Be Cautious with Gummy Vitamins

Vitamin gummies are very popular. If you can find a vitamin, you can most likely find it in gummy 

form these days as well. Their similarity in taste and texture to candy gummies can make them very enticing to children. While this encourages children (and adults!) to take their vitamins, it also raises concerns that children might take more than recommended thinking that it is candy. Since the COVID-19 pandemic reached the U.S., the Texas Poison Center Network has seen a 55% increase in calls involving children and vitamins compared to the same time last year. That’s why it is incredibly important to keep any vitamin, especially gummy vitamins locked, up and away like you would do with any other medications in your home.

When it comes to gummy vitamins, they can sometime contain more sugar in them than vitamin benefits. In other cases, vitamins can be downright harmful to children. It is not beneficial to children to get more than the necessary number of vitamins their bodies need, and most children get the nutrients they need from the food they eat every

day. While vitamins can act as a positive supplement where needed, too much of a vitamin can cause harm.

Here are some examples of what can happen if a child gets too much of a certain type of vitamin:

•       Large quantities of Vitamin A can cause brain swelling, vomiting and distorted vision.
•           Large quantities of Vitamin D can cause nausea and vomiting as well as liver damage.
•           Large quantities of Calcium can cause heart problems.

These are just a few examples of how too much of any vitamin can be harmful. Keeping this

information in mind, if children find or have access to gummy vitamins, they might eat them like candy and end up sick. The Texas Poison Center Network has these tips to help keep vitamins and medicines stored safely:

• Put all medicine up and away and out of sight. Most children easily get into medicines of their parents and grandparents.
• Consider where you keep your medicines and vitamins stored. Children get into nightstands and purses very easily
• Save the Poison Help line in your phone: 1-800-222-1222. Put the toll-free number for the Poison Center into your cell phone so you always have it when you need it.

For more information on gummy vitamins or any other type of vitamin or medicine, you can always reach out to the Texas Poison Center Network with your concerns.