Calcium deficiency

[susyp]

Hi all - following on my post on another thread about how to get calcium into a dairy allergic child - we have just noticed that our daughter (nearly 5 ) could be calcium deficient.

She has two white spots on her face - had one for ages and another one has just appeared.

She also has very dry, sore arms - she has never had eczema and although the school think it is that I am not convinced as it is just dry skin rather than a rash - as long as i moisturise it regularly it is more or less ok.

We just thought we'd look up white spots and amongst all the awful things it could be - i read it is a sign of calcium deficiency.

So we looked up how much she should be having - 800mg- she has a small glass of calcium fortified oj in the morning, a cup of oatmilk after school, some small pieces of broccoli daily - half a bottle of neocate and cheerios for breakfast. That doesn't come to 800mg - more like 500mg if we are lucky. And that has been for years now.

The problem is if we give her more oj or more oatmilk (which she will only drink with nesquik mixed in) she has having a huge amount of sugar - and we have history of dental problems in our family.

Boots do a chewable calcium + vit d tablet - not sure how much of the rda it is but was planning to get and start giving her that in replacement for her haribo ones which are multivits.

Does that sound sensible. Will it just recover levels or is there something we need to do as I would think it's been 2-3 years of deficiency now.

any advice much appreciated

we will ask to see a dietitian but waiting list bound to be a few months

Susypx

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

My son has a dairy allergy from newborn , he has a tropicana calcium enriched orange juice every day.

I give him flordix multi vits also every other day .

At 3 he is healthy, happy and alert .

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

I use Shea butter on my son's skin . It's fabulous

[keane]

Have u tries the alpro soya yoghurts with added calcium? Also rice dream with added calcium is naturally sweet so if she can have that on cereal & as a drink that might be better than the nesquick. My eldest son had a dairy/egg allergy from birth but fortunately he outgrew it around 3 which sometimes happens. Up til then I used to give him a combo of all the following to get the calcium up.

Rice dream

Alpro yoghurt

Mashed sardines with the bones in on toast

Broccoli

Tahini/hummus

Lucy burney'a optimum health for kids book has all the calcium substitute foods in and I found It really helpful.

Also the two white spots could be unrelated to calcium? My kids sometimes get white spots on face when its hot and they have caught the sun & I always get really paranoid thinking they have got vitiligo because I have it - but then the marks seem to go and I don't think they do have it though there is a chance they may get it one day as it can run in families but i am crossing my fingers they don't.

[Saffron]

I could be wrong, but I think there's no real way to diagnose dificiency without a clinical test. Also, just because your child may be getting less than the recommended amount doesn't necessarily put them into deficiency. Everyone's needs are a little different.

Here's an interesting site: https://www.infantandtoddlerforum.org/

[GinaG3]

Just a thought here to reassure you, possibly..

I suffer from white spots on my body and face (mainly around my eyes) I always have done since I was a child. Im 23 now, they are still there. I don't drink much milk, only in coffee in the morning and the odd glass every once in a blue moon. I don't eat cheese or any other dairy products because I don't particularly fancy them, not that I'm allergic. These spots run in my family somewhat and my nan has always been certain they are connected to Zinc or Vitamin A. For a while they went, but I'm unsure why.

Since I've had my daughter in 2009 I've been through a lot of tests due to health concerns (completely unrelated to this subject) but numerous blood tests at hospital brought back severe vitamin D deficiency to the point I was put urgently on extremely high doses to boost supplies and told to continue with low dose supplements forever. I have my levels checked regularly, they have never slipped since I'm no longer prescribed supplements to take daily. Doing this didn't affect my spots, so they weren't caused by that deficiency. My calcium levels were normal considering my low levels of consumption, and all other essential vitamin and mineral levels were normal. Only vitamin D was concerning.

I did worry about my daughter after all this, as I had breastfed her for 2 years prior and felt if I didn't have the nutrition how could I of given it to her through my milk?! Doctor wouldn't do blood tests on her as she felt she was too young but recommended continuing with a good multivitamin which I have always done religiously anyway.

There are plenty of products on the market for children but for calcium I think its best to try and stick with natural sources, almonds are high in calcium and one of the best natural sources.

[MummaB]

At her age, her Ca reqts are less than 800mg/day. I've been told the following:

The daily calcium reqts for children are:

0-1yr: 525mg

1-3yr: 350mg

4-6yr: 450mg

7-10yr: 550mg

From 11yr: 800mg (girls), 1000mg (boys)

[susyp]

I think adding in the neocate that she might have about 600mg on a good day. So those figures are encouraing thanks mummaB.

And yes they could be sun spots actually as she has caught the sun the last ten days (being a red head) and that is when they appeared.

ginag3 - my mum has vit d deficiency and is using a special sun lamp to help - she had a lot of joint pain with it. It is very difficult to supplement I know. She also had chronic vit c deficiency (ala scurvy) and NO doctor we saw agreed with me, my dad didn't agree and basiically told me to keep out of it, but i insisted on going to appointments as my mum said i could. She had black and blue legs, with little red dots all over them, and was breathless. We saw about 4 different doctors and specialists and noone would take my idea seriously. Then I persuaded her to try taking a vit c drink - within 2 days the breathlessness had gone - and the bruises faded really quickly. But she has a very limited diet due to IBS.

Thanks for all replies very reassuring. I think we will try and boost the calcium naturally and try some tinned salmon maybe on her in a sauce and a bit extra oatmilk at weekends. See how it goes.

susypx

[shaunag]

Hi. We are on a dairy free soya free diet; our lo gets regular blood tests to check calcium levels so you could probaby get this done sooner than your dieticians appointment. We have a prescription for calcium syrup from sandoz to use as a top up. This is great as if u are worried on a particular day you can give a spoon or two and relax that they are getting enough calcium. I would ask for this when u See the dietician. There is a shortage in supply at the moment but hopefully it will be back in stock by the time you get to see the dietician; they you won't have to worry about as much sweetness. Also, have you tied the chocolate oatmilk; I don't know how much sugar there is in it but I don't think it's as sweet as nesquick.

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

Just to say re the sugar in the orange juice my son has his with his breakfast , lunch and dinner and brushes his teeth with an xylitol toothpaste as well as a normal toothpaste and his teeth is lovely , white and no sign of erosions .

I do water down his juice also .

He doesn't have anything like Oat milk , he is a picky eater ( allergies to various food , detergents etc)

He refuses any form of liquid but water and his calcium orange juice .

He eats lots of chicken with various green leafy vegetables mixed in such as spinach , watercress , curly kale, broccoli etc .

Your child sounds like more of a better eater so hopefully you can top up her calcium easily .

[susyp]

the chances of my daughter eating spinach ,watercress , kale = zero - i only got her to eat broccoli when she was quite little by showing her her friend eating it!! very impressive to get him to eat those!

susypx

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

He wouldn't eat it if he could see it . I chop them all up in tiny pieces and cook them in a sauce with his chicken . He doesn't eat any other meat or any fish just chicken and I change around the vegetables and chuck in sweet potatoes etc as well . Hence orange juice with calcium plus floridix Multi vitamins mixed in his morning juice . That way we have all bases covered . Lots of outdoors for vitamin D.

I am hoping when he starts school he will start eating fish but he is very very wary about what he eats due to his allergies and will only eat food that he trusts won't make him ill, which is chicken/pasta and toast with marmite etc! ( the Vegs and carbs is me being crafty by disguising it).

[Gubodge]

My daughter is allergic to dairy and the dietitian recommended that we stop feeding her my beautiful homebaked bread and start buying sliced white. Hovis Best of Both is calcium fortified. Also the fortified tropicana. Which she doesn't drink. She's not keen on drinking any form of milk substitute either, but with her Alpro yoghurt habit (at least one a day), couple of slices of fortified bread and a daily bowl of porridge made with soy milk she was was within her recommended limits. I'd occasionally even get some leafy greens down her, too.

Daily hot chocolates/strawberry milks were also advised. Your daughter may be keener than mine.

[Mens]

two of mine have dairy allergies/intolerance. According to dietician oatmilk is best, Ricemilk contains arsenic so is not for children under four.

I find that sardines go down well.

Some calcium fortified bread contains milk so be careful to read the label.

My youngest has a vit d deficiency, she was prescribed vitamins (which she spits out) - I would be interested to hear more about the sun lamp please...

[susyp]

Ill find out where it is from and pm you x

[Ole]

This is going to be controversial, but this weekend I noticed a few mums on the playground going really overboard with the sunscreen and the sun cover-ups and it is not like the children were newborn or little - the children were about 4 years old. Yes too much sun is damaging but for the body, but to absorb calcium you need vitamin D and this is mainly produced by sunshine. Lack of sunshine can result in stunted growth, therefore, in my opinion. Now, I am not saying that I forgo the sunscreen and sun hats all summer long, but I apply common sense depending on the circumstances, how much sunshine there is, what time of the day it is and how long we are going to be outdoors, but to me it does not make sense to slap on the factor 50 and long sleeves and sun hat at the slightest hint of sunshine in an inner city playground.