I. Why do babies need to take cod liver oil supplements?
When many parents take their babies to the hospital for medical checkups, they often hear doctors ask if their babies have taken cod liver oil. What is cod liver oil? Why do we need to supplement it? In fact, the main components of cod liver oil are vitamins A and D.
The main physiological functions of vitamin A in the human body are to constitute the photoreceptors in visual cells, maintain the integrity of epithelial cells, promote growth and development and maintain reproductive function, maintain and promote immune function, and participate in iron metabolism. Vitamin A deficiency can cause: night blindness, dry eyes, and even corneal clouding, softening, ulcers; dry skin, itching, hair follicle keratinization; growth retardation; low immune function easily cause various infections of the respiratory, digestive and urinary tracts.
The main function of vitamin D is to promote the absorption of calcium and phosphorus by the mucosa of the small intestine; to promote the reabsorption of calcium and phosphorus by the renal tubules. Vitamin D deficiency causes calcium and phosphorus metabolism malfunction, resulting in rickets, which is characterized by easy frightening, sweating, irritability and skeletal changes, and the bone pathway becomes diseased and deformed because calcium salts in the body cannot be deposited normally on the growing parts of the bones. It also affects the function of the nervous system, muscular system, hematopoietic system and immune system. The purpose of cod liver oil supplementation is to prevent and treat vitamin A deficiency and vitamin D deficiency.
Second, how to supplement cod liver oil?
1.How old should my baby be to start supplementing?
Vitamin A and D are both fat-soluble vitamins. Vitamin A is mainly found in the liver of animals, especially fish liver, followed by dairy and eggs. The other is in the form of carotenoids in foods such as carrots, tomatoes, beans and green leafy vegetables, etc. In the liver carotenoids are transformed into vitamin A. Vitamin D is mainly found in the liver of animals, especially in the liver of marine fish. In addition, 7-dehydrocholesterol in the skin can also be converted to vitamin D by the action of ultraviolet light. The body takes vitamin D from sunlight exposure and from food.
The amount of vitamin A in human milk is higher than that in cow’s milk, and if the mother is well nourished and has a balanced diet, most of the vitamin A in breast milk can meet the needs of the infant. Vitamin D is less in both breast milk and cow’s milk, so both human and cow’s milk fed infants should be given a daily preventive dose of vitamin D from 2-3 weeks after birth for 2 years. Therefore, in order to prevent vitamin D deficiency, it is recommended that full-term newborns be supplemented 15 days after birth, and premature babies be supplemented immediately after birth.
2.What is the amount of cod liver oil supplementation for babies?
The preventive amount of vitamin A is 1333IU/day for babies under 4 years old and 2500U/day for babies over 4 years old, and the preventive amount of vitamin D is 400-800IU/day. After the age of 2, the baby’s outdoor activities increase and the diet is gradually diversified, so the supplement can be added according to the baby’s specific situation.
3.Caution:
(1) Cod liver oil is available in different dosage forms and contains different doses of vitamin AD. When feeding to your baby, check the instructions carefully to see the usage and dosage. To avoid poisoning.
(2) Give your baby cod liver oil is generally choose concentrated cod liver oil, and do not choose creamy cod liver oil, orange juice cod liver oil or cod liver oil for adults.
(3) Do not arbitrarily increase the amount of cod liver oil, supplementation of large doses of vitamin A or D need to be carried out under the guidance of a doctor.
(3) Scientific selection of cod liver oil
(1) There are the following factors that require cod liver oil supplementation.
(1) Insufficient breast milk or weaning of infants without timely addition of egg yolk, animal liver and other foods rich in vitamins A and D as well as vegetables and fruits rich in carotene;
2, suffering from chronic diarrhea, liver and gallbladder disease, etc. affect the absorption of vitamin A and D;
3, suffering from chronic wasting diseases that increase the consumption of vitamin A and D;
4.Lack of sunlight;
5. Excessive growth increases the need for vitamin A and D, etc. Especially for premature babies, twins and children with the above mentioned vitamin A and D deficiency factors, additional vitamin A and D supplementation is needed.
However, cod liver oil is not the only source of vitamins A and D for children, as sunlight exposure and timely supplementation can supplement vitamin AD.
(ii) How to prevent cod liver oil poisoning?
If large doses are consumed in a short period of time, or excessive daily intake of vitamin A and D for a long time can cause poisoning. The symptoms include loss of appetite, weight gain, irritability, excessive sweating, headache, vomiting, drowsiness, joint pain, muscle pain, etc.
Acute poisoning can be caused by a large dose of vitamin A. Acute poisoning can be caused by a large dose of vitamin AD or a large dose of vitamin AD given to a child within a short period of time. After poisoning, the symptoms of increased intracranial pressure are mainly manifested as loss of appetite, restlessness or sleep, vomiting, bulging fontanelle, enlarged head circumference, and cracked bones.
Chronic poisoning is mainly caused by parents giving their children long-term overdose, which is more common. In the early stage, the main manifestations are irritability and loss of appetite, and later on, bone pain gradually appears, the pain site is not fixed, and it may be accompanied by swelling of soft tissue around the bone. There are also symptoms of cranial hypertension such as headache, vomiting and fullness of fontanel. In addition, another main feature of chronic toxicity is itchy skin, red rash, most of the children also have peeling phenomenon, peeling from the nasolabial folds and around the mouth, gradually spread to the whole body skin, at first small scaly peeling, and later flaky peeling.
Some babies also develop vitamin D toxicity, which is characterized by loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, as well as high blood calcium and impaired kidney function. These two conditions can be collectively referred to as “cod liver oil poisoning” and need to be discontinued as soon as they become clear. The symptoms of poisoning usually disappear 1-2 weeks after stopping the medication. In the case of poisoning caused by ingesting a large amount of cod liver, the same treatment as general poisoning is required: vomiting, gastric lavage, and diarrhea to promote the elimination of the poison, and symptomatic treatment.
Special emphasis should be placed on parents to give their children oral cod liver oil and to follow medical advice; residents of coastal areas should not give their children too much cod liver; treatment of vitamin AD deficiency should be carried out under the guidance of a doctor.