What is vitamin A toxicity? Understanding the consequences of Hypervitaminosis A

Hypervitaminosis A, or vitamin A toxicity, is the accumulation of too much of this nutrient in your body. This can be a chronic or acute disease, depending on how your vitamin A levels have increased in your system.

The buildup of vitamin A in the body due to its consumption over a short period of time, such as within a few hours or days, leads to acute toxicity. On the other hand, the accumulation of large amounts of vitamin A in the system over a substantial period of time often causes a chronic disorder.

While many people would think that taking too many vitamins is a healthy lifestyle choice, this couldn't be further from the truth. The buildup of anything is not going to be good for your health in any case. Most people nowadays lack an essential understanding of the usage and consumption of vitamins, which leads to uncertainty about nutritional intake.

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What is a vitamin A overdose?

overdosing on vitamin A supplements can cause chronic or acute hypervitaminosis (Image by Anna Shvets via Pexels)

A vitamin A overdose is the excess consumption of this nutrient that leads to its accumulation in the body. This can cause several disorders, such as liver damage and increased brain pressure.

Vitamin A toxicity is caused, in most cases, by ingesting high-dose dietary supplements. The tendency of people to take high doses of certain vitamins could be a part of megavitamin therapy in order to cure or prevent diseases.

Vitamin A poisoning could also happen due to the long-term use of some anti-acne products containing high doses of vitamin A, such as the compound isotretinoin.

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Vitamin A toxicity symptoms

Vitamin A toxicity can cause symptoms such as abdominal pain and nausea (Image by Polina Zimmerman via Pexels)

Signs of vitamin A toxicity start out to be subtle enough for one to miss them until they worsen. The symptoms of vitamin A toxicity vary from one person to another depending on whether the person has an acute condition or a chronic one. Common side effects in both cases include headaches and rashes.

The symptoms of an acute condition of vitamin A toxicity might be the following:

• Nausea
• Drowsiness
• Irritability
• Abdominal pain
• Increased pressure on the brain
• Vomiting

The symptoms of a chronic condition of Vitamin A toxicity might include:

• Swelling of the bones
• Pain in the bones
• Loss of appetite
• Blurry vision or altered vision
• Dizziness
• Dry or rough skin
• Itchy or peeling skin
• Nausea
• Sunlight sensitivity
• Cracked fingernails
• Yellowed skin
• Respiratory infections
• Ulcers in and around the mouth
• Confusion
• Hair loss

Symptoms in children and infants might manifest as:

• Skull bone softening
• Double vision
• Issues in gaining weight
• Bulging eyeballs
• Bulging of the soft spot on an infant’s skull (fontanelle)
• Coma

Pregnant women should be very careful of taking vitamin supplements (Image by Leah Kelley via Pexels)

Pregnant women should not take too much vitamin A since it can increase the risk of congenital disorders in their babies. They should not take more than one prenatal vitamin a day, as prenatal vitamins contain sufficient vitamin A.

Also, the use of retinol creams should be avoided while pregnant. This is because it contains a high amount of vitamin A. However, the required amount of vitamin A is crucial for fetal development.

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Therefore, it is important for one to know when to stop taking such vitamins and the consequences they could have on their health if taken in higher doses. Most people think it is unnecessary to consult a physician before taking vitamins. But it is all the more advisable for you to get a recommendation before taking these supplements.

Too much of anything, even a vital vitamin or mineral, can severely impact health and should always be taken in the required doses.