Two days ago the alarm went off in France after hearing the news that a 10-day-old baby had died after taking the vitamin D supplement.
This news also came to Spain, and there are several people who have asked me if they can continue giving vitamin D to their babies, as recommended for more than two years, or if they are actually doing something dangerous and it would be preferable to stop administering it.
What happened to the baby from France?
The baby was only 10 days old. He was with his parents at his home in Paris when they decided to give his dose of vitamin D with the preparation "Uvestérol D", which is administered there to all babies, as in Spain. Apparently, just give it to him, the baby began to show clear signs of suffocation, arriving at the hospital already in a situation of respiratory arrest. There, unfortunately, they couldn't do anything for him.
That same day the Director General of Health was notified, Benoit Vallet, and to the French medicine agency (ANSM), so they could study the possibility of withdrawing the preparation as soon as possible. However, the days passed and the authorities did not seem to decide to do so until the causes of the baby's death were clear: it could be some problem with the preparation (some component of the solution) or some problem in the administration mode of that particular case.
They will withdraw the drug by the method of administration
As we read in El Mundo, the French authorities have finally decided to stop supplying the supplement because everything suggests that the problem with the baby was the way vitamin D was given.
Apparently, the preparation comes with a syringe that has already been chewed on occasion to reduce risks: years ago, it came with a syringe with a single hole that caused some cases of momentary asphyxiation in infants under 2 months. Since then, it was changed to one with four side holes, so that the preparation was not facing the baby's throat, but to the sides.
In any case, it was advised that in the case of the smallest the precise amount will be diluted and given with a nipple, and to be administered with the baby in a semi-sitting position.
But as the syringe goes along with the preparation (for use with older babies), the risk still exists if the parents of small babies make use of it.
Therefore, as a precaution, it has been decided to withdraw the medication for now, as stated by the Minister of Health, Marisol Touraine:
We ask that parents, as a precautionary measure, refrain from administering Uvestérol D to their children. The risk is the mode of administration of the product, not the preparation.
And in Spain, there is no danger?
Not because Uvésterol D supplement is not supplied in our country. In Spain we have other preparations that are administered to babies directly from the vial, although they can also be administered with a syringe. The danger is this, take it with a syringe and administer it in such a way that the baby does not ingest the content, but rather breathe it in, breathe it, and consequently begin to have trouble breathing (I imagine that being an oily preparation makes him it makes even more harmful).
So, the ideal is that we give it in droplets to the baby to be the one who swallows it by noticing that it falls in his mouth. Kern's preparation, for example, is given in 6 drops every 24 hours. If it is scary to tip the bottle in the mouth directly, in case they fall more than desired, they can always put in a teaspoon and from there to the mouth.
Another preparation that can also be used is Deltius, whose dosage is 2 drops every 24 hours. In this case the risk of suffocation is lower because they are only 2 drops, but the risk of intoxication due to overdose is greater because it is much more concentrated (if someone makes a mistake and instead of giving 2 drops gives 2 ml a day, for example).
The vitamin D It is given as a supplement so that there are no deficiencies or deficits in children at the age they need it most, as an important factor in the development of babies' bones and teeth (Children with deficits are more at risk of caries), as well as to prevent certain chronic diseases such as rickets.
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In Babies and more | Vitamin D and sunscreens, how to find the balance ?, Vitamin D deficiency in babies and children, Vitamin D deficiency in Spanish children
