CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) – Measles cases are surging around the country.
Now, UVA Health’s Blue Ridge Poison Center is warning of social media posts incorrectly claiming vitamin A can prevent or treat the virus.
“We’re watching that trend very closely now, since this has started to get into the media more, people are talking about this, which always raises the concern,” said Christopher Holstege, Medical Director of the Blue Ridge Poison Center.
While vitamin A has been used to help some patients, he says it is not a cure and too much of the vitamin could bring more harm than good. Overconsumption can cause vitamin A poisoning and liver damage among other health issues.
“So vitamin A is an essential vitamin but as with everything in toxicity, it’s all about the dose and how much people take and over what time period,” Holstege said.
Poison centers across the U.S. see reportedly 400 to 500 vitamin A poisoning calls a year. Holstege is hoping to avoid seeing this trend here.
“We certainly don’t want to see this occur in our population in Virginia with children or with adults,” Holstege said.
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