Paediatricians see worrying trend in children due to pandemic
The Hindu
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.”
After completing her Class XII a few years ago, Lakshmi Priya from Sivakasi faced financial constraints that prevented her from pursuing higher education. Despite her circumstances, she persevered by folding matchboxes to earn a meagre income. “I have always done this work – folding matchboxes. Many families in Sivakasi and surrounding areas do this work, from home,” said Ms.Priya who is now 19 years old. “I always wanted to learn something related to Computer Science. We did not have a proper teacher for this particular subject at school. But I managed to score 95%,” she said.
Ahead of the southwest monsoon, the officials from multiple departments were directed to carry out the standard operating procedure and ensure that all the parameters were adhered to as per the guidelines issued by the Disaster Management Plan of the Tamil Nadu government, said Theni Collector R.V. Shajeevana here on Friday.