Vit D Deficiency and Kids by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen
Answer:
I don't think there is any way that you can know for sure that her fractures are from Vit D Deficiency, but it sure COULD be contributing to it.
As far as her getting lots of sunshine since February and if her Vit D levels might be increased because of that, the answer is unequivocally NO. Being as you live in Connecticut, you are too far North (above 37 degrees latitude) to get ANY Vitamin D from the sun at all!
Let me repeat that, if you live North of 37 degrees latitude, you get ZERO Vitamin D from October to April from the sun! So, it's likely that she has an EVEN WORSE Vit D Deficiency now than in February! (this was written in April)
So, an interesting question for your doctor is:
"Why did you check my child for Vit D Deficiency if there are no standards?" At what point WOULD he consider it deficiency?
He's right that there are no standardized 'Normal' levels for children, so would he consider a level of 2 ng/ml 'Vit D Deficiency'? I'd bet that he would, yet he has no data for that either...
So, aside from having no 'normal' levels for kids, there are researchers who feel that there is enough research out there to treat children based on their Vitamin D levels.
One of these is Dr. John Cannell. He has been studying Vitamin D for something like 20 years and is a practicing doctor who uses Vitamin D in clinical practice. Here are his paraphrased guidelines for Vit D Deficiency in children,
If the 25(OH)D level is less than 70 ng/ml, give your child Vitamin D3 Supplements 1,000 IU per 25 pounds of body weight per day. Retest and adjust dose about every month until levels are at least 50 ng/ml in healthy children and at least 70 ng/ml in any child with autism, diabetes or any chronic illness.
Continue to Test For 25(OH)D every month and treat with enough vitamin D until 25(OH)D levels are stable.
Vitamin D toxicity has never been reported, in adults or children, with 25(OH)D levels below 200 ng/ml.
So, while there are no 'standards' for treating Vit D Deficiency in children, there are some guidelines based on the existing research. And what better advice than the advice of researchers who are practicing doctors?
Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen Functional Medicine Practitioner Easy Immune Health.com
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