According to BMJ Case Reports, quoted by Sky News, the symptoms in the middle-aged man began about a month after starting an intensive vitamin supplement regimen.
He had been experiencing symptoms such as vomiting, nausea and leg cramps for three months when his doctor sent him to hospital for treatment. The man also had a dry mouth, loss
weight gain, increased thirst and diarrhea.
The man’s daily regimen included over 20 over-the-counter supplements. As part of this, he took 50,000 mg of vitamin D – the daily requirement is 600 mg. Tests have shown that
his vitamin D level was 7 times higher than the required level, and his body had high levels of magnesium and calcium. Also, his kidneys were not working properly.
Doctors say the condition – called hypervitaminosis D – is on the rise, although it is still unusual.
Intravenous fluids were used to wash his body and he was given medicines to reduce excessive levels of calcium in his blood.
But two months after his discharge from the hospital, the levels of vitamin D in his body were still higher than necessary.
The authors of the report stated that “globally, there is a growing trend of hypervitaminosis D”.
The NHS website says that “some people will not produce enough vitamin D from sunlight because they have very little or no exposure to the sun”
He recommends that adults and children over the age of 4 be able to take a daily supplement containing 10 mg of vitamin D throughout the year, if they do not go outside often, if
find out in an institution, such as a nursing home, or if they usually wear clothes that cover most of their skin when they are outdoors.
Source: Mediafax
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