Lack of calcium, as the name suggests, represents a lack of calcium in the body, which can occur for various reasons, which you will discover in this article, called hypocalcemia in medical terms. In most cases, the lack of calcium does not cause major symptoms, which can endanger life, but its persistence over a long period of time brings with it major problems, which must be remedied, through an action as quickly as possible, to avoid dental problems, cataracts, changes in the brain, or osteoporosis, and other bone diseases.

Thus, if you have been diagnosed with a lack of calcium, or someone close to you has been, you don't have to worry. It is necessary to understand what calcium is, and why your body needs this mineral so much, what are the symptoms by which you can realize the presence of hypocalcemia, and what are the remedies you have at hand (for example, eating foods rich in calcium), or the treatments and supplements recommended by specialists. Find out all this in the following lines.

Contents:

1. Lack of calcium: what is it and what are its symptoms?

1.1  Dizziness caused by lack of calcium and headaches

1.2  Trembling of the hands and excessive sweating in case of lack of calcium

1.3  Lack of calcium: heart palpitations and other frequent symptoms

2. What causes lack of calcium/hypocalcemia and what are the possible complications

3. Lack of calcium - remedies, treatment and supplements

1. Lack of calcium: what is it and what are its symptoms?

Lack of calcium is a condition that more and more people face as they get older, but it can also have other causes, such as: a low intake of calcium over a long period of time (a common cause among children), medications which have the effect of calcium absorption, reduced calcium consumption due to lactose intolerance, hormonal changes (often found in the case of the female sex), or genetic factors.

All these causes can lead to calcium deficiency, regardless of age, and the symptoms are quite obvious, so that they lead you to a doctor's office. It is important to ensure a calcium intake adequate to your body's needs, both through food and supplements. If this does not happen, your body will try to convey to you, through several symptoms, the deficiency it is facing. Calcium deficiency in children has similar symptoms, so the following information will help both you and the other family members.

1.1 Dizziness caused by lack of calcium and headaches

Do you want to know what symptoms you have when you lack calcium? Insufficient intake of calcium can cause several health problems, including dizziness, accompanied by headaches, which can take on a chronic form. These can be associated with photophobia, phonophobia, nausea, and in rare cases with transient neurological symptoms. It is demonstrated that, globally, women are much more affected by migraines, registering approximately 18%, compared to men who fall within the percentage of 6%, thus being less than half. Migraines, caused by the lack of calcium, have a negative impact on the patient's quality of life, affecting both personal and professional life.

Also, together with these, concentration problems also occur, and memory capacity decreases. The same thing happens in the case of dizziness, which often occurs for this reason, accompanied by severe fatigue, lack of concentration, confusion, lack of energy, or insomnia.

These signs should not be neglected, especially because there are cases where these symptoms of lack of calcium cause depression and mood disorders over time. This is also due to the lack of rest, but greater attention must be paid to all the factors and symptoms that lead to the diagnosis of hypocalcemia. We recommend that the health supplements be taken after visiting a specialist doctor, and only on his recommendation, respecting the method of administration.

1.2 Trembling of the hands and excessive sweating in case of lack of calcium

If you wonder how the lack of calcium manifests itself, well, among the many symptoms that can appear is the trembling of the hands, which can be associated with other diseases, so you must pay attention to other signs before making a decision with look at whatvitamins and minerals you will consume as supplements. Although this tremor does not have serious repercussions in the first phase, it can prevent you from carrying out simple daily actions that require detailed work. The shaking can manifest itself in short episodes, which return at a certain time interval, and as long as it is not of a chronic nature, it disappears quite quickly.

On the other hand, the lack of calcium in babies and children is characterized by excessive sweating. This manifests itself especially during the night, in the head area, and is accompanied, most of the time, by the following signs: crying, insomnia, or poor quality sleep, disturbed by sudden awakenings, accompanied by crying. If your baby does this constantly, then it is advisable to consult a specialist doctor to see if he is facing a lack of calcium in the body.

Are you curious what symptoms you have when you lack calcium and magnesium? Most of the time, the affected people have a lack of both essential minerals for the human body, and the latter brings serious problems, respectively: high blood pressure, heart diseases, diabetes, acting together with calcium to cause migraines, or osteoporosis, and diseases of bones. Food and snacks play an important role in the necessary daily intake, but you will learn more about a balanced diet, adapted to your needs, in the following lines.

1.3 Lack of calcium: stabbing in the heart and other frequent symptoms

The level of calcium in the body and the functions of the heart are closely related. The role of calcium, when its norms are normal, is to regulate the heartbeat, and to ensure a normal functioning of the heart muscle, regulating, at the same time, the arterial pressure. Therefore, the lack of calcium affects the heart, causing stinging, chest pain, or heart rhythm disorders. All this mineral helps blood coagulation, and your body has the ability to self-regulate, releasing or absorbing calcium in the bone system, to maintain a normal level in the blood.

However, when we think of calcium, the first association is with the bone system, so it's time to discover the relationship between calcium deficiency and bone pain. In order for your bones to remain healthy and strong, they need an increased level of calcium to store. If its level is low, then the effect is the opposite, of weakness, and predisposition to accidents, being about an increased fragility. If this low level persists over time, then there is a risk of developing osteoporosis.

The complications don't end here, because when you lack calcium there are multiple symptoms, which you don't even suspect. Among the symptoms of lack of calcium is a lump in the neck, panic attacks, brittle nails, prone to breaking, and ringing in the ears.

2. What causes the lack of calcium/hypocalcemia and what are the possible complications

A frequent question is how do you know or how do you realize that you lack calcium? Everything starts from the causes that trigger hypocalcemia, and in addition to the symptoms that indicate the lack of calcium in the body, you must know how this loss occurs, how you can combat it, and what are the possible complications.

A frequent cause is the lack of vitamin D, which enables the absorption of calcium, and the most affected people are those who have a sedentary lifestyle, with activities that mostly take place indoors, so that they are not exposed to enough sunlight. Postoperatively, hypoparathyroidism appears, which can also manifest itself on genetic grounds, or as an effect of an autoimmune disease, which represents the abnormal functioning of the parathyroid glands, a fact that directly leads to low calcium values ​​in the body.

Other diseases and syndromes that can indicate signs of calcium deficiency are: hypomagnesemia, hypermagnesemia, pseudohypoparathyroidism, sclerotic metastases and Fanconi syndrome. Hypomagnesemia is a deficiency of magnesium, and most patients who face it, also have a calcium deficiency, while hypermagnesemia is the opposite effect, indicating an increased level of magnesium.

Pseudohypoparathyroidism is one of the genetic conditions that are among the causes of calcium deficiency, metastases are associated with cancer, one of the relentless diseases of our times, already representing the moment when the disease begins to spread from one organ to another, and Fanconi syndrome is much less common, affecting the patient's kidneys. Moreover, any other disease that affects the thyroid and parathyroid glands will cause a decrease in the level of minerals in your body, including calcium.

What happens if you lack calcium, and this is not addressed in time? A deficiency that develops over a longer period of time and remains outside of specialist observation, leads to complications related to dental changes, bone fragility (reaching fractures much faster), changes in brain functions, and, as I have previously mentioned, the development of osteoporosis.

The lack of calcium in pregnancy has symptoms similar to those presented in the lines above, but complications can appear much more easily, and pregnant women are prone to hypertension, or preeclampsia. At the same time, the lack of calcium during breastfeeding affects the quality of the mother's milk, and even the volume, and the baby will have a slower development, from a physical point of view, through delayed growth, and mineral deficiency in the bone system.

3. Lack of calcium - remedies, treatment and supplements

There are several solutions for the lack of calcium, being an extremely easy deficit to treat, in most cases, by adding a higher ratio in food, or by the help offered by supplements , and a complex of vitamins and minerals . However, these supplements must be taken into account for the cause, and medical consultation is recommended before any administration. Your doctor is able to provide you with concrete information about the necessary dosage, related to the deficit registered with the help of a set of analyses, and based on the anamnesis. Taking a higher dose can cause serious problems, such as kidney stones, which you definitely want to avoid.

Among the most accessible supplements is calcium carbonate, followed by calcium citrate, which is absorbed much faster, as well as calcium phosphate, whether in chewable, soluble, or pill form. They can, however, interact with other drugs, if it is the case of a treatment, either long-term or for a short, determined period, therefore, increased attention is needed on all these elements.

The next thing to consider is: what to eat when you lack calcium. Dairy products are ideal, as are fish, beans, peas, or cereals with a high calcium intake. Broccoli is another vegetable rich in calcium, together with almonds, sesame, or tofu, which can be successfully served as a side dish, for a delicious and healthy meal. If diet and supplements cannot correct this deficit, then calcium ampoules, injectable, intravenously or intramuscularly, can be taken into account, both for adults and for infants and children. These types of ampoules must be administered extremely slowly, being necessary, in some cases, for medical assistance.

The lack of calcium can be caused both by an inadequate diet, as well as by health problems developed throughout life, or genetic problems. An ideal approach for the beginning is to increase the ratio of calcium in the diet, and to go to a specialist doctor, to carry out some routine tests, and to identify the exact intake in your body. Then, depending on how the situation evolves, you can resort to specialized treatments.

So, now that you have found out the symptoms of calcium deficiency, what are its causes, and how you can treat it, or even prevent it, it is important to take the right decisions and actions that limit the growth of this deficiency as much as possible. Don't forget that lifestyle is an important factor, as is the level of vitamin D and magnesium, for a healthy lifestyle and strong bones.

Photo source: unsplash.com

Web sources:

https://www.news-medical.net/health/Calcium-Deficiency-Causes.aspx

https://www.healthline.com/health/calcium-deficiency-disease

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321865#complications

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5561751/

https://www.livestrong.com/article/473921-the-effects-of-calcium-on-the-heart-rate/