Vitamin A supplements without using CLO

[ZGT Mummy]

Seeing as Auckland has now been put on alert :eyeroll: I'm just wondering how I could get Vitamin A into my kids seeing as I can't use CLO. Well I don't know if DS2 is allergic to fish or not but smack bang in the middle of measles is NOT when I'd want to challenge him :D

I would assume that CLO is the best method of administering it but what are the others that are hopefully almost as good?

Having said that DD doesn't socialise with anyone else just yet and both the boys are vaccinated to 15 months so they can't possibly get measles anyway :giggle:

[Serephina]

All types of liver are high in vitamin A assuming you can stomach the stuff :giggle:

[TanyaL]

I'm not sure that cod liver oil would be the best choice for a child already sick. We use on an ongoing basis, but the levels that are often discussed as making an impact with measles are really high, 100,000 or 200,000 IU of vitamin A per day, and I calculated it once, that's not feasible from cod liver oil. Lots of oily calories, I think most people couldn't digest that well, especially a sick kid.

That said, I don't have a good solution myself. I've used vitamin A capsules from fish oil twice for illnesses for my son, and it was the thing he needed, but I'm not sure it's the best form, and it's not helpful for fish allergies anyway.

I do know someone from another board whose daughter, who has multiple IgE allergies, can handle cod liver oil even though she can't eat fish. But testing that has pros and cons, and you would want to do it before an illness, and that would be just to build up vitamin A stores beforehand.

I've read of retinol palmitate supps, nutri-sorb, as one solution, but I haven't looked into them beyond realizing they exist. I didn't think palmitate was a great form of vitamin A, but in an acute situation, I'm not sure if it's good enough.

[justine]

hey

I give my son (4) Natures Own Omega 3 Clever Kids Omega 3 Fish Oil. He likes these. My Daughter has Maltexexo Plus with Halibut Oil from the supermarket. My son has this too (and so do I its yummy) My older son has cod liver oil capsuals from the Wharehouse, daily. They all eat heaps of good stuff (and heaps and heaps) Hopefully this lot will help. Its within our budget. I buy Sodium ascorbate and mix it with juice.

They are all really healthy.
Justine

[magical1]

One of my lasting memories of a child was taking CLO off a spoon from my Mum everyday... I never remember it tasting bad or dreading it. She used to give us Vitamin C everyday as well which I'm surprised to this day that I didn't OD on. We didn't have sweets really in those days so I used to always sneak extras.

I'd just keep them dosed up daily... the kids that have real issues or serious problems with Measles are already vitamin A deficient I'm assuming.

[ZGT Mummy]

OK so how do I ensure they have plenty of Vitamin A in them? We can't use anything fish based and whilst I'm happy to eat liver there's just no way my kids would. Perhaps though I could hide it in their food? Spag bol with grated liver in it?

[Seaweed]

I don't think those omega 3 fish oils have vit A in? It should say on the label if they do. I gave my kids the nordic naturals CLO when they had measles as it was flavoured & I needed to get something they would take while sick. Neither got photophobic or was even that sick. I'm not sure what else you could use instead of CLO for vit A. My problem was one of the kids went off food & the other got picky so I could not use a food based source.

Could you put liver pills into a smoothy of some kind? Or some bits of chopped raw liver wizzed up? You can mince liver & put it in with normal mince in things like meat loafs if you are just trying to bump up their vit A now.

[ZGT Mummy]

I'm thinking I'll try hiding a bit of liver in spag bol and any other meal I can but I've just been to the health shop and got a Vit A supplement that's allergen free. He said it was too high for children on an ongoing basis but that in acute situation i.e. measles and photophobia, it would be OK. It's 10,000 IU.

Would that be OK for all my kids, 4.5 years, nearly 3 years, 6 months. I'm guessing not for the 6 month old?

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

I wouldn't catch that bus until you have the ticket. Your kids might not have contact with measles at all. No point in worrying ahead of time...

By that time, you might just decide to use CLO anyway...

[ZGT Mummy]

Yes but I like being prepared ahead of time so that if it happens I'm not caught on the hop. My personality type does not deal well with surprises and changes to routines so I want to know now what to do and how to do it and have the "tools" on hand to treat :D

Just out of curiosity, how much would you give if measles hit? Would it only be in the case of photo sensitivity or would giving them some help with coping with the virus in general? Would you give a one off dose or on going treatment?

See I like to be prepared :D :giggle:

[Wonder-Full]

She used to give us Vitamin C everyday as well which I'm surprised to this day that I didn't OD on. We didn't have sweets really in those days so I used to always sneak extras.

Me too. I remember as a 3yr old sitting under the dining table eating my way through a bottle of those orange vit C tablets...oops.

Justine, those omega 3 capsules don't have any Vit A in them (they're good for the B's).

We do the CLO path as well.

[ZGT Mummy]

One of my lasting memories of a child was taking CLO off a spoon from my Mum everyday... I never remember it tasting bad or dreading it. She used to give us Vitamin C everyday as well which I'm surprised to this day that I didn't OD on. We didn't have sweets really in those days so I used to always sneak extras.

Hand up! I have these memories too. Mum giving me this foul fishy stuff off a spoon. I don't remember being given Vit C daily, but I didn't get sweets either so I do remember raiding the cupboard and eating a few tablets, then running for the loo afterwards :LMAO:

[Fièvre]

Hi! There is a ROR vaccination campaign those days in France . I remember Montezuma Tuatara having once posted on the curative use of Vit A ( cf http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=9006061 ) [ preventive use is official thinking ; curative use seems to be nonexistent ] : would someone have more references on curative use ( even if just as a cofactor in the treatment...)?

[Fièvre]

I stepped on a document - "only" a thesis - which states , page 16 : "
Historically, there were various studies suggesting that a high dose of vitmin A during an acute measles infection decreases the rate of morbidity and mortality (8, 25, 26, 46). Other therapeutic agents such as bromodeox yuridine. azaguanin, interferon and ri bavirin have ken used for the treatment of SSPE (56). However, the effectiveness of these medications has been difficult to evaluate due to the reduced incidence of this disease.
8 = Barclay, A. J., A. Foster, and A. Sommer, 1987. Vitamin A suppkments
and mortality related to measles: a randomised clinical trial. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed).
294:794-6.
25= Coutsoudis, A., M. Broughton, and H. M. Coovadia. 199 1. Vitamin A
supplernentation reduces measles morbidity in young African children: a randomized.
placebo-controlled. double-blind trial. Am .J Clin Nutr. 545390-5.
26= Coutsoudis, A., P. Kiepieia, H. M. Coovadia, and M. Broughton. 1992.
Vitrirnin A supplementation enhances specific IgG antibody levels and total lymphocyte numbers white improving morbidity in measles. Pediatr Infect Dis J.
1 l:2O3-9.
46= Fulginiti, V. A., J. J. Eller, A. W. Downie, and C. H. Kempe. 1967. Altered
reactivity to measles virus. Atypical measles in children previousiy immunized with
inactivated rneasles virus vaccines. Jama. 202: 1075-80.


cf http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape7/PQDD_0015/NQ45741.pdf


????

[ema-adama]

not relevant to the discussion

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

SSPE is a tricky one. There is a lot they don't know about it - like why only such a miniscule number of children used to get it.

That's quite an old thesis 1999.... There is a totally new theory about measles "receptors" now.... which tosses yet another monkey wrench into old theories.