have paid attention to whether our children and teenagers are also Vitamin D deficient. After all, most youngsters spend long hours indoors. From school/college, they are packed off to tuitions and coaching centres. At other times, they are glued to mobile phones and computers.
Sunlight is not the only agency for Vitamin D, says Dr. Bakhtiar. He explains, “Besides sunlight, one should have food rich in Vitamin D. One’s metabolism also plays a key role. So, if one doesn’t get enough exposure in the sun or a proper diet, or has a low immune system, it leads to damage of vitamin receptor sites in the body,” he adds.
K. Parimala* (name changed) recalls how her 12-year-old-daughter’s unexplained torso pain was a constant worry. Dr. Bakhtiar adds, joint stiffness is found in Vitamin D deficient children. “There is unexplained pain over the torso and back. As such, there is no disease but there is a possibility of wrong diagnosis. Micro-nutrient insufficiency is a serious disorder,” he observes.
When does the Vitamin D deficiency begin? Experts say it begins as early as 8 years! He shares his experience of testing school children and teenagers.
“Although the deficiency begins as early as 8 years of age, one cannot regularly take blood samples of a child. There are also two schools of thought about whether to test young people or not. I have tested more than 2000 school children from 9 to 15 years and only six had normal values,” he points out adding, “When the joints are stiff, their movements get restricted.” He further quips, “I personally feel those values mentioned in the books are also low.”
Speaking about the challenges that doctors face while treating children, “There are issues of compliance and sustaining the treatment plan. Because every family has a naturopath or homoeopath who prescribe their own medicine or a guru who advises followers to abstain from having eggs,” laughs the doctor and adds, “Parents are either paranoid and over react, or are too busy in their own things and neglect the child. There is another group of ‘google-paagal’ people who just google and self-medicate.”
One needs to ensure the body mechanism is on the right track. “One always wonders how much Vitamin D is related to our life. I feel Vitamin D creates a foundation and if one doesn’t have the required levels, ‘D’ becomes a disorder. A positive lifestyle and dietary changes can promise a healthy future.”
A word of caution: Low Vitamin D levels are not noticed until they evolve like a syndrome that manifest as joint or body pains. Low vitamin D levels can also become a sub-clinical reason for thyroid, diabetes and even cancer.
