‘Kids who shun sunlight heading for trouble’

LONDON - Paranoia about sun exposure and indoor lifestyles are causing serious health problems for children owing to Vitamin D deficiency, a new study says.

Casualty departments are dealing with dozens of emergency cases where infants are having seizures as a direct result of not getting enough Vitamin D, which is essential for healthy teeth and bones.

In one case, a baby suffered brain damage after a fit, according to the Telegraph.

The study said the extreme cases are part of an escalating problem of a deficiency of the vitamin, which the body makes when exposed to sunlight.

The report in the London Journal of Primary Care blames indoor lifestyles and the use of high sun protection factor creams for a health issue unheard of a decade ago.

The findings have prompted experts to call for Vitamin D pills to be made more widely available on the National Health Service, especially for pregnant women.

Study co-author Colin Michie said Vitamin D deficiency was no longer a “poor” problem and the middle classes are just as vulnerable.

The consultant paediatrician, who works at the Ealing Hospital and BMI Clementine Churchill, said general practitioners should be more alert to symptoms such as muscle aches and pains.