Calcium Deficiency Diseases: Symptoms, Causes & Treatments

In today's health-conscious world, calcium is a significant nutrient and an abundant mineral in human bodies. Humans need it for maintaining strong bones and teeth. It also has a vital part in muscle movement and cardiovascular functions. Thus, it is advisable to consume the right amount of calcium. When individuals fail to do so, they suffer from calcium deficiency diseases.

Do you wonder about the diseases you might get from low calcium consumption? Stick till the end of this article to find out all about this!

As established already, calcium is a vital nutrient for a healthy body. Thus, its deficiency can have far-reaching impacts. These mainly start appearing on bones, muscles, teeth, and mental health. In the case of low dietary calcium intake, no early symptoms are visible. However, individuals can suffer from calcium deficiency diseases such as low bone density or osteopenia with time. Moreover, calcium deficiency can also result from health problems or treatments, including kidney failure, stomach removal, etc. Some of the common symptoms are discussed in the following.

1. Muscle Movement

People dealing with calcium deficiency diseases are prone to having significant difficulties in muscle movement. These include muscle aches and cramps, pain in arms and thighs while walking, feelings of tingling and numbness in arms, mouth, feet and legs. In severe deficiency, muscle problems can lead to convulsions and arrhythmias in individuals.

2. Dental Problems

The maximum amount of calcium in human bodies is in bones and teeth, making dental problems unavoidable in its deficiency. Tooth decay, gum irritation, brittle teeth and weak roots are common problems for people lacking enough calcium. Moreover, in infants, impairment in tooth development is common.

3. Problems in Nail, Hair and Skin

A persistent calcium deficiency in the human body might cause skin issues, including extremely dry skin. It can also cause eczema or psoriasis, leading to itchy or dry patches on the skin. In addition, individuals lacking calcium consumption might have broken or brittle nails. Apart from coarse hair, they can suffer from alopecia. It leads to hair fall in patches.

4. Fatigue

Calcium deficiency in the human body can cause severe fatigue. It involves dizzy and sluggish feelings and a lack of energy. Apart from that, lightheadedness and brain fog are also not rare in individuals lacking calcium consumption. It can lead to long-term confusion, forgetfulness and lack of focus.

5. Osteopenia

It is another disease caused due to calcium deficiency. When diagnosed with this, individuals lose bone mass, making their bones weaker. The disease symptoms are mostly unnoticeable since the loss of bone mass is not painful. When younger, the human body keeps breaking bones and creating new ones, making the older population more prone to getting this disease. Eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia can also trigger this. Treatment mainly requires a higher calcium intake.

6. Osteoporosis

On the other hand, another similar disease caused by calcium is osteoporosis. It causes bones to become weak and brittle. Even coughing can cause a bone fracture in case of severe osteoporosis. It is mostly found in women over the age of 50 years. Furthermore, shortness of breath, pain in the lower back and frequent bone fractures are common symptoms of this disease. Treatments can include vitamins, supplements and exercise.

Various reasons can cause calcium deficiency in individuals. The primary causes include poor calcium intake for a long time and medications responsible for decreasing calcium intake. Apart from that, some of the other causes of calcium deficiency include the following, which might result in causing calcium deficiency diseases in individuals.

• Various kinds of drugs, particularly chemotherapy drugs, reduce calcium intake
• Those diagnosed with pancreatitis, infections, and cancer and kidney diseases 
• Low Calcium D levels result in an inability to absorb nutrients 
• Intestinal disorders such as diarrhoea or constipation can prevent human bodies from absorbing calcium 
• Individuals facing renal failure and liver problems 
• Hypoparathyroidism diagnosis coming from autoimmune disease or genetic conditions

Usually, calcium deficiency can happen to anyone at any age. However, based on most cases, women are more prone to a calcium disease. It is mainly seen among amenorrheic and postmenopausal women and the female athlete triad. Moreover, individuals with milk allergy and lactose intolerance can also face this issue. It is also common among the elderly and adolescents of at-risk groups for dietary deficiency intake. People with vitamin D or magnesium deficiency are also at significant risk.

Now, you may wonder, "which disease is caused by calcium deficiency?” Calcium deficiency diseases are common, considering the difficulty in maintaining the standard calcium intake. Therefore, it is essential to diagnose the disease at the right time and treat it.

1. Hypocalcaemia

It is a common disease caused by the deficiency of calcium. The risks intensify in poor calcium intake since childhood, medications reducing calcium absorption, dietary intolerance to calcium-rich food, hormonal changes etc.

2. Neonatal hypocalcaemia

It is a disease caused by a lack of calcium in infants soon after birth. It can come with risk factors such as being small for age and maternal diabetes. Poor feeding, seizure and apnea (slow breathing) can be common symptoms of neonatal hypocalcaemia.

The ideal way of avoiding calcium deficiency is by consuming the right amount of calcium. individuals should consider the table discussed above and include the right quantity of calcium in their diets.

However, in case a disease caused due to calcium deficiency is severe, individuals will require other treatment procedures. Doctors use physical examinations of hair, skin and muscles to identify hypocalcaemia and other calcium deficiency diseases. Doctors can inject calcium intravenously if the condition is serious. Other treatments include the following.

• Medications

Doctors also prescribe medicines to treat dietary changes, apart from suggesting calcium-rich food items. These are usually rich in calcium, vitamin D or magnesium supplements.

• Exercise

In the case of osteoporosis, in particular, exercises are essential for healing. Doctors suggest walking, elliptical training machines, aerobics, dancing, stair climbing and gardening in such cases. They help in reducing mineral loss from bones.

• Home Care

Doctors might prescribe natural healing methods to people dealing with calcium deficiency diseases. These include spending time in the sun to increase vitamin D levels and a diet with calcium-rich food items.

Thus, calcium deficiency diseases can be dangerous with far-reaching impacts on human bodies. Apart from causing severe harm to bones and teeth, calcium deficiency can end up causing adverse effects on the overall health conditions. Therefore, it is advisable to include calcium-rich food in everyday diet to avoid such diseases in the future.