Can You or Your Child Overdose on Vitamins? How to Know and What to Do
Key takeaways:
About a third of kids and almost half of all adults in the U.S. take a vitamin supplement each day.
It’s possible to overdose on vitamins. Some types of vitamin overdoses — like iron — are more serious than others.
If you think you or your child accidentally overdosed on vitamins, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 right away.
Table of contents
People often worry that they aren’t getting all the vitamins they need from food. Parents and caregivers often think that by giving children vitamins, they can ensure kids are getting the nutrients they need. About a third of kids between 2 and 5 years old take a multivitamin each day. And it’s not just kids — adults often turn to vitamins to help round out their diet or improve their health. More than half of all adults in the U.S. report taking some kind of vitamin in the past month.
But vitamins can come with risks. It’s possible to overdose on vitamins. And some vitamin overdoses can lead to serious health complications. Many children (and even adults) prefer gummy vitamins because of their texture and taste. But it can be easy to overdose on these colorful, fruity-flavored jellies.
If you have vitamins — especially gummy ones — at home, here’s what you need to know about vitamin overdoses.
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Can you overdose on vitamins?
Adults and children can overdose on vitamins, but only certain vitamins and minerals cause serious health issues when taken in excess.
Kids are more likely to overdose on vitamins than adults. Children younger than 6 years account for the majority of vitamin overdose cases in the U.S. These overdoses are usually accidental and happen when an adult isn’t around.
According to the National Poison Data System (NPDS), vitamins are among the top-five causes of accidental ingestions in children. Studies show that about 4,600 kids go to the emergency room every year for vitamin overdoses.
Which vitamins can you overdose on?
It’s possible to overdose on all vitamins. An “overdose” means that someone has exceeded recommended daily allowances (RDAs) of a vitamin or mineral.
Most multivitamins contain the RDA (or close to it) of each vitamin and mineral. So, if you take more than the serving size (usually one vitamin), you can overdose on all the vitamins that make up your multivitamin. So it’s possible to have multiple vitamin overdoses from taking a single pill.
Some vitamin overdoses are more dangerous than others. These particular vitamins in the following chart can be dangerous for adults and children. Let’s take a closer look at what they do in the body and what an overdose might look like.
| Vitamin / mineral | What it does in the body | Standard dose | Signs of overdose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vitamin A | Vitamin A helps maintain:
|
Dosage will vary.
Depends on:
|
|
| Vitamin D | Vitamin D helps with:
|
Adults: Up to 600 IU up to age 70 Children: 400 to 600 IU depending on age |
|
| Vitamin C | Vitamin C is needed for:
|
Standard doses:
Men: 90 mg per day Women: 75 mg per day Pregnant: 85 mg per day Breastfeeding: 120 mg per day Children: 15 mg to 75 mg a day depending on age |
|
| Iron | Iron is needed to make:
|
Iron dosage varies by life stage, gender, and age.
Nonmenstruating teens: 11 mg per day Menstruating teens: 18 mg per day Nonmenstruating adults: 8 mg per day Menstruating adults: 15 mg to 18 mg per day Pregnant adults: 27 mg per day Lactating adults: 10 mg per day Children: 40 mg per day |
|
| Calcium | Calcium is required for almost every bodily function, including:
|
Calcium is best absorbed at doses less than 500 mg.
Aim for 500 mg (or less) twice a day. |
|
What are the symptoms of a vitamin overdose?
The symptoms of a vitamin overdose depend on the vitamin and the amount taken. Some vitamin overdoses start off with mild symptoms like stomach upset and vomiting, and then progress into more serious symptoms. Other vitamin overdoses cause very few or no symptoms.
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If you think you or a family member has overdosed on vitamins, don’t rely on symptoms to make a decision. Symptoms may become serious very quickly. It’s safest to get help right away.
What to do if you took too many vitamins
If you or your child just ate a bunch of vitamins — whether gummies or another kind of vitamin — what should you do? First, call your local poison control center or Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. They can let you know if you should go to an emergency room for immediate care.
If you or your child took vitamins without iron and vitamin A, you might be able to remain at home. But you shouldn’t make this decision on your own, since certain vitamin overdoses can be life-threatening, especially in young children.
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Care at home
If Poison Control says you or your child can remain at home, you should be on the lookout for vitamin overdose symptoms. These can include:
Stomach upset
Diarrhea
Flushing (usually due to vitamin B3/niacin)
Change in urine or stool color
Bad headache
Dizziness
Muscle pain
Your child probably won’t want to eat while having these symptoms. But it’s important to make sure your child stays hydrated, so encourage them to drink plenty of fluids. You may want to use oral electrolyte solutions.
If your child is showing signs of dehydration, call a healthcare professional immediately. In kids, this might include:
Not urinating or making wet diapers as much as usual
Acting more tired or sleepy
Dry lips and mouth
Making less tears when crying
Care in the emergency room
If Poison Control recommends getting immediate care, go to your nearest emergency room. You may need:
Bloodwork
X-rays to look for signs of pill fragments
A procedure called GI tract irrigation to make the vitamins leave the body quicker
Medications to bind vitamins (especially iron) and remove it from the body
How many vitamins should you take?
You should always take the recommended amount of vitamins suggested on the supplement bottle, usually 1 to 2 a day. If you take more than that in 1 day, you’ve taken too many.
Experts from the Food and Nutrition Board at the Institute of Medicine have developed guidelines that cover how much of each vitamin a person needs each day.
These guidelines include:
Recommended daily allowance (RDA): This is the average amount of each vitamin or mineral a person needs in a day.
Tolerable upper intake limit (UL): This is the highest amount of vitamin or mineral a person can safely consume each day without it making them sick.
Your vitamins shouldn’t exceed the RDA for any single vitamin or mineral. It’s also important to keep your diet in mind as you choose vitamins. It’s possible to exceed your upper intake limit from your dietary intake plus your vitamins.
Vitamin and iron guidelines for children younger than 1 year
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all babies receive a vitamin K injection at birth. But if your baby didn’t receive a vitamin K shot, a healthcare professional may recommend oral vitamin K supplements.
Otherwise, young children don’t typically need vitamins. However, infants who are born prematurely usually need daily iron supplements. And the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends daily vitamin D supplements for nursing infants. Infants who are exclusively nursing may also need iron supplements after 4 months of age until they’re eating iron-fortified foods several times a day. Infants who take infant formula don’t usually need any extra vitamins.
Frequently asked questions
Fat-soluble vitamins (like A, D, E, and K) don’t get flushed out in the urine, so they’re the most likely to cause vitamin toxicity. Vitamins A and E may pose the greatest risk of toxicity, since they are so commonly taken and readily available. But any vitamin or mineral can be toxic when taken at too high a dose or taken too frequently.
You can pee out excess water-soluble vitamins. But high doses of some water-soluble vitamins can still cause overdose symptoms (like vitamins B6). Fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K) are stored in the body’s fat and are harder to eliminate. Minerals like iron, calcium, and magnesium are also difficult to eliminate and are very dangerous in excess amounts.
According to a supplement producer, there are certain vitamins and minerals that shouldn’t be taken together. They can interfere with each other’s absorption. They include:
Calcium, magnesium, and zinc
Iron and calcium
Iron and zinc
Copper and zinc
Perhaps, more importantly, some vitamins and minerals shouldn’t be taken with certain medications. You should talk with a healthcare professional to make sure your supplements won’t interfere with your prescription medications.
The bottom line
It’s possible for both children and adults to overdose on vitamins. If you have vitamins at home, make sure to keep them securely locked away to avoid accidental overdoses.
If you or your child accidentally take too many vitamins, call your local poison control center or the Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 right away. Some vitamin overdoses, like iron, can be dangerous and require immediate medical care.
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References
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Beach, L., et al. 92024). What vitamins shouldn’t be taken together? NatureMade.
Gummin, D. D., et al. (2021). 2020 annual report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers’ national poison data system (NPDS): 38th annual report. Clinical Toxicology.
Healthychildren.org. (2022). Where we stand: Vitamin D and iron supplements for babies. American Academy of Pediatrics.
Mishra, S., et al. (2021). Dietary supplement use among adults: United States, 2017-2018. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. (n.d.). 10 things to know about dietary supplements for children and teens.
National Institutes of Health. (n.d.). Nutrient recommendations and databases.
National Institutes of Health. (2021). Vitamin C.
National Institutes of Health. (2022). Vitamin A and carotenoids.
National Institutes of Health. (2023). Calcium.
National Institutes of Health. (2023). Iron.
National Institutes of Health. (2024). Vitamin D.
Rao, N., et al. (2017). An increase in dietary supplement exposures reported to US Poison Control Centers. Journal of Medical Toxicology.
Ronis, M. J. J., et al. (2017). Adverse effects of nutraceuticals and dietary supplements. Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology.
Stierman, B., et al. (2020). Dietary supplement use in children and adolescents aged ≤19 years — United States, 2017-2018. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
