Mother caused rickets in daughter

[DrLeftover]

A 12-year-old girl has been diagnosed with the early stages of rickets - after her mother used too much high-factor sun cream to protect her skin.



Tyler Attrill developed severe leg pains and was found to lack vitamin D, the deficiency which leads to the Victorian slum disease, reports the Daily Telegraph.



Full-blown rickets causes deformities including bowed legs and was associated with children growing up in dark 19th century tenements.



Tyler's mother Lisa, a 36-year-old nurse from Sandown, Isle of Wight, said her daughter and son Ben, aged 10, enjoyed playing outside with friends but had always worn sun cream in hot weather.



I've always been very careful with her and her brother, and nagged them to wear hats and sun cream when it's hot, Mrs Attrill said. I used to put factor 50 cream on to protect her skin. I thought I was doing the right thing.

http://web.orange.co.uk/article/quirkies/Too_much_suncream_led_to_rickets

 

[Ashley]

I guess there is such a thing as overdoing it with sunscreen! I thought the higher the SPF (or whatever that's called) the better off you were with protection. Evidently while that may be true, like with any other medications, there are always risks involved when using them.

 

[Evil Eye]

Well... at least they won't get skin cancer...

 

[fiona1964]

But vitamin D can be found in things like full fat milk, cheese and yogurt

so the children should be getting this in the diet

 

[Temerit]

Its found in fish too, and as fiona said, most foods with calcium these days are fortified with Vitamin D, so she should have been getting it through her diet. But I know my uncle as a pediatrician has been recommending everyone take a Vitamin D supplement, because its one of the only vitamin supplements proven to work and can actually do you a lot of good.