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The Department of Health (DH) today (April 24) called on members of the public not to take an excessive amount of Vitamin supplements.
The appeal followed an investigation into a suspected case of Vitamin C overdose leading to renal failure involving a 69-year-old man who attended Pok Oi Hospital for generalised malaise on April 6. He was then transferred to Tuen Mun Hospital (TMH) for haemodialysis. He was discharged on April 18, but his condition will require long term dialysis.
A DH spokesman said that the patient revealed a history of taking proprietary Vitamin C tablets bought from Canada to relieve his recurrent runny nose symptoms since September 2006.
Initial enquiries showed that although the daily recommended dosage as printed on the product package is 0.5 gram, the patient had actually been taking 4 grams of Vitamin C tablets every day as suggested by a book (entitled "维他命C最好的营养医生").
The spokesman said the patient's attending physician remarked that his renal failure was due to damage caused by oxalate crystal, a Vitamin C end product after prolonged excessive Vitamin C consumption.
DH will send the Vitamin C tablets for laboratory analysis.
The spokesman urged members of the public not take to vitamin supplements in doses that exceed the recommended daily intake.
He said, "Those who have been taking similar products in doses that exceed the recommended daily intake should stop taking them and seek advice from healthcare professionals."
Ends/Thursday, April 24, 2008
Issued at HKT 19:31
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