JAKARTA - Pediatrician William Jayadi Iskandar Sp.A said the lack of vitamin D in children can cause disorders of bone growth.
"The most distinctive thing is therakis or disorder in the form of bone growth, especially long bones, such as the twisted leg letter X or O or being easily fragile," William said in a discussion about the lack of vitamin D in children which was followed online in Jakarta, Wednesday.
In addition, the initial symptoms that can be observed when children lack vitamin D are easily tired when active and easily sick due to impaired immunity. Referring to the nutritional adequacy rate set by the Ministry of Health, for children aged zero to 12 years, the need for vitamin D is 400 units per day. This measure applies to teenagers and increases to 600 units per day, while for the elderly, 800 units of vitamin D are needed per day.
However, to find out the level of vitamin D in the body, William suggested doing a blood check on health facilities.
"If you doubt that vitamin D is lacking, check the health facility and take blood because you can't declare a lack of vitamin D without proof of checking the levels in the blood," he said.
The blood content of vitamin D that is said to be normal, said William, is above 30 units. If it is less than 20, it can be said that vitamin D deficiency.
Vitamin D is one of the vitamins that is dissolved in fat. William said that since the pandemic many health practitioners have advocated consumption of vitamin D because it is useful for preventing autoimmune diseases, infections and violent diseases. One of the sources of vitamin D that is easy to get is to sunbathe.
"In our bodies we can produce vitamin D by sunbathing, the vitamins are formed from the skin through UV B sunlight, but UV B can cause skin cancer so it shouldn't take long," said the doctor from Pondok Indah Hospital.
To avoid skin cancer, William suggested sunbathing before ten in the morning or evening with a time of approximately 15 to 20 minutes. In addition to sunbathing, consumption of foods rich in vitamin D and high in fat is also recommended, such as salmon, macaque fish, chicken liver, beef heart and fungi.
Regarding the still ban on children's medicines in preparing sirop including vitamin D supplements by the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM), William advised not to take vitamin D in the form of sirop or drops carelessly and still try to meet the needs of vitamin D from food and sunbathing.
"As long as we are still waiting for investigations from BPOM to stop all sirop drugs or drops, try to try to get it from food sources or sunbathing," he said.
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