Why do babies receive vitamin k
FAQs About Vitamin K Deficiency Bleeding
Since 1961, the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended supplementing low levels of vitamin K in newborns with a single shot of vitamin K given at birth. Low levels of vitamin K can lead to dangerous bleeding in newborns and infants. The vitamin K given at birth provides protection against bleeding that could occur because of low levels of this essential vitamin.
Below are some commonly asked questions and their answers. If you continue to have concerns about vitamin K, please talk to your pediatrician or healthcare provider.
Q: What is vitamin K, and how do low levels of vitamin K and vitamin K deficiency bleeding occur in babies?
A: Vitamin K is used by the body to form clots and to stop bleeding. Babies are born with very little vitamin K stored in their bodies. This is called “vitamin K deficiency” and means that a baby has low levels of vitamin K. Without enough vitamin K, babies cannot make the substances used to form clots, called ‘clotting factors.’ When bleeding happens because of low levels of vitamin K, this is called “vitamin K deficiency bleeding” or VKDB. VKDB is a serious and potentially life-threatening cause of bleeding in infants up to 6 months of age. A vitamin K shot given at birth is the best way to prevent low levels of vitamin K and vitamin K deficiency bleeding (VKDB).
Q: Why do ALL babies need a vitamin K shot – can’t I just wait to see if my baby needs it?
A: No, waiting to see if your baby needs a vitamin K shot may be too late. Babies can bleed into their intestines or brain where parents can’t see the bleeding to know that something is wrong. This can delay medical care and lead to serious and life-threatening consequences. All babies are born with very low levels of vitamin K because it doesn’t cross the placenta well.
Breast milk contains only small amounts of vitamin K. That means that ALL newborns have low levels of vitamin K, so they need vitamin K from another source. A vitamin K shot is the best way to make sure all babies have enough vitamin K. Newborns who do not get a vitamin K shot are 81 times more likely to develop severe bleeding than those who get the shot.
Q: Doesn’t the risk of bleeding from low levels of vitamin K only last a few weeks?
A: No, VKDB can happen to otherwise healthy babies up to 6 months of age. The risk isn’t limited to just the first 7 or 8 days of life and VKDB doesn’t just happen to babies who have difficult births. In 2013, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) investigated 4 cases of infants with bleeding from low levels of vitamin K. All four were over 6 weeks old when the bleeding started and they had been healthy and developing normally. None of them had received a vitamin K shot at birth.
Q: Isn’t VKDB really rare?
A: VKDB is rare in the United States, but only because most newborns get the vitamin K shot. Over the past two decades, many countries in Europe have started programs to provide vitamin K at birth – afterward, they all saw declines in the number of cases of VKDB to very low levels. However, in areas of the world where the vitamin K shot isn’t available, VKDB is more common, and many cases of VKDB have been reported from these countries
In the early 1980s in England, some hospitals started giving vitamin K only to newborns that were thought to be at higher risk for bleeding. They then noticed an increase in cases of VKDB. This tells us that giving vitamin K to prevent bleeding is what keeps VKDB a rare condition – when vitamin K is not given to newborns, cases of bleeding occur and VKDB stops being rare.
Q: What happens when babies have low levels of vitamin K and get VKDB?
A: Babies without enough vitamin K cannot form clots to stop bleeding and they can bleed anywhere in their bodies.
The bleeding can happen in their brains or other important organs and can happen quickly. Even though bleeding from low levels of vitamin K or VKDB does not occur often in the United States, it is devastating when it does occur. One out of every five babies with VKDB dies. Of the infants who have late VKDB, about half of them have bleeding into their brains, which can lead to permanent brain damage. Others bleed in their stomach or intestines, or in other parts of the body. Many of the infants need blood transfusions, and some need surgeries.
Q: I heard that the vitamin K shot might cause cancer. Is this true?
A: No. In the early 1990s, a small study in England found an “association” between the vitamin K shot and childhood cancer. An association means that two things are happening at the same time in the same person, but doesn’t tell us whether one causes the other. Figuring out whether vitamin K might cause childhood cancer was very important because every newborn is expected to get a vitamin K shot.
If vitamin K was causing cancer, we would expect to see the same association in other groups of children. Scientists looked to see if they could find the same association in other children, but this association between vitamin K and childhood cancer was never found again in any other study.
Q: Can the other ingredients in the shot cause problems for my baby? Do we really know that the vitamin K shot is safe?
A: Yes, the vitamin K shot is safe. Vitamin K is the main ingredient in the shot. The other ingredients make the vitamin K safe to give as a shot. One ingredient keeps the vitamin K mixed in the liquid; another keeps the liquid from being too acidic. One of the ingredients is benzyl alcohol, a preservative. Benzyl alcohol is a common ingredient in many medications.
In the 1980s, doctors recognized that very premature infants who were in neonatal intensive care units might become sick from benzyl alcohol toxicity because many of the medicines and fluids needed for their intensive care contained benzyl alcohol as a preservative.
Although the toxicity was only reported for very premature infants, since then doctors have tried to minimize the amount of benzyl-alcohol-containing medications they give. Clearly, the small amount of benzyl alcohol in the vitamin K shot is not enough to be dangerous, even when given in combination with other medications that also contain small amounts of this preservative.
Q: The dose of the shot seems high. Is that too much for my baby?
A: No, the dose in the vitamin K shot is not too much for babies. The dose of vitamin K in the shot is high compared to the daily requirement of vitamin K. But remember babies don’t have much vitamin K when they are born and won’t have a good supply of vitamin K until they are close to six months old. This is because vitamin K does not cross the placenta and breast milk has very low levels of vitamin K.
The vitamin K shot acts in two ways to increase the vitamin K levels. First, part of the vitamin K goes into the infant’s bloodstream immediately and increases the amount of vitamin K in the blood.
This provides enough vitamin K so that the infant’s levels don’t drop dangerously low in the first few days of life. Much of this vitamin K gets stored in the liver and it is used by the clotting system. Second, the rest of the vitamin K is released slowly over the next 2-3 months, providing a steady source of vitamin K until an infant has another source from his or her diet.
Q: Can I increase vitamin K in my breast milk by eating different foods or taking multivitamins or vitamin K supplements?
A: We encourage moms to eat healthy and take multivitamins as needed. Although eating foods high in vitamin K or taking vitamin K supplements can slightly increase the levels of vitamin K in your breast milk, neither can increase levels in breast milk enough to provide all of the vitamin K an infant needs.
When infants are born, their already low levels of vitamin K fall even lower. Infants need enough vitamin K to (a) make up for their extra-low levels, (b) start storing it in the liver for future use, and (c) ensure good bone and blood health.
Breast milk – even from mothers supplementing with vitamin K sources – can’t provide enough to do all of these things.
Q: My baby is so little. What can I do to make the vitamin K shot less painful and traumatic?
A: Babies, just like us, feel pain, and it is important to reduce even small amounts of discomfort. Babies feel less pain from shots if they are held and allowed to suck.You can ask to hold your baby while the vitamin K shot is given so that your baby can be comforted by you. Breastfeeding while the shot is given and immediately after can be comforting too. All of these are things parents can do to ease pain and soothe their baby.
Remember that if your baby does not get the vitamin K shot, his or her risk of developing severe bleeding is 81 times higher than if he or she got the shot. Diagnosis and treatment of VKDB often involves many painful procedures, including repeated blood draws.
Q: Overall, what are the risks and benefits of the vitamin K shot?
The risks of the vitamin K shot are the same risks that are part of getting most any other shot. These include pain or even bruising or swelling at the place where the shot is given. A few cases of skin scarring at the site of injection have been reported. Only a single case of allergic reaction in an infant has been reported, so this is extremely rare.
Although there have been concerns about some other risks, like a risk for childhood cancer or risks because of additional ingredients, none of these risks have been proven by scientific studies.
The main benefit of the vitamin K shot is that it can protect your baby from VKDB, a dangerous condition that can cause long-term disability or death. In addition, the diagnosis and treatment of VKDB often includes multiple and sometimes painful procedures, such as blood draws, CT scans, blood transfusions, or anesthesia and surgery.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended the Vitamin K shot since 1961, and has repeatedly stood by that recommendation because the risks of the shot don’t outweigh the risks of VKDB, which are based on decades of evidence and decades of experience with babies who were hospitalized or died from VKDB.
Your child’s doctor is the best person to talk to about vitamin K. Like you, your child’s doctor wants to see your children grow up safe and healthy and wants to support your efforts to make the best decisions for their health. If you have concerns about vitamin K, talk to your child’s doctor.
Why Your Newborn Needs a Vitamin K Shot
By: Ivan L. Hand, MD, MS, FAAP
There's a lot going on when your baby is first born. They're weighed and measured. Their noses are suctioned out and their vital signs are tested. They may have ointment or drops put in their eyes. They get a complete checkup by your pediatrician.
Most newborns get their first hepatitis B vaccine in the hospital. They also routinely get a vitamin K shot.
But what exactly is vitamin K, and do newborns really need it? Read on to learn more.
What does vitamin K do?
Vitamin K is a fat-soluble nutrient that helps our bodies make blood clots. We need blot clots to stop bleeding. Vitamin K is important for keeping bones healthy too.
Adults and older children get vitamin K from food such as green, leafy vegetables, meat, dairy and eggs. The healthy bacteria in our intestines, which make up our microbiome, also produce some vitamin K.
Babies, though, have very little vitamin K in their bodies at birth. This puts them at risk for bleeding. Fortunately, it's easy to prevent VKDB with a vitamin K shot. The injection is given in your baby's thigh within 6 hours of birth.
One shot is all it takes to protect your baby from getting vitamin K deficiency bleeding. This is why, as pediatricians, we have recommended since 1961 that all newborns get a vitamin K shot at birth.
Why babies aren't born with enough vitamin K?
The two big reasons newborns need vitamin K:
They don't get much vitamin K from the mother during pregnancy. Unlike many other nutrients, vitamin K doesn't pass through the placenta very easily.
Babies' intestines don't have very many bacteria yet, so their bodies can't make enough vitamin K.
What is vitamin K deficiency bleeding?
Newborns who don't get a Vitamin K shot and are low on the vitamin are are at risk of vitamin K deficiency bleeding (VKDB). This happens when a baby's blood can't make clots, and their body can't stop bleeding.
The bleeding can happen on the outside of the body. It can also happen inside the body where parents can't see it. A baby could be bleeding into their intestines or brain before their parents know anything is wrong. Brain bleeding happens in about half of all babies who develop VKDB, and it can lead to brain damage or death.
There are three types of vitamin K deficiency bleeding:
Early-onset: This begins within the first 24 hours after birth. It usually happens when the mother is taking certain medications that interfere with vitamin K.
Classical: This happens between 2 days and 1 week after birth. Doctors don't know exactly what causes most of these cases. Early-onset and classical VKDB occur in 1 in 60 to 1 in 250 newborns.
Late-onset: This happens between 1 week and 6 months after birth. It's rarer than early-onset or classical VKDB, occurring in 1 in 14,000 to 1 in 25,000 babies. Infants who didn't get a vitamin K shot at birth are 81 times more likely to develop late-onset VKDB than babies who do get the shot.
Cases of VKDB seem to be increasing. This is partly because more parents are refusing the vitamin K shot for their newborns. VKDB is fairly rare, so many parents aren't aware of how dangerous the effects of this disease can be.
Are vitamin K shots safe?
Yes, vitamin K shots are very safe. The vitamin K from the injection is stored in your baby's liver and released slowly over months. This gives your baby the vitamin K they need until they can start getting it from solid food and making it themselves.
You may have heard about a study from the 1990s about a possible link between the vitamin K shot and developing childhood cancer. This didn't only worry parents; doctors and scientists were concerned too. Since then, experts have done many different kinds of studies to verify this link. None of the studies have ever been able to find that link again.
Can my newborn get oral vitamin K instead?
Some parents may ask for oral vitamin K instead of the shot. But babies can't absorb the oral form very well, so it doesn't work well to prevent VKDB. A vitamin K shot is the safest and best option for all newborns.
Does breastfeeding give my baby vitamin K?
Breast milk does give your baby a little bit of vitamin K.
But it's not enough to prevent VKDB. Babies who are exclusively breastfed are at higher risk of developing VKDB because their vitamin K levels are low.
This all changes when your baby is old enough to start eating solid foods, usually between 4 and 6 months. The bacteria in your baby's intestines will also start making vitamin K once they're eating solid foods.
What are the signs of vitamin K deficiency bleeding?
In most cases, there aren't any warning signs to let you know beforehand that something serious—and possibly life-threatening—is happening.
When babies develop VKDB, they might have one or more of these signs:
Bleeding from the umbilical cord or nose
Paler skin or, in dark-skinned babies, pale gums
Bruising easily, especially around the face and head
Bloody stool or black, dark, sticky stool
Vomiting blood
A yellow tint to the white parts of the eyes 3 weeks or more after birth
Seizures, irritability, excessive vomiting or sleeping too much
Remember
It's easy and safe to prevent VKDB with a vitamin K shot at birth.
If you have any questions or concerns, be sure to talk to your pediatrician. They can help you weigh the benefits and risks.
More information
- Newborns Need Vitamin K Shortly After Birth to Prevent Bleeding Disease
- Vitamin K and the Newborn Infant (AAP Policy Statement)
About Dr. Hand
Ivan L. Hand, MD, MS, FAAP, is Director of Neonatology, Kings County/Health & Hospitals and a Professor of Pediatrics at SUNY-Downstate School of Medicine. He was selected as a 2022 New York Super Doctor and is a member of the Society for Pediatric Research. Within the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Dr. Hand is a member of the Committee on Fetus and Newborn.
The information contained on this Web site should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your pediatrician. There may be variations in treatment that your pediatrician may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.
The most "main vitamin"
More recently, endocrinologists of the hospital. Semashko completed a large-scale survey of the inhabitants of Buryatia. From January 2017 to June 2018, doctors tested 1,265 patients. The results showed that 1051 or 83% were vitamin D deficient and one in five had severe hypovitaminosis
In the yard, the end of such a long-awaited and, unfortunately, as usual, short summer. Someone went to the sea, someone conquered the next peak, and someone spent the whole vacation in a stuffy office and did not get enough of the “sunny” vitamin that our body needs so much. nine0003
Vitamin D is called the "sunshine" vitamin for a reason. Unlike other nutrients, it is virtually non-existent in food and is only produced when our skin is exposed to ultraviolet rays. But, given our short summer, it is not necessary to talk about the necessary dose of vitamin. Why is this vitamin so necessary for our body, and what to do if it is not always possible to bask in the sun? To understand the problem, the endocrinologist of the RCH them.
Semashko Erzhen Balzhinimaev. nine0003
In a deficit zone
Scientists have long proven that sunlight is one of the main conditions for maintaining human health. On a clear day, the body produces stronger hormones that are responsible for our mood. In addition, the sun activates the immune system, and therefore, in warm weather, people are much less likely to get colds. However, the luminary was not so favorable to the inhabitants of sunny Buryatia. Despite its "national" title, the sun's rays in our region - surprisingly, but - are not effective enough for the formation of vitamin D (!). The thing is that we are located at 53 degrees north latitude. nine0003
By the way, most regions of Russia are in the "deficit zone" - the entire territory of the country is located above 37 degrees of latitude from the equator. And from autumn to summer, we get too little sunlight for adequate synthesis of vitamin D in the skin.
We must also take into account the fact that, due to low temperatures, we are always in clothes or indoors and, accordingly, receive less of this substance.
Obviously, the residents of Buryatia need an additional source of vitamin, - says Erzhena Balzhinimaeva. nine0017
It must be said that they discovered the vitamin in the "epoch" of childhood rickets - a disease in which, due to a lack of lime salts in the body, bones develop incorrectly. The English veterinarian Edward Mellenby then noticed: only those dogs that are fed fish oil (and there is vitamin A) do not suffer from rickets. To clarify this issue, in 1922 the scientist set up an experiment. He gave the dogs a portion of fish oil, after which the animals were successfully cured of rickets. So it was proved that it was not vitamin A that was responsible for a successful outcome, but another substance unknown until then. Since it was the fourth vitamin discovered by science, it was called the fourth letter of the Latin alphabet - D. And already at 19In 1923, the American biochemist Harry Stenbock demonstrated that irradiating food with ultraviolet light increased its vitamin D content.
Around the same time, it was also proved that a person can produce the vitamin under the action of sunlight.
The “most important vitamin”
Today scientists call vitamin D the most “most important vitamin”. It regulates almost all metabolic processes in our body. First of all, vitamin D is important for young children, pregnant women and the elderly. And also for people with dark skin, because they are at risk of deficiency more than others. nine0003
- Melanin is a substance that affects the color of your skin. The more melanin in your body, the darker your skin. The amount of melanin in the skin affects the amount of the vitamin you can produce. The lighter it is, the easier it is for you to produce vitamin D, the expert explains.
What happens to our body when vitamin D is sorely lacking? According to the doctor, the answer to this question is quite simple - with hypovitaminosis, our temporary ailments turn into chronic ones. nine0003
Most recently, the endocrinologists of the hospital.
Semashko completed a large-scale survey of the inhabitants of Buryatia. From January 2017 to June 2018, doctors tested 1,265 patients. The results showed that 1051, or 83%, were deficient in vitamin D, and one in five had severe hypovitaminosis. Such indicators are connected, first of all, with the lifestyle of the inhabitants of the republic, insufficient insolation and eating habits.
So, the symptoms of a lack of this vitamin include: eye fatigue, decreased visual acuity, cracks in the enamel of the teeth, problems with the menstrual cycle, muscle weakness, chronic pain, chronic fatigue and frequent colds. In addition, vitamin D deficiency can lead to osteoporosis and severe fractures (eg, hip fractures), type 1 diabetes in children, obesity, rickets, and developmental delay in babies. Let's dwell on some of them. nine0003
Top 5 most common vitamin D deficiency symptoms
- Frequent colds. Vitamin D is essential for the normal functioning of our immune system.
Without sufficient amounts of the vitamin, immune cells will not be able to respond in time to the threat, making the body more susceptible to various infections.
- Lack of mood. Vitamin D plays a major role in maintaining healthy levels of serotonin in the brain. We are talking about neurotransmitters that we need for a great mood and avoid seasonal depression. nine0003
- Chronic fatigue. Vitamin D is also needed by our body to convert food into energy. If you constantly feel tired, this may mean that the body does not absorb nutrients from food, which, in turn, can be triggered by a vitamin D deficiency.
- Weak bones. In addition to all of the above, vitamin D is essential for the regulation of calcium and phosphate in the body. These minerals are essential for bone and dental health.
- Pain in the muscles. Vitamin D also supports muscle function. The fact is that, getting into the cells of muscle tissue, it increases the frequency of muscle contractions, helping the muscles to remain strong and elastic.
This protects them from tears and minor damage, including during training.
What to do?
Today there are three ways to "deliver" a vitamin to the body. The simplest thing is to "supply" the body with a vitamin with the help of sunlight.
Experts recommend sun exposure at least three times a week for 10 to 15 minutes in open clothing and without sunscreen. At the same time, in the summer it is necessary to choose morning and evening hours for “prophylactic tanning”, when ultraviolet radiation is not yet very active and does not cause damage to the skin. Vitamin can be obtained in the solarium. If you decide to use it, check the duration of the tanning lamp, doctors advise. It is important to understand that it is impossible to stock up on vitamin D by regular tanning in the summer sun and in a solarium. nine0003
The second way to get a vitamin is through food. But, according to the doctor, this is a very limited solution. Most vitamin D is found in liver fat and fish meat: salmon, tuna and mackerel.
According to scientists, two to three fish meals a week can provide the need for this vitamin.
You can also get vitamin D from butter, dairy products and egg yolk. A small amount of the vitamin is also found in plant products, such as parsley and nettles, as well as in mushrooms. nine0003
And the third, most reliable way, according to doctors, is taking special preparations. They recommend them to all residents of Buryatia for the purpose of prevention.
But everything is far from being so simple, taking drugs should be carried out on the recommendation of a doctor and in strictly defined periods. It is worth remembering that vitamin D can accumulate in the body. And if you take drugs uncontrollably, there is a risk of bringing the level of the vitamin to the state of hypervitaminosis, which is also bad.
- An increased level of vitamin in the blood can lead to a violation of calcium metabolism in the body, and this threatens with deposits on the walls of blood vessels.
As a result, the risk of cardiovascular diseases, including heart attacks and strokes, increases, the specialist says. nine0003
You can find out your vitamin D level by taking a blood test from a vein. As for the state medical institutions of the republic, such an analysis is done in the Republican Clinical Hospital. Semashko.
So, what about your “master vitamin”?
Olga Makhanova
"Tradition" newspaper
What is vitamin D for
Science has known about vitamin D for a long time, it was discovered back in 1922 by the American scientist McCollum and was initially considered only as a vitamin, but now it is classified as a group of hormone-like substances. nine0003
What is vitamin D
Vitamin D is fat-soluble, it is best absorbed with fatty foods and accumulates in adipose tissue. A large amount of vitamin D is found mainly in animal foods: fatty fish (salmon, catfish, mackerel, sardines, tuna), fish caviar, egg yolk and dairy products.
Also, a small amount of it is found in red caviar, oysters, wild mushrooms and seeds.
It is unique in that it is the only vitamin that is produced in the body on its own under the influence of UV sunlight. nine0003
Benefits of Vitamin D
Its main role is to help absorb calcium and phosphorus from food. In babies, vitamin D prevents the development of rickets, a disease associated with impaired bone development and softening. In adolescents and adults, vitamin D prevents the development of caries and gum pathologies, protects against osteoporosis (softening of bone tissue due to a lack of calcium), and accelerates the healing of fractures. Vitamin D also increases resistance to viral diseases, which is extremely important, especially when your baby first went to kindergarten and began to get sick often. nine0003
Why vitamin D deficiency is dangerous
Vitamin D deficiency causes calcium and phosphorus to be washed out of the bones.
In childhood, against the background of vitamin D deficiency, rickets develops, in adults - softening of bone tissue (osteomalacia) and rarefaction of bone tissue (osteoporosis). Vitamin deficiency is especially dangerous in the first year of a child's life, when there is a rapid growth of bone tissue.
Currently, scientists are suggesting the impact of vitamin D deficiency on the development of cancer, as well as autoimmune, infectious, viral and cardiovascular diseases. nine0003
How to get vitamin D
It would seem simpler than simple: you need good nutrition and stay outdoors under the sun's rays, and the issue is resolved!
However, there are pitfalls here.
Studies have shown that the amount of vitamin D in foods is an unstable value. For example, during the examination of milk from the same manufacturer, the content of vitamin D in different batches fluctuated and could be less than declared within 20 IU. That is why in some countries manufacturers additionally enrich milk and dairy products with vitamin D.
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In order for the body to produce enough vitamin, it is necessary to be with the face and limbs open to sunlight in the midday sun (between 10 am and 3 pm) twice a week. Fair-skinned people need five minutes, dark-skinned people should be in the sun for at least half an hour.
However, for some children, to compensate for the deficiency of vitamin D in the body, it is not enough just to fully nourish sunbathing. Babies suffering from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, overweight, living in regions where there is little sunlight, children who move little, with dark skin, as well as children who do not want to stay in the sun - they are all at risk for lack of vitamin D. nine0003
Prevention of vitamin D deficiency
Non-specific prophylaxis should be comprehensive and begin even before the birth of the child.
The expectant mother needs to spend a lot of time outdoors, it is enough to move, observe the regime of work and rest, monitor the nature of the diet (take more vegetables, fruits, protein foods).
In the last 3-4 months of pregnancy, calcification of the bones of the fetal skeleton begins, therefore, the need for calcium increases, and, consequently, for vitamin D. Pregnant women are recommended to take multivitamin preparations from the first weeks, and starting from the third trimester, take an additional 500-1500 IU vitamin A. nine0003
It is very important to support and maintain breastfeeding for as long as possible. It is necessary to properly organize the daily routine of a nursing mother and a good diet containing meat, dairy products, fish, and vegetables. Also, a kind of prevention for a growing baby is the introduction of complementary foods, daily walks in the air with an open face and limbs, therapeutic exercises, general massage courses.
Children who are formula-fed should be given vitamin D. When choosing a mixture, it is necessary to take into account the presence of this vitamin and lactose in it, which is necessary for its absorption. But despite the fact that almost all adapted mixtures contain a vitamin, there is an opinion that its absorption from them is not active enough.
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Vitamin D specific prophylaxis
In our country, regardless of the nature of feeding, from 4 weeks of age, specific prevention of vitamin D deficiency is carried out for all children. Full-term children are prescribed a prophylactic dose of 500 IU of an aqueous or oily solution of vitamin D daily, while children at risk - 1000 IU. Recently, many researchers and practitioners have supported the opinion that it is necessary to carry out the prevention of rickets for all children of the first three years of life without a break for the summer period, provided that the child is in his region, while children from 3 to 5 years old should be given vitamin D in autumn. - spring months. nine0003
Also, there is currently an active practice of prescribing vitamin D for a long time, not only for growing babies, but also for adolescents, adults, and the elderly.
Vitamin D overdose
Vitamin D is not only useful, but if used incorrectly and excessively, it can harm the baby.
Vitamin D must be given carefully, as some children are hypersensitive to the vitamin and even at low doses, a condition called hypervitaminosis can develop. Signs of hypervitaminosis - loss of appetite, anxiety, muscle weakness, sleep disturbance, constipation, may be nausea and even vomiting. Therefore, with long-term use of vitamin D, especially adolescents and adults, it is necessary to periodically examine the level of the vitamin in the blood serum. You need to know that vitamin D is an important and useful component in the development of your baby, but, as in any business, a reasonable approach and following the recommendations of the attending doctor are important. nine0003
Many diseases and pathological conditions are associated with hyper- and hypovitaminosis. If you suspect a deficiency or excess of some vitamins in the body, consult an endocrinologist. The doctor will ask you in detail about the symptoms, if necessary, prescribe laboratory tests. The endocrinologist explains the possible causes of such conditions, prescribes treatment.
