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A 4-year-old boy from the UK recently wound up in the emergency room after doctors say he accidentally overdosed on vitamins and natural supplements.
According to a case in the journal BMJ Case Reports, the boy was taken to the hospital about three weeks after he began vomiting and losing weight.
When he was finally checked out, doctors found that the boy had extremely high calcium and vitamin D levels.
The boy’s parents then explained that they’d been giving him a variety of different vitamins, minerals, and oils to supplement his diet.
According to the report, the boy's blood calcium level was almost twice the range considered normal for someone his age, and his vitamin D level was more than 20 times the normal level.
The authors of the case hope that this child’s experience can help other parents see that vitamins and “natural” supplements aren’t always healthy options for kids.
"Many families view these therapies as safer 'natural' options; however, there is significant potential for adverse effects," the researchers, from the Barts Health NHS Trust, a health system in London, wrote.
In this incident, the boy was treated for “vitamin D toxicity” with rehydration and medications to lower his alarmingly high calcium levels.
