Vitamin D overdose kills 10 yr old boy

In what is seem to be a warning to the rest of India, a 10 year old boy in Delhi was dead due to overdose of Vitamin D. He was administered six lakh International units (IU) of Vitamin D for three weeks, to deal with growth problems. The dosage is said to be almost 30 times excess than the maximum dosage. The patient was admitted into AIIMS after reporting severe abdominal pain. But the doctors couldn’t save the child as his pancreas were damaged and the body got highly infected.

Vitamin D helps the absorption of Calcium by the body which is essential for a healthy growth. Doctors often suggest the patients to get exposed to the sunlight, which is the natural way to boost the Vitamin D levels in the body. But a few doctors in metros are now administering the supplements, keeping in view of lower exposure to sunlight due to urbanisation. But this case could certainly be a warning for both doctors as well as the patients to be aware of vitamin supplements.