how much 'sunshine' for vitamin D?

[~Kim~]

we have to have x rays to see if there is a developmental delay in his hip/s and worse case senario then shunts will have to be put into his actual hip (surgically). this is a 5% chanch of happening

We may be lucky and he may be the other 95% of kids that just go PING and his legs might jsut straighten out by them selves

He's beat all the other odds.....he'll do this too.

[Lisa]

Urgh Maz... don't you just lurve Dr's and their scare tactics?

My eldest DS was bow legged until he was almost 4... then his legs suddenly went straight. I was told the whole Vit D thing too but it was crap as he'd been getting loads of sunshine... he also ate fresh fish and loved eggs.
Fingers crossed your little man is one of the PING legged kids

[luna moth]

It also depends where you live - Cancer Council recommendations are that in Victoria, children don't have any sun protection at all betwee 1st may and 1st September. That means no sunscreen, no hats, but also minimise exposure between 10 and 2. This advice was generated based on cases of rickets, caused by low Vitamin D.

In QLD, however, the recommendation is to use protection all year round. I guess it's something to do with intensity or brightness of the sun?

For grown ups the advice is 10-15 minutes per day on the arms, hands and face. Prefereably early morning as UV levels are not as intense then.

[melbel]

From one who has a serious vitamin D deficiency the official word is:

In summer: 15 mins morning and afternoon with no sun cream on, face and forearms. so half an hour per day total with no sunscreen.
In winter: a total of at least 2.5 - 3 hours a week face and forearms to get adequate vitamin d synthesis.

Vitamin D is fat soluble which means we can store it up so what we get in summer can help to tide us over winter but only if we have lots to start with....

You can get it from foods such as oily fish (salmon or tuna in oil not in brine) and egg yolks but it is only available in very small amounts in foods and is no where near enough for normal levels.

hope that helps Mazzy!

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

In the UK - 15 minutes with cloud cover (like you get anything else!) for a normal, healthy adult is just fine.

So I'm thinking in Australia, a child could go from the car to the shops and get enough sunlight for vitamin D.

I believe it's normal for 0-2 to be knock-kneed and 2-4 to be bow-legged and then miraculously normal. Must be all the sunshine they play in!