Does anyone know if it's ok to give a 5yr old fish oil who suffers from chronic Itp, but not on any treatment at present, or a multivitamin.

[iccle]

Playlets sittin at 25.

[sailor]

Hi Iccle, Being somewhat older than your 5 yr old (68), personally, I take both on a daily basis and have had a count of 10 for years. Providing you adhere to the manufacturers dosage for a 5 year old, I cannot see what harm they would do. Only exceeding the recommended dosage of oil and vitamins is dangerous and that applies to everybody regardless of age etc.

[dp1204 in reply to sailor]

Wow this is amazing that you take fish oil with a count of 10 because my doctor told me not to take it because it thins out the blood. and with our blood not clotting because of itp it was a good idea. with a count of 10 for years may i ask what do you do when you have to go to the dentist or something of that nature do you take meds?

[iccle in reply to dp1204]

I always give my son fish oil from age of 3 start of nursery, as he was only dinagosed a year ago, I stopped it for a while, but thinkin of starting a small dose again, maybe two spoonfuls r so in week, as he still has baby teeth the dentist is only check ups at present

[BlossomGreen]

Hi Iccle, my 5 year old son has Chronic ITP and I give him a child multivitamin daily. There have been times where I didn't give him a multivitamin for a month or so and his platelets dropped. I can't help but feel there is a correlation somehow! I've never given him a fish oil supplement, maybe ask your child's consultant about that?

[ktaruba]

Hello. I spent many hours researching your question. My 15 year old was hanging around 50k with no treatment for 6 months. I thoroughly researched safe levels of vitimins that boost the immune system. He takes b, d, e, a, c, selenium, and b12. They are all within safe ranges. Some are flushed out if you take too much and some are stored in the fat so you have to be careful. The vit d I will not give him if he had an adequate amt of sun for the day. We live in the northeast so sun is hard to get 9 months out of the year. He also takes 3 tsp of papaya leaf extract per day. I have reduced his sugar and have tried to elimintate processed foods. He eats lots of fresh vegies including kale and spinach. After 5 months of doing this his numbers have been increasing. He is currently in the 90k range. Even if we hang out here for a while I am happy he is in a completely safe range. I don't know if what we are dong has anything to do with it but it certainly cant be hurting. He seems to have more energy and is sick less often. I am cautiously optimistic that we may be on the right track. Good luck!

[ktaruba in reply to ktaruba]

Also I have asked the dr about this approach and he said it was fine but dismissed it and said I was wasting my money and time. I don't believe that one bit!

[dp1204 in reply to ktaruba]

This is great to hear. I just have a question doesn't vitamin e thin the blood? thats what the doctor told me.

[ktaruba in reply to dp1204]

Yes I believe you are correct. However he is getting a very small amount. I don't give it to him every day. He is only getting a max of 1200iu per week which is way below the high end. If he is having food high in e then he doesn't even get that much. I try to get him to get the nutrition out of his food before the supplements.

[iccle]

Thank u everyone for alot of very interesting answers, I do believe I a good diet of greens and protein, as this is how I believe my sons playlets have rosé to 25, they always sat in single figures, but keepin an eye on diet past few months I feel they are rising, I think I will start a multivitamin, and research a bit more about fish oil.

[Lolly7]

No!! I was giving Omega 3 Fish Oils to my daughter who suffers from Chronic ITP - hr BPC sits just under 20 on meds - apparently they thin the blood, so are bad news for ITP sufferers - I would consult with your haematoligist prior to continuing with them!

[sailor]

Hi iccle. You have certainly had a lot of reply, this is good for you.

I have never heard the fish oil thins the blood, but that may be the case. However, I still take them as it helps the old joints!!!

As to going to the dentist they are aware of my itp and expect that I will bleed. I suspect they are more gentle on the gums but still no meds. Both my dentist and the hygienist are switched onto itp and relaxed about it. They have been given a copy of the support groups advice for dentists. Obviously an extraction would be different to normal dental care and I would have to have the count boosted and possible attend the dental hospital. There is of course no guarantee that they will be knowledgeable about itp and you may have to educate them as well!!!!

The only time I have meds is for surgical procedures when the count needs to be a minimum of 50 as per the guidelines. When i have had surgery, I have in the past been into the hospital day ward for Ivig infusion for a couple of days or so.This sent the count way up into the 300+ range. Now the body reacts less well and I often struggle to make to 70+ range. But that is okay for most operations.

Do look at the support groups website and read the guidelines. There is so much information there from the leading specialist from the UK; US and Europe.

Keep positive and keep smiling.

[iccle in reply to sailor]

Thank u, will look more into it as very mixed response

[dp1204 in reply to sailor]

What is the name of the website for the support groups?

[sailor]

The itp support association. You should be able to link from this site

if not itpsupport.org.uk

phone [phone]