Low levels of vitamin D in the blood can be threatening to the health. It can offer effects as simple as muscle pain to as serious as cancer. With this, a good level of vitamin D is needed to be maintained in the body. To help you see the essence of vitamin D, this article will discuss low vitamin D symptoms and other pertinent information related to vitamin D deficiency.
Low Levels of Vitamin D
The table below shows the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) as provided by the National Institutes of Health. Getting below the targeted RDA daily can mean deficiency.
Vitamin D deficiency happens due to several reasons. This can mean limited sun exposure, wrong diet, and no supplementation. The following is a list of situations that may trigger vitamin D deficiency to some people:
- People who strictly use sunscreen every time they spend time outdoors can be a potential candidate of being vitamin D deficient. This is especially true if high SPF creams are used. SPF 15 and above creams have the capability to block the skin’s capacity to absorb UV rays, which means no vitamin D conversion can happen in the skin no matter how long the sun exposure is.
- People who do not usually go out such as those housebound individuals or those hospitalized for a long time.
- Black and Asian people can be at a higher risk of deficiency. Their pigmented skin color does not absorb sun rays as efficiently as the skin of white people.
- Aging people who have thinner skin cannot produce enough vitamin D in their skin. This leaves them more at risk to deficiency.
- People who are taking medications that interact with vitamin D can be at risk, too. Some medications include phenytoin, primidone, carbamazepine, and most anti-HIV pills.
- People who have Crohn’s disease and kidney and liver problems can be subject to deficiency as well. These medical conditions can have a huge impact on how the body handles vitamin D.
Symptoms in Men
Vitamin D deficiency symptoms in men include the following:
- muscle aches
- weakness
- difficulty standing up
- osteomalacia
- bone pains (in the pelvis, thighs, feet, ribs, and hips)
- loss of height
Symptoms in Women
Women can suffer from a different set of symptoms when speaking of deficiency to this vitamin. Although they can suffer from the same signs and symptoms as men experience, unique vitamin D deficiency symptoms in women include the following:
- depression
- seasonal affective disorders
- high blood pressure
- asthma
- cancer (breast, ovarian, colon, or bladder)
- osteoporosis (happens in menopausal women)
Symptoms in Children
Babies and children who face vitamin D deficiency may experience the following:
- muscle spasms
- breathing difficulties
- seizures
- delayed tooth development
- irritability
- poor growth in terms of height
- cardiomyopathy (weakness of the heart muscle)
Possible Complications
With the symptoms alone, vitamin D deficiency can already be an ugly health condition. However, if taken for granted, this condition can brew up into serious complications such as the following:
- Rickets. This happens in children as caused by a prolonged time of being vitamin D deficient. This is characterized by the softening and weakening of the bones that can lead to skeletal deformities.
- Osteomalacia and osteoporosis. These are two conditions both affecting the bones due to low levels of vitamin D for a long period of time. The bones are affected because calcium is leeched out of the bones so that adequate levels can be maintained in the blood. Osteomalacia refers to the softening of the bones while osteoporosis refers to the becoming brittle of the bones.
Correcting Vitamin D Deficiency
Correcting vitamin D deficiency varies depending on the condition of the individual. A medical professional will suggest the right treatment method to be used to correct the deficiency.
In most cases, individuals are given vitamin D supplements for up to four months. Other cases may require calcium supplementation on top of vitamin D supplementation. When taking supplements, you must make sure to closely follow the prescription of your doctor for you to avoid meeting problems in the future such as vitamin D overdose. In line with this, sun exposure is also recommended for a natural source of vitamin D in the system.
Preventing Vitamin D Deficiency
The secret towards avoiding vitamin D deficiency lies in your knowledge on vitamin D. If you think you are at risk of becoming deficient, you must do certain measures to not complicate the situation. The following list names the group of people who must take vitamin D supplements daily to avoid deficiency:
- pregnant women
- breastfeeding women
- young children (up to five years old)
- elderly people (65 years and over)
- people who have limited sun exposure
- people with darker skin
- breast-fed babies
However, it must be noted that you must consult a medical professional first prior to taking in any supplements. This is necessary because people with deficiency problems have higher chances of suffering from vitamin D toxicity.
Another thing you can do to prevent vitamin D deficiency is to expose your skin to the sun daily. A 15 to 30-minute exposure to the sun can already supply the body with enough vitamin D for the day. You can also include vitamin D foods in your diet. Foods that are rich in vitamin D include tuna, salmon, sardines, mushroom, and a lot of vitamin D-fortified drinks such as milk, cheese, margarine, and yogurt.
A low level of vitamin D in the body can really be alarming. The symptoms and complications that come with it are all serious and may be life-threatening. With this knowledge, make sure you do not become one of the victims of this condition.