Vitamin D deficiency is becoming more and more common lately. People began to be less on the street, eat he althy food. This leads to fragility of bones, hair, nails, deterioration of appearance and well-being. In many individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome and cancer, laboratory tests reveal a deficiency of an important substance. Excess is no less dangerous, so it is up to the doctor to decide whether to take it.
General Features
Vitamin D is a generalized name for 5 types of substances. They have a different origin, but have an identical effect on the body.
Cholecalciferol (cholecalciferol, vitamin D3) is a natural substance that enters the body along with food of animal origin or under the influence of sunlight.
It is a white powder with a crystalline structure. It practically does not dissolve in water, therefore it belongs to the group of fat-soluble.
Action on the body
What is vitamin D3 good for? First of all, it ensures the correct functioning of the musculoskeletal system, namely:
- affects the absorption of calcium, phosphate and magnesium from the gastrointestinal tract;
- takes part in their exchange;
- helps transport substances from the bloodstream to bone tissue;
- prevents softening of bones, rickets and osteoporosis;
- allows damaged areas to heal faster after fractures.
Additional features include:
- strengthening immunity, prevention of serious diseases, such as oncology;
- increasing the elasticity of muscle tissue;
- prevention of diseases of the skin, heart;
- Maintain normal thyroid function;
- blood pressure regulation;
- improvement of the brain.
The combination of cholecalciferol and calcium is often used to treat hypocalcemia and hypovitaminosis.
Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency
In the early stages, deficiency may manifest:
- bad mood;
- lack of desire to do anything, sometimes even get out of bed;
- deterioration of mental state (with addiction);
- metabolic disorders (obesity, diabetes);
- joint pain;
- deterioration of hair and nails.
Later joins:
- stoop;
- skeletal deformation;
- gait disturbance.
In men, vitamin deficiency leads to decreased sperm activity and infertility.
Assigned to whom?
In accordance with the instructions for the use of cholecalciferol, it is necessary whenfollowing pathologies:
- rickets (disorder of bone formation and impaired mineralization of the skeleton);
- osteoporosis (softening of the elements of the musculoskeletal system);
- spasmophilia and hypocalcemic titanium (pathologies that occur against the background of blood hypocalcemia accompanied by convulsions);
- nephrogenic osteopathy (damage to the skeleton against the background of impaired calcium-phosphorus metabolism);
- taking anticonvulsants and barbiturates;
- hypofastatemia (decrease in serum phosphate levels);
- fragility of nails, hair;
- dental problems.
And also for disorders in the digestive system:
- Crohn's disease;
- drastic weight loss;
- malabsorption syndrome (malabsorption in the intestine).
Additional indications for cholecalciferol are as follows:
- cirrhosis;
- mechanical jaundice;
- alcohol addiction;
- liver failure.
It is recommended:
- pregnant and nursing mothers;
- people on strict diets, vegetarians, patients receiving parenteral nutrition;
- for small children (newborns, babies in the autumn-winter period).
The basis for taking the medicine can be any condition that has arisen against the background of deficiency of colecalciferol.
Contraindications and possible side effects
The product is not used in conditions such as:
- individualintolerance;
- high levels of vitamin D and calcium in the blood;
- renal osteodystrophy due to increased serum phosphate.
When using the supplement strictly according to indications, deterioration in well-being is rarely observed. Patients present with the following complaints:
- development of allergic skin rashes;
- high blood pressure;
- exacerbation of pulmonary tuberculosis;
- headaches;
- detection in the analysis of hypercalcemia, hypercalciuria;
- appearance of arthralgia, myalgia;
- heart rhythm disorder;
- deterioration of kidney function.
Overdose
High doses of colecalciferol lead to increased side effects.
Additional overdose symptoms include:
- food aversion, severe weight loss;
- resi when urinating, frequent urination;
- strong constipations.
Symptomatic therapy is carried out with corticosteroids, thiamine, retinol, magnesium, potassium, vitamins C and E, pantothenic acid.
Prolonged use of high doses leads to various problems:
- deposition of s alts in the kidneys, heart, lungs and other internal organs;
- bone demineralization;
- fatal.
Severe lesions are not treatable.
Drug Interactions
In accordance with the instructions for use for cholecalciferol, the concentration of the substance in the blood is reduced:
- mineraloil;
- calcitonin;
- gallium nitrate;
- plicamycin;
- derivatives of etidronic and pamidronic acids;
- colestyramine;
- crush the floor.
Simultaneous intake with phosphorus-containing agents leads to increased absorption of the latter.
If necessary, during the treatment period, tetracycline should be used at intervals of 3 hours, sodium fluoride - 2 hours.
During the course of treatment, other supplements containing cholecalciferol should not be used. So the risk of developing hypervitaminosis increases.
Special Instructions
Treatment of hypovitaminosis should be carried out on the recommendation of a doctor with periodic monitoring of calcium in the urine.
The daily requirement for an adult is 400 IU. Regular excess of dosages leads to chronic hypervitaminosis and deterioration of well-being.
Pediatricians often recommend giving children cholecalciferol to prevent or treat rickets during the cold season. It should be borne in mind that in 12 months the baby should receive no more than 10 - 15 mg.
High doses of the substance taken by the expectant mother have a toxic effect on the fetus. This is fraught with:
- mentally retarded;
- skull deformity;
- deterioration of the parathyroid gland;
- aortic stenosis;
- development of high sensitivity to cholecalciferol.
Exceeding the recommended doses by 4 to 15 times for a long time is considered dangerous.
In elderly peopleage, the substance is absorbed worse, so they often need to take additional drugs.
Dosage for adults and children
How many drops the patient should drink, the doctor decides, based on test results, general condition, age and gender and other features.
Instructions for use for cholecalciferol is attached for informational purposes.
Water drops are taken neat or diluted with any non-hot liquid. The oil solution is always diluted.
On average, 400 - 600 IU per day is prescribed orally. Intramuscularly - 200 thousand IU.
Treatment of rickets with the help of injections is carried out once a week for 200 thousand IU, calcium s alts are additionally used. The minimum course of admission is 2 weeks.
For the treatment of osteoporosis, the same dosage is administered every 2 weeks for 3 months.
1 million IU once a day to prevent seizures.
For hypoparathyroidism, the maximum dose is 15,000 IU.
Spasmophilia in infants treated - 5000 IU thrice daily.
For the prevention of osteomelacia take 500-1000 IU 3 times a day, for therapeutic purposes - 2500 IU.
Analogues
The price of cholecalciferol can vary significantly and depends on the form of release and the manufacturer.
The most popular water drops "Akvadertrim" Polish production. They have a transparent color, slightly smell of anise.
1 bottle contains 10 ml of colcalciferol with an activity of 15,000ME. Approximate cost – 300–400 rubles
No less popular is the German "Vigantol". These are oil drops with an activity of 20,000 IU. It is taken orally in a diluted form (in milk or other liquid). The average price for a bottle of 10 ml is about 400 rubles.
Cholecalciferon is present in many complex vitamins in the form of regular and chewable tablets. For example, Calcium D3 Nycomed.
Dose and cost may vary significantly.
There are no cheap drops based on colecalciferol. In a pharmacy, you can buy a budget "Ergocalciferol" in the form of an oil solution, however, its active ingredient is vitamin D2, so the expediency of such a replacement should be clarified with a doctor.
Detailed instructions for use for cholecalciferol can be found in the box with the purchased product.
Forms of issue and conditions of dispensing from pharmacies
The drug is sold as solutions for intramuscular injection and oral administration. Or in the form of drops inside.
It is available by prescription, but in practice it can be purchased by anyone.
The vials are kept in a cool place, protected from sunlight.
Shelf life - 2 years from the date of issue. The tainted drug should be discarded.
Reviews
A lot of good and bad can be heard about cholecalciferol.
All doctors agree that taking according to indications often gives a positive effect. The exception is rare forms of individual intolerance to additionaldrug components. In this case, the remedy is canceled and another one is assigned.
In some individuals there is an increased sensitivity to cholecalciferol. In them, the recommended amount of the drug may cause a deterioration in well-being, namely, symptoms characteristic of taking high doses. In such patients, the amount of the drug is reduced.
Whether newborns and young children need to take the vitamin cholecalciferol is debatable, but most pediatricians believe so. In their opinion, rickets is easier to prevent than to deal with its consequences.
Some experts insist that with a balanced diet for a nursing mother or baby and enough time outside, additional use of drugs is not required.
Patients often report that cholecalciferol-based products cause allergic skin reactions, regardless of the manufacturer. The problem is mostly observed in young children. Doctors are sure that often the supplement has nothing to do with the rash, and mothers should reconsider the diet of the child.
Parents still insist on being right and claim that all the defects went away after the drug was discontinued.
People really praise the chewable tablets "Calcium D3 Nycomed". They allow you to quickly cope with brittle nails and hair, stop tooth decay.
Preparations based on cholecalciferol do an excellent job with their main purpose - the treatment of diseases associated with its deficiency. Patients who took vitamin D3according to indications, consider the remedy effective. The information is confirmed by laboratory tests.
Uncontrolled intake of supplements on the advice of friends and relatives often leads to overdose, hypervitaminosis. Most often, people complain about the occurrence of urolithiasis and gallstone disease, disruption of the intestines, heart and other organs.
According to doctors, the following people should definitely be checked for vitamin deficiency:
- pregnant and lactating women;
- premature and frequently ill babies;
- patients with GI disease;
- people exhausting themselves with diets;
- people who rarely go out into the sun.
He althy people can avoid deficiency by eating right and being outside regularly.
In the initial stages, vitamin D deficiency is easily replenished with solutions and tablets of cholecalciferol. You should not independently buy and drink the supplement, adhering to your own beliefs. It is important not only to establish the fact of deficiency, but also to find out its cause. Thoughtless use of the drug leads to serious consequences and even death.
