overdosing on vitamins

[ebony_vbac]

dd1 always asks for vitamins. i stopped buying them cuz she'll ask all day for them. sometimes she picks them over candy. i dont know what to do. i guess they arent that expensive that she cant have more than one a day and they dont have any more sugar than candy but should i let her have more and what's the max. i'm ready to throw the vitamins away just so she'll stop asking. keep in mind this is the girl who will brush her teeth 10 times just cuz the toothpaste is sweet

[Calidris]

Some of the constituents of vitamins CAN be harmful in excess (iron for example, but others too).
You should never exceed the recommended dosage of vitamins without researching it first.

But if she craves vitamins so strongly, it is possible that she is in need of some trace mineral or element.

[Calidris]

http://www8.utsouthwestern.edu/utsw/...es/146575.html

An overdose of iron from vitamins is a leading cause of poisoning death in infants and children under the age of 6. Pre-natal vitamins, which contain extra iron, are particularly dangerous - just four pills taken by a small child can be lethal - but even chewable children's vitamins can cause trouble if they're eaten like candy.

[elmh23]

My daughter loves vitamins too and she does ask a lot for them, but we only take them in the morning and at night. She understand this. Just because she asks doesn't mean that you have to give them to her. Have you explained that too many vitamins can make her sick? It might help.

Good luck.

[dara00]

we had this problem when dd first started taking them, but we made it part of the bedtime routine so she knows she only gets them before bedtime.

[mclisa]

I have this issue with dd3's omega's. She only gets 3/day, but sometimes asks for more. I've thought about getting her a mvi, but I'm still she would ask for more too. Just say "no. You've had all of your medicine you need today."

[Sharlla]

I give DS2 vitamins, when he bugs for more he gets tums.

[kristinc]

Originally Posted by Sharlla

I give DS2 vitamins, when he bugs for more he gets tums.

Be careful about giving your child tums as it is an anti-acid medication. This will decrease the acidity of his stomach therefore making it difficult to absorb the vitamins that require an acidic environment. Also with acididty in the stomach the food isn't able to begin the process of breaking down and therefore the bacteria in the gut will break it down resulting in gassy discomfort.

[treqi]

Whoa thats REALLY dangerous maybe you should get individual vitamins (like a b6 and a calcium and a vit c iron) in safe amounts(use a pill cutter) so she thinks she is getting more.....

[annettemarie]

Now I feel mean. I have a bunch of vitamin lovers too. I give them with breakfast and if they ask for more I say no. I tell them they're medicine. Yummy medicine, but medicine nonetheless, and they can only have them with breakfast. And I keep the childproof cap on and keep them up high.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

There are definate dangers to overdosing on vitamins and some nasty things can happen when you take to much. No way would I give any one more than the recommended dose of them.

[Village Mama]

It is medicine... there is no harm in saying no! Children are completely capable of understanding that they cannot take more than one.Yikes!

[Sharlla]

Originally Posted by kristinc

Be careful about giving your child tums as it is an anti-acid medication. This will decrease the acidity of his stomach therefore making it difficult to absorb the vitamins that require an acidic environment. Also with acididty in the stomach the food isn't able to begin the process of breaking down and therefore the bacteria in the gut will break it down resulting in gassy discomfort.

Tums = calcium supplement

[Demeter9]

I concur with the idea of getting a vitamin you can give her. Like Vitamin C. Or some other supplement that you can swap out with such as

(I am not a seller - my MIL gives these to me. I am not a fan of this company's selling tactics but....) such as MannaBears,

cod liver oil gel caps, lecthin capsules (really, my DD2 and DS1 love to eat them),

some sort of concentration formula such as Flavay or Attentive Child (don't bother with SeaBuddies for what you want, it is not sweet and not easy to get them to take)

[Village Mama]

I am not positive Sharlla... but for some reason it stuck in my mind that the antacid part of Tums does leach vitamins from your system... Things may have changed , or maybe I was misinformed... but I was horrifie when our ped reccommended giving them to my boys. I will check into it.

[Village Mama]

OK. I am not finding a really good middle of the road source... it seems as though you are either a really big TUMS advocate or are completely the opposite! Here was a good article on calcium absorption
http://www.florahealth.com/flora/hom...aArticle56.htm

TUMS is calcium in the form of calcium carbonate as far as I know. Its funny because I remember the info on TUMS as being an inadiquate form of calcium supplementation used to come up readily. Now its pages and pages of recommendations.

[Sharlla]

Tums does not contain aluminum hydroxide like some other antacids, so I'm not too worried about it. It's not like he's eating a whole bottle, just one or 2 occasionally.

Antacids such as Tums contain calcium carbonate, an excellent source of dietary calcium, but some brands contain aluminum, which, in large doses, can take calcium from your bones. Check the list of ingredients

http://www.drmirkin.com/nutrition/8418.html