Your body uses vitamins to increase metabolism, build cells and for a variety of other functions. There are 13 essential vitamins that your body needs, the New York Times Health Guide reports, and vitamin D is one of them. Some people develop a deficiency of vitamin D, which can lead to a variety of complications depending on your age and the severity of the deficiency.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that has numerous functions. The main use of vitamin D in the body is in the maintenance of normal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus, MayoClinic.com explains. Vitamin D increases your body's ability to absorb calcium from the diet and calcium helps build strong bones. You can also use vitamin D to help prevent osteoporosis, high blood pressure, some autoimmune diseases and cancer. Vitamin D is found in foods such as eggs, fish and fortified dairy products. Exposure to sunlight induces the formation of vitamin D in the skin. As little as 10 minutes of exposure to the sun can help prevent vitamin D deficiency.
Osteomalacia
Vitamin D deficiency in adults is called osteomalacia, which is characterized by an abnormal softening of the bones, the University of Maryland Medical Center notes. If you have osteomalacia, you might suffer from frequent fractures caused by even the slightest trauma. Muscle weakness and severe bone pain also are symptoms of the disease. A lack of vitamin D leads to a decrease in calcium levels, which can cause abnormal heartbeats, numbness of the mouth and extremities and uncontrollable spasms in the hands or feet.
Rickets
Rickets is a childhood disease caused by a deficiency in vitamin D, calcium and phosphorus. Rickets leads to soft, easily fractured bones that cannot withstand injury or support weight, according to MedlinePlus, a service of the National Institutes of Health. Symptoms of rickets include bone pain or tenderness, dental deformities, impaired growth and short stature. Rickets also can lead to severe bone growth abnormalities like an asymmetrical skull, bowlegs, pelvic deformities and abnormal development of the spine. Children who go without treatment will develop permanent physical deformities that affect appearance as well as the ability to move and interact with the environment.
Treatment
For rickets, the aims of treatment are to relieve any symptoms of vitamin D deficiency and correct the underlying cause of the disease, MedlinePlus says. Symptoms are treated by adding calcium, phosphorus and vitamin D to the diet. Children also are encouraged to go out in the sun for at least 10 minutes per day. Artificial braces can help prevent or reduce any skeletal deformities, but some more severe abnormalities will require corrective surgery.
Adults suffering from osteomalacia will require treatment with high doses of supplements containing vitamin D, phosphorus and calcium, the University of Maryland Medical Center reports. You will need to monitor your blood levels of calcium and phosphorus to gauge the effectiveness of the treatment.
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