AAP Says Vitamin Ought to Not be Used to Forestall Measles

In 2025, there have been at the very least three measles outbreaks within the U.S. The most important outbreak to this point is in Texas, with 198 instances, leading to 23 hospitalizations and one demise of a school-aged little one, as of March 7, 2025. This little one had not obtained the measles vaccine and had no underlying well being circumstances.

Sadly, amid these scary outbreaks, some misinformation about measles therapies and prevention has additionally been spreading—particularly, the concept that vitamin A can be utilized to deal with and forestall measles.

This has led the the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to just lately launch on-line statements warning dad and mom to not depend on vitamin A for measles prevention, and that an excessive amount of vitamin A might be harmful for kids.

The AAP emphasizes, “measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination stays crucial software for stopping measles.” The AAP additionally underscores how extraordinarily contagious the measles is, noting the virus can stay within the air as many as two hours after somebody contaminated has left the neighborhood. As such, their focus is on the significance of vaccination as the first preventative software for measles.

Vaccines Are the Finest Approach To Forestall Measles

Therese Linnon, DO, a pediatrician at Akron Youngsters’s Hospital says whereas vitamin A can be utilized to assist with some signs of the measles as soon as a affected person has been identified, it’s much better to stop the an infection within the first place by getting the measles vaccine.

“Vitamin A ought to not be a alternative for the vaccine. There is no such thing as a dose of vitamin A that may defend them from getting the measles virus,” she explains.

Mahvash Madni, MD, a pediatrician and spokesperson for the AAP agrees, referencing the lots of of measles-related little one deaths within the U.S. yearly, previous to the existence of a vaccine.

“Diet and a powerful immune system are necessary in serving to forestall illness however sure viruses which can be very highly effective can overwhelm the immune system no matter our greatest efforts,” she says. “Measles is certainly one of these viruses. That’s the reason years of analysis and energy went into arising with a particularly secure and efficient vaccine which was implement a long time in the past.

As per CDC pointers, the present measles vaccine—the MMR vaccine—needs to be given in two doses. The primary dose needs to be given when a baby is 12-15 months, and the second dose needs to be given between 4 and 6 years. Two doses of MMR vaccine is 97% efficient towards measles infections.

Can Vitamin A Be Used To Deal with Measles?

Initially, it’s necessary to grasp that the measles isn’t only a virus that causes an annoying rash.

“Youngsters look and feel very sick,” explains Dr. Madni. “It might probably trigger pneumonia, neurological issues like encephalitis and demise.”

As Dr. Madni and the CDC observe, for each 1,000 kids who get the measles, between one and three of them will die.

Furthermore, Dr. Madni emphasizes, there aren’t any therapies or “cures” for the measles. “It has to run its course like most viruses,” she says. So why do some folks recommend supplementing with vitamin A?

As Zachary Hoy, MD, a board-certified pediatric infectious illness specialist at Pediatrix Medical Group in Nashville, TN notes, the CDC recommends that vitamin A be administered in extreme instances of the measles, particularly amongst kids who’re hospitalized. 

“Vitamin A shops within the physique have been seen to drop in measles instances, so supplementation with applicable doses of vitamin A will help be sure that the immune system is optimized when a affected person is contaminated with measles,” says Dr. Hoy.

Low ranges of vitamin A throughout a measles an infection could cause eye harm, and might enhance the danger of significant sickness, like pneumonia and even demise, Dr. Linnon explains. As such, generally medical doctors will administer vitamin A to severely sick kids to lower the probabilities of issues of the measles. 

Nevertheless, even in instances the place vitamin A administration could also be useful, it ought to solely be completed beneath the strict supervision of a health care provider, who determines dosing and a secure and efficient dosing schedule.

Though the CDC recommends vitamin A supplementation in some extreme instances of measles, it’s not totally clear that it’s a useful advice for everybody.

“There’s robust proof for using vitamin A in low resourced nations with excessive charges of vitamin A deficiency in decreasing issues from measles, however no strong proof for its use in excessive earnings nations,” Dr. Madni shares.

The Risks of Vitamin A Supplementation

The AAP notes of their warning, no guardian ought to attempt vitamin A supplementation for measles on their very own, as an excessive amount of vitamin A could cause important points for kids.

“Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin, which signifies that if you take an excessive amount of it sticks round in your fats cells and accumulates,” explains Molly O’Shea, MD, a pediatrician at Birmingham Pediatrics + Wellness Heart and residency teacher at Youngsters’s Hospital of Michigan. “In distinction, for those who took an excessive amount of Vitamin C, a water-soluble vitamin, you’d pee out any further your physique would not want.”

Dr. O’Shea additional explains how vitamin A overdosing is very regarding if you take large doses over a brief time frame, as is really helpful in a case of measles–and it could possibly rapidly construct up in your fats tissues.

“For all of those causes, consulting with a pediatrician and giving the complement beneath their care is necessary,” she says.

In keeping with Rebecca Fisk, MD, pediatrician at Northwell Lenox Hill Hospital, vitamin A taken in extreme portions can result in toxicity, inflicting the next signs:

• dizziness
• nausea
• diarrhea
• headache
• bone ache
• bone thinning
• pores and skin irritations/rashes
• liver harm