Paediatricians see worrying trend in children due to pandemic

Parents being too paranoid about sending them out will not help, says expert

The COVID-19 pandemic has kept a majority of children indoors for the last 18 months. With schools closed and little to no outdoor activity, paediatricians are seeing a worrying trend of children reporting symptoms of vitamin D deficiency, rise in obesity and lack of social skills.

“We are seeing older children with severe vitamin D deficiency. We recently saw a few adolescent girls with limb pain and gait disturbances of recent onset that was worrying parents. To our surprise, we found that vitamin D levels were extremely low. Children have been at home for the last one to one-and-a-half years. So, they have no exposure to sunlight,” said Janani Sankar, senior consultant, Kanchi Kamakoti CHILDS Trust Hospital.

Usually, vitamin D deficiency is uncommon in older children, she said, adding: “Children will have severe limb pain, difficulty in climbing stairs, squatting and bony deformities. Children need exposure to sunlight. They should go out and play in open areas. Though 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. is the best time for production of vitamin D in the skin, they can go out anytime to be exposed to sunlight. Parents being too paranoid about sending them out will not help.”