Side effects of cod liver oil for babies

Every parent hopes that their children can grow up healthily, so in the process of their children's healthy growth, they always hope to supplement their children with as much nutrition as possible. Cod liver oil is a health product that many parents choose to supplement their children's bodies with trace elements and vitamins. The vitamin A and vitamin D contained in cod liver oil are both essential vitamins for the human body. But what are the side effects if babies take cod liver oil every day?

The main components of cod liver oil are vitamin A and vitamin D. These two vitamins have a very important impact on human health and are indispensable to the human body, but the human body's demand for vitamins A and D is also limited. Because vitamins A and D are fat-soluble vitamins, unlike other water-soluble vitamins such as B1 and B2, excessive intake of vitamins A and D cannot be eliminated promptly, but will be stored in the body, thereby producing toxic effects. The vitamin A and D content of cod liver oil varies due to differences in dosage form, origin and raw materials used. Be careful when adding cod liver oil to infants to avoid cod liver oil poisoning.

The symptoms of cod liver oil poisoning generally include headache, vomiting, bulging of the anterior fontanelle, and bone ruptures, which are similar to encephalitis and meningitis; itchy skin, peeling of the palms and soles, chapped corners of the mouth, and soft tissue compression, but no redness or heat; enlarged liver and spleen, and a tendency to bleed. Bruise will appear when the skin is touched, which is common in cases of chronic vitamin A poisoning; arm pain, leg pain, bone pain, hyperplasia of bone-like tissue in the neck and waist, manifested as pseudoosteoma; sparse hair, irritability, anger, fever, etc.

How to scientifically supplement cod liver oil for babies

Infants and young children need 1000 international units (IU) of vitamin A and 400 international units (IU) of vitamin D per day. Different cod liver oil preparations on the market have different origins, brands, and ratios of vitamin A and D. Generally, cod liver oil preparations can be divided into 2:1, 3:1, and 10:1 types according to the ratio of vitamin A and D. Each milliliter of 2:1 concentrated cod liver oil contains 10,000 IU of vitamin A and 5,000 IU of vitamin D. Therefore, parents only need to feed their children 3 drops of this type of cod liver oil every day. Each 3:1 concentrated cod liver oil capsule contains 1800 IU of vitamin A and 600 IU of vitamin D. Usually, one capsule is enough for children every two days. Each 10:1 concentrated cod liver oil capsule contains 10,000 IU of vitamin A and 1,000 IU of vitamin D. This type causes an overdose of vitamin A and vitamin D in children and is not suitable for infants and young children. According to the ratio of vitamin A and vitamin D required by infants and young children every day, parents should pay attention to the dosage of cod liver oil preparations with different ratios to avoid overdose or insufficient dose of cod liver oil. Or for inexperienced new parents, the best way is to consult a doctor, who will decide how much cod liver oil to use for the child.