How dangerous is H1N1?

[Pink Fairy]

For example, do I have a better chance of dying in a car accident this year than I do from H1N1? I'm trying to figure out if this is something I should worry about more or less than I worry about other stuff, if you know what I mean.

[cillakat]

For example, do I have a better chance of dying in a car accident this year than I do from H1N1? I'm trying to figure out if this is something I should worry about more or less than I worry about other stuff, if you know what I mean.

 

Seriously I wouldn't worry at all. But rather take action. Optimize D, carry an *alcohol based hand sanitizer and use it*. Wash hands.

 

But worry? Not on my list of things to do.

 

Have your doc on board to get Tamiflu to you right away if you have a high risk person in your family.

 

Consider getting the vaccine *after* getting D levels optimized. The vaccine risks are essentially the same as the risks of the illness which are absolutely minimized by optimal levels of vitamin D.

 

Worry is not helpful. Take it seriously. Act to prevent and minimize illness. But don't bother with the worry.

 

:)

K

[whitestavern]

Seriously I wouldn't worry at all. But rather take action. Optimize D, carry an *alcohol based hand sanitizer and use it*. Wash hands.

 

But worry? Not on my list of things to do.

 

Have your doc on board to get Tamiflu to you right away if you have a high risk person in your family.

 

Consider getting the vaccine *after* getting D levels optimized. The vaccine risks are essentially the same as the risks of the illness which are absolutely minimized by optimal levels of vitamin D.

 

Worry is not helpful. Take it seriously. Act to prevent and minimize illness. But don't bother with the worry.

 

:)

K

 

Cillikat...you seem to be knowledgeable about Vit D. I give my dc a tsp of cod liver oil a day. It provides 700-1200 IU daily (according to the label). I take a 1000 IU D3 pill daily. Question 1, is this enough? Question 2, what KIND of Vit D is in cod liver oil? I've heard D3 is best but the label doesn't indicate what kind. Thanks for any help you can offer!

 

ETA: I did have low levels of D early this year but after taking D and probably getting lots of sun (no sunscreen) my levels were very good by early summer.

Edited October 16, 2009 by whitestavern

[cillakat]

I give my dc a tsp of cod liver oil a day. It provides 700-1200 IU daily (according to the label). I take a 1000 IU D3 pill daily. Question 1, is this enough? Question 2, what KIND of Vit D is in cod liver oil? I've heard D3 is best but the label doesn't indicate what kind. Thanks for any help you can offer!

 

ETA: I did have low levels of D early this year but after taking D and probably getting lots of sun (no sunscreen) my levels were very good by early summer.

 

Yay for being on top of it! Mom bonus points for today:)

 

CLO contains D3. It also occasionally contains to much A. How much A is in the CLO and what brand is it?

 

Can you find out your actual level? The actual number, not just 'normal' per lab norms. This is important for several reasons. The first being that Quest has problems with their test process so results are high. to obtain an accurate number from Quest, you'll need to divide by 1.3. Ideally, you don't want that end result any lower than 55 ng/mL. If you're using LabCorp or ZRT, the 55 is a 55.

 

55-80 is exceptional. 50 is okay. 40-50...eh. less than 40 absolutely positively not okay no matter what the lab says.

 

I'm tracking D levels for about 100 (a little over now) friends and family members.....consistently they are needing the amounts Cannel (vitamindcouncil.org) recommends: 1000 IU per 25 lbs body weight to *maintain* optimal levels. That's 400 IU/10lbs body weight.....

 

Larger amounts are needed to raise levels quickly.....4x as much is appropriate.

 

:)

K

[seewah]

I, too, wish to supplement our diets with Vitamin D this season. Do we need to have our blood tested before supplementing or are we ok to start supplementing w/o knowing our levels first? I assume we need to see our doctor to get the blood work done ... there is no other way, is there?

 

I am debating ordering some Vitamin D drops on Vitacost.com. Is that a good idea?

[whitestavern]

Yay for being on top of it! Mom bonus points for today:)

 

CLO contains D3. It also occasionally contains to much A. How much A is in the CLO and what brand is it?

 

Can you find out your actual level? The actual number, not just 'normal' per lab norms. This is important for several reasons. The first being that Quest has problems with their test process so results are high. to obtain an accurate number from Quest, you'll need to divide by 1.3. Ideally, you don't want that end result any lower than 55 ng/mL. If you're using LabCorp or ZRT, the 55 is a 55.

 

55-80 is exceptional. 50 is okay. 40-50...eh. less than 40 absolutely positively not okay no matter what the lab says.

 

I'm tracking D levels for about 100 (a little over now) friends and family members.....consistently they are needing the amounts Cannel (vitamindcouncil.org) recommends: 1000 IU per 25 lbs body weight to *maintain* optimal levels. That's 400 IU/10lbs body weight.....

 

Larger amounts are needed to raise levels quickly.....4x as much is appropriate.

 

:)

K

 

Thanks for responding! Just realized that I gave you the Vit A dosage, NOT the Vit. D. Anyway, it is Carlson CLO. The Vit A is 700-1200 and the Vit D is 400. Is this a good ratio? It doesn't sound like any of us are taking enough D in. I'm pretty sure my labs were done at Quest and I can't find the newer ones right now. I really am organized...it's just when I need to find something that I have a problem ;) I just remember that when I was first tested I was 25 and when I was retested it was much higher. I guess I'm thinking about 50?? What's the best way to get Vit D in kids? A different CLO or a vitamin supp?

[mirth]

I give my dc a tsp of cod liver oil a day. It provides 700-1200 IU daily (according to the label). I take a 1000 IU D3 pill daily. Question 1, is this enough? Question 2, what KIND of Vit D is in cod liver oil? I've heard D3 is best but the label doesn't indicate what kind. Thanks for any help you can offer!

 

 

A note on CLO as a source of D ...

 

The below is from pp.53-54 of The Vitamin D Cure:

 

"Stay Away From Too Much Vitamin A

 

When you're shopping for vitamin D, avoid supplements with vitamin A in them. If you do take vitamin D supplements that contain vitamin A, be careful because you can easily overdose on A when you're innocently trying to beef up your D level.

 

The combination D/A products are derived from fish liver oil (usually cod-liver oil), and the typical ratio is 10:1, meaning 10 times more vitamin A than vitamin D. The new RDI/DRI for vitamin A is 2310 IU for women, 3000 IU for men, and about half that for children. So you get a toxic amount at about 9000 to 10,000 IU per day in adults, 3000 IU per day for children. A better, safer form of vitamin A is beta-carotene.

 

You can recognize acute Vitamin A intoxication from the following symptoms:

Nausea

Vomiting

Headaches

Dizziness

Blurred vision

Rashes

Lack of coordination

.

Keep in mind, too, that chronic vitamin A toxicity can cause birth defects, liver abnormalities, osteoporosis, and central nervous system disorders, so this isn't a vitamin you can take lightly."

[cillakat]

I, too, wish to supplement our diets with Vitamin D this season. Do we need to have our blood tested before supplementing or are we ok to start supplementing w/o knowing our levels first? I assume we need to see our doctor to get the blood work done ... there is no other way, is there?

 

I am debating ordering some Vitamin D drops on Vitacost.com. Is that a good idea?

 

• You don't need a blood test first. 85% of the US population is deficient. Even in Hawaii. Even in California. Clothes and sunscreen block D production. Windows block D production. Shade does as well.

 

• Unless you get an exceptional amount of sunexposure daily, with most skin exposed, to the point just before burning, assume you're D deficient.

 

• if you avoid midday sun (b/c of heat or sundamage) and/or you work indoors midday during the summer, assume you're very deficient.

 

• if it's fall or winter where you are, assume you're deficient unless you're in the tropics and are getting some unprotected midday exposure *every day*.

 

Otherwise, take 1000 IU per 25 lbs body weight (in other words 400 IU/10 lbs body weight).

 

5000 IU capsules:

http://www.iherb.com/Vitamin-D3-5-000-IU-360-Softgels/18335?at=0

 

2000 IU drops

http://www.iherb.com/Vitamin-D-3-Drops-15-ml/20745?at=0

http://www.iherb.com/Carlson-Labs-Ddrops-Vitamin-D3-2000-IU-10-ml/10364?at=0

 

400 IU per drop (easier dosing for little kids)

http://www.iherb.com/Baby-Ddrops-400-IU-11-ml/13932?at=0

 

I generally prefer iherb over vitacost for a variety of reasons: shipping speed, customer service, in stock items, prices. Occasionally things will seem slightly more expensive at iherb, but there is an additional discount at the last step of checkout so in the end, iherb always wins on the prices.

 

:)

K

[ChristusG]

Can you get too much Vitamin D? If so, what are the symptoms of that?

[cillakat]

A note on CLO as a source of D ...

 

The below is from pp.53-54 of The Vitamin D Cure:

 

"Stay Away From Too Much Vitamin A

 

When you're shopping for vitamin D, avoid supplements with vitamin A in them. If you do take vitamin D supplements that contain vitamin A, be careful because you can easily overdose on A when you're innocently trying to beef up your D level.

 

The combination D/A products are derived from fish liver oil (usually cod-liver oil), and the typical ratio is 10:1, meaning 10 times more vitamin A than vitamin D. The new RDI/DRI for vitamin A is 2310 IU for women, 3000 IU for men, and about half that for children. So you get a toxic amount at about 9000 to 10,000 IU per day in adults, 3000 IU per day for children. A better, safer form of vitamin A is beta-carotene.

 

You can recognize acute Vitamin A intoxication from the following symptoms:

Nausea

Vomiting

Headaches

Dizziness

Blurred vision

Rashes

Lack of coordination

.

Keep in mind, too, that chronic vitamin A toxicity can cause birth defects, liver abnormalities, osteoporosis, and central nervous system disorders, so this isn't a vitamin you can take lightly."

 

It's actually more difficult to get toxic on A than one might think after reading that. Most of the issues with significant A supplementation (increased fracture rates) are really an issue with the ratio of A to D. Since most don't take sufficient D to begin with, it's easy to get too much A *for the level of D in the body and diet*. The problem is that if levels of D aren't optimal, the extra A will take over the unused D receptors.

 

It's actually pretty hard to truly overdose on A. It'd take weeks of daily doses of 10's of thousands of IU's of A.

 

The WHO uses high dose A to treat viral infections (specifically measles) in third world countries that can't afford mass vaccination programs. 100,000 IU's vitamin A were given one time per day for three or four days. Now only 100,000 IU's are used as it was found to be equally as effective and of course, costs less.

 

Just an interesting example.....

 

Having said that, I do agree that b/c most are so D deficient, it's best to avoid higher doses of A......I think over time we'll learn that there is a ratio of D to A that is optimal. A couple of years ago there was some thinking that 4-5 parts A to one part D was ideal. Now that D recommendations are up yet again, the thinking on A is changing again.

 

Too tired right now to continue......maybe more later on this subject:)

 

k

[cillakat]

Just realized that I gave you the Vit A dosage, NOT the Vit. D. Anyway, it is Carlson CLO. The Vit A is 700-1200 and the Vit D is 400

 

I thought that might be the case:)

 

Is this a good ratio?

 

Hard to say. The amount of A in the Carlson is probably fine.....just be sure to get enough D. 400 IU D isn't enough for anyone except a 10 lb infant or someone getting midday summer sun, most skin exposed, to the point just before a burn would occur.

 

It doesn't sound like any of us are taking enough D in. I'm pretty sure my labs were done at Quest and I can't find the newer ones right now. I really am organized...it's just when I need to find something that I have a problem ;) I just remember that when I was first tested I was 25 and when I was retested it was much higher. I guess I'm thinking about 50?? What's the best way to get Vit D in kids? A different CLO or a vitamin supp?

 

So a 50 at Quest is really 38. The other issue with Quest is that due to errors in processing tests, the results are all over the place. One person can send in (and have sent in) two of their own samples to the same lab, same day....totally different results. But anway, 38 ng/mL is fine according to lab norms but not the most current data.

 

I posted regarding D supplements earlier in the thread I think.

 

:)

K

[cillakat]

Can you get too much Vitamin D? If so, what are the symptoms of that?

 

 

The only documented cases of D toxicity have come from taking hundreds of thousands of IU's per day for weeks.

 

There are no toxicity issues with:

10,000 IU or less per day for months (study)

a single dose of a million IU's (study)....in fact, six weeks after the dose, the study participants were almost deficient again

there is currently a study ongoing using 20,000 IU per day with no issues so far.

 

Katherine

[Laurie4b]

For example, do I have a better chance of dying in a car accident this year than I do from H1N1? I'm trying to figure out if this is something I should worry about more or less than I worry about other stuff, if you know what I mean.

 

Around here, H1N1 is very widespread. So far, I've heard of no deaths. (Doesn't mean that there haven't been any at all, but I've not heard of any.) Most people are only moderately sick. Does that help?

[carlychan]

For example, do I have a better chance of dying in a car accident this year than I do from H1N1? I'm trying to figure out if this is something I should worry about more or less than I worry about other stuff, if you know what I mean.

 

No expert here (at all) but 3 of my 4 have had it this week. They tested positive for flu (probably H1N1) and were put on Tamiflu right away. It has been very mild so far. First kid with it started Sunday (with headache...he has migraines) and has been fever free for 2 days now (still has congestion a bit). Number 2 started next morning with fever but still playing like wild man...today was day 3 and he is coughing but otherwise ok. Number 3 had fever Wednesday morning and she is just a bit fussy. We are crossing our fingers that Number 4 and I don't get it. We have gone through a big bottle of hand sanitizer and 2 bottles of hand soap. We are trying very hard:)

 

I know people die from it and I don't want to sound unconcerned but I wouldn't worry too much about it. You are PROBABLY much more likely to die in a car accident than from H1N1.