Calcium Deficiency - Medtick
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Calcium Deficiency

What is it?

Hypocalcaemia (low levels of calcium in the blood)

  • Defined as a total serum calcium concentration < 8.8 mg/dL (< 2.20 mmol/L) in the presence of normal plasma protein concentrations or as a serum ionized calcium concentration < 4.7 mg/dL (< 1.17 mmol/L).
  • Reference ranges for serum calcium vary by age and sex

Diagnosis Tests

  • Test include:
    • Trousseau sign and chvostek sign to check tetany muscle contraction (not 100% conclusive)
  • Osteoporosis
  • Hypocalcaemia (low levels of calcium in the blood)
  • Osteopenia

Disease causing deficiency

Vitamins, herbals and minerals

Syndromes

  • Surgical effects i.e.
    • Bowel resection
    • Pancreatectomy
    • Parathyroidectomy
  • High calcitonin levels
  • Trauma patients with massive transfusion
  • Disorders of the parathyroid hormone gland and related hormones (hypoparathyroidism – where not enough parathyroid hormone gland is produced or Pseudohypoparathyroidism when there is resistance shown by the end – organs to the parathyroid hormone)

Syndromes

Parathyroid hormone gland helps to:

  • Move calcium from the bones to the blood
  • Make the kidney remove less calcium from the body
  • Digest more calcium
  • Tell the kidney to produce more vitamin D to absorb more calcium

Syndromes

Medication

Medication to treat high calcium levels i.e.

  • Cisplatin
  • Foscarnet
  • Denosumab
  • Sodium phosphate
  • Infusion of phosphate, citrate, or calcium-free albumin

Signs and symptoms of deficiency

  • Aching, painful muscles, muscle cramps/spasms/stiffness
  • Muscle twitching (Twitching one’s eyes and/or nose and/or face and arms and/or legs)
  • Jerky movements (irregular movements which aren’t rhythmic or repetitive)
  • Numbness and tingling around the mouth
  • Jaw pain and/or difficulty chewing, swallowing, talking and/or slurred speech and/or difficulty in opening the mouth  and /or difficult to eat
  • Constant hiccups
  • Pain, numbness, burning and tingling (pins and needles) sensation in one’s hands and fingers (thumb and/or index finger and/or middle finger and/or ring finger and/or small finger)
  • Pain and/or numbness and/or tingling sensation in one or both legs and/or foot area
  • Brittle, soft weak bones, dental problems and/or prone to fractures or curved/bone legs and/or curved spine and/or arching back
  • Bone pain
  • Joint pain and stiffness
  • Lifeless hair and/or coarse hair
  • Balance and dizziness
  • Voice changes and/or a hoarse voice and/or a deep voice (due to laryngospasm)
  • Short of breath and/or breathing difficulties (whether after exercise or not) and/or wheezing
  • General discomfort (muscle weakness), uneasiness or ill feeling (malaise) and/or fatigue (tiredness)
  • Confusion
  • Low mood and Depression
  • Dry skin and scaly skin
  • Skin very itchy

Nail changes:

Complications /Information to beware of/General tips:

Medical Emergency Condition

And/or do not wait, phone for an ambulance if have or develop:

This condition can lead to:

Severe low levels of calcium can cause:

Good sources of calcium

  • One can get 1/4 to 1/3 of your RDA of calcium in a single serving of some milks and yogurts.
  • Collard greens (cooked)
  • Broccoli (cooked)
  • Figs (dried)
  • Edamame (frozen) beans
  • White beans
  • Fortified tofu (regular, not firm)
  • Sardines (in oil)
  • Salmon (pink, canned, with bones)

Calcium doses

  • While meeting your calcium requirement is very important, you also want to make sure you’re not getting too much.
  • According to the Mayo Clinic, upper limits of calcium intake in milligrams (mg) for adults are:
    • 2,000 mg per day for men and women 51 years of age and up
    • 2,500 mg per day for men and women 19 to 50 years of age
  • You might want to supplement your diet by taking a multivitamin. Or your doctor may recommend supplements if you’re at high risk for developing a calcium deficiency.
  • Multivitamins may not contain all of the calcium you need, so be sure to eat a well-rounded diet. If you’re pregnant, take a prenatal vitamin.

Vitamin D

  • Vitamin D is important because it increases the rate calcium is absorbed into your blood. Ask your doctor how much vitamin D you need.
  • To increase your calcium intake, you can add food rich in vitamin D to your diet.

These include:

  • fatty fish like salmon and tuna
  • fortified orange juice
  • fortified milk
  • portobello mushrooms
  • eggs
  • As with calcium-rich dairy products (some vitamin D-rich dairy products can also be high in saturated fat).
  • Sunlight triggers your body to make vitamin D, (getting regular exposure to the sun can also help boost your vitamin D levels).

Lifestyle changes

In addition to maintaining healthy calcium and vitamin D levels, there are certain lifestyle changes you can make to promote bone health. These include:

  • maintaining a healthy body weight
  • exercising regularly
  • restricting tobacco use and alcohol intake

Healthline

Please talk to your healthcare professional (i.e. Medical Doctor/Pharmacist) for further advice

Detailed Information

Please copy and paste any key words from the title: Calcium Deficiency in the following respective 'Medtick References and/or Sources' to find out more about the disease (this also may include diagnosis tests and generic medical treatments).

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