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Show HEALTH ! ADVICE BfMorm Fishbtirt Editor, Journal e Hie Americas M4- leal Aneeietiee Most authorities are aow convinced con-vinced that at least one-half of the children in the large cities of . the United EUtes aiid Great Britain Brit-ain have some symptoms of rickets. Almost everyone now knows that this disease la definitely-related toarT absence of ultraviolet rays in the human body. Rickets suddenly appeared, or at least appeared with such frequency fre-quency at first to be noticed in the Seventeenth century. Rickets was exceedingly infrequent until after the discovery of window glass, which does not permit the ultraviolet rays of the sun to pass. The disease became fairly frequent fre-quent among children who were housed without benefit of eun-shine. eun-shine. Today, in most of the large cities of the world, enough sunshine sun-shine cornea through only for two hours in the day three months of the year to be of any real value in preventing rickets. Because it is so linked with, absence ab-sence of sunshine, rickets begins tn inft.ai. ia. the fall, becomes worse in the winter and reaches its peak in March. Then the condition con-dition steadily declines in frequency fre-quency and severity, and new cases rarely develop after June until the fall. The Italian and colored babies In the large eHies aeein more frequently to be affected by this disease. Until It was definitely deter- , mined that sunlight was the important im-portant factor, rickets generally was ascribed simply to bad hygiene. hy-giene. Now we know that sunshine, rather than fresh air, exercise, cleanliness or any similar factor, is most important. Moreover, we have learned that it is possible to substitute for the sunshine by directly giving the child the necessary vitamin which fails to develop in its body In the absence of sunshine. This substance is developed when the aun sets on the ergo-sterol ergo-sterol in the skin. There are various stages of rickets. In the early forma there may be simply restlessness, irritability irri-tability and head sweating. With certain changes going on la the bones not visible except by use of the x-ray. If the condition is unchecked, however, these changes in the bones will gradually make themselves them-selves manifest on the surface of the body. There will be beading at the pointa where ribs Join the sternum, developing what is known as "the rachitic rosary The head becomes sosnewhst square and the soft places on the top of the baby'a head will not close as soon as they ought to. In the most advanced cases the head is square, the chest Is deformed, de-formed, the belly Is large and protuberant, giving the appearance appear-ance known aa "pot-belly." Furthermore, Fur-thermore, since the long bones do not develop properly, the lega become be-come bowed or severely knock-kneed. knock-kneed. It is hard for rickety children to be adequately nourished, ao that they fail to gain either In weight or in length. The teeth do not develop as they should. Furthermore, Further-more, the softening of the bones may be associated with some curving of the spine. NEXT: Prevention and treatment treat-ment of rickets. |