Vitamin D - facts instead of half-truths
There is hardly a topic on which so much half- and three-quarter knowledge is circulating and on which so many people and channels on social media are spreading things that are often a little right, but not quite right. So the doc brings a little order to the matter.
What do we know today?
We know that vitamin D can at least have a stabilising effect on our psyche.
We know that vitamin D strengthens our immune system, which is particularly important in winter.
We know that vitamin D is important for chronic diseases and cancer.
There are two new guidelines from the European and American endocrinological societies, both of which say: give children from 0 to 18 vitamin D in summer and winter. A German guideline is expected in spring / summer 2026. In practice, we have already decided to implement this as follows:
In the first two or three years of life, 500 units per day is sensible. After that, some guidelines say 800, others 1000 - both are okay.
As the child approaches puberty, the daily intake can be increased to 2000 units.
There is a warning against the 20,000-depot preparations that you take once a week. This is because if you forget to take them, you have nothing and if you take far too much, it can cause damage - there are harmful overdoses of vitamin D.
Also important: there is no need for overpriced supplements that are combined with vitamin K. It is repeatedly postulated that this is important, but this is not the case; pure vitamin D supplements are sufficient.
And something else is important: we don't want to constantly check our levels, as this basically leads to nothing. The vast majority of people in our country have levels that are just below the norm or in the lower target range. Vitamin D level checks cost the health insurance companies a lot of money, pricking the children hurts and so the matter is actually clear: we recommend continuous intake and do not carry out routine checks, except in the case of chronically ill children or children with cancer, which is fortunately rare.
The medication is available on prescription for up to 2 years, after which it is a personal matter to obtain the preparations from the pharmacy or drugstore.
Here's another podcast tip to delve deeper: consilium, the paediatrics podcast with Dr Axel Enninger from Olgahospital in Stuttgart, covers the topic in detail in episode 51. You can listen to it here and read about it here.
Further interesting tips
Heart pricking
A topic for parents with children who can already speak and express themselves well. It is not uncommon for them to come to the doctor's surgery or an emergency department with the worried sentence: "My child's heart is stinging!"
Social media
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U8 screening
In our series on the U examinations, this time we look at the U8. The focus here: Movement, language, logic.