HanoiAfter a period of time when her parents mistakenly gave her an adult bottle of vitamin D, the 6-month-old girl vomited, urinated a lot, and became severely dehydrated.
On May 2, Dr. Thai Thien Nam, Deputy Head of the Department of Nephrology and Dialysis, National Children’s Hospital, who directly treated the patient, said the results of examination and tests showed that the child had kidney disease. increased total blood calcium, increased ionized calcium, especially vitamin D3 concentration increased very high at 1,320 ng/ml (normal limit 50-250 ng/ml). The reason is that parents mistakenly gave an adult vitamin bottle with a dose of 3 drops/day (5,000UI/drop), or 15,000 UI/day (many times higher than the maximum dose of vitamin D used for 6-month-old children).
At the Department of Nephrology and Dialysis, children are instructed to stop all calcium and vitamin D products, receive fluids and use diuretics to compensate for the amount of fluid lost due to vomiting, frequent urination and blood calcium excretion,… After 5 On the day of treatment, the child stopped vomiting, was no longer dehydrated, and total calcium decreased from 5mmol/L to 3 mmol/l. However, children still urinate a lot.
“According to the plan, the child will continue to temporarily stop all calcium and vitamin D products for at least 6 months, receive fluids to compensate for fluid loss and increase blood calcium excretion. After the child is discharged from the hospital, he or she will be re-examined. every 2 weeks to check for possible complications of kidney stones and calcium deposition in other organs,” said Dr. Nam.
Vitamin bottle for adults (left) that the child was given by mistake. Provide family photos
Vitamin D plays a very important role in forming and developing strong bones, as well as contributing to strengthening the immune system in children. However, if parents do not use vitamin D according to dosage instructions, it can lead to serious poisoning.
Vitamin D poisoning is a rare condition and difficult to diagnose because the symptoms are non-specific and is caused by parents giving children too high doses for a long time, not by diet or exposure to sunlight.
According to recommendations of the Endocrine Society, the maximum dose for vitamin D in children is as follows: Children under 6 months old is 1,000UI/day; For 12-month-old children, the dose is 1,500UI/day; Children from 1 to 3 years old are 2,500UI/day; Children 4-8 years old are 3,000UI/day and children over 9 years old are 4,000UI/day. In addition, there are cases where the dose of vitamin D poisoning may be higher or lower than the above levels depending on the child’s physical condition.
Parents arbitrarily giving their children an overdose of vitamin D can cause poisoning, but symptoms usually appear a few months or even a few years later. When suffering from vitamin D poisoning, a child’s blood will have a lot of calcium deposited, leading to anorexia, weight loss, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, renal tubular calcification, kidney failure,… If not soon If this condition is discovered, the child will face serious complications, even life-threatening.
Doctors recommend that parents should not arbitrarily buy functional foods or vitamins for their children to take without a doctor’s prescription or advice. When you need to use medicine for children, it must be prescribed by a doctor. Do not take medicine from adults or other children for your child to use.
Parents and caregivers need to clearly understand the uses, dosages, and intended users of each type of medicine and vitamin and use them strictly according to the instructions and instructions of a specialist to avoid confusion that affects their health. children’s health.