Curing Small Children with Pale Faces and Dark Circles Under the Eyes
Curing Small Children with Pale Faces and Dark Circles Under the Eyes
My experiences suggest that several grams a day of vitamin C, activated by extra B-vitamins are much more effective at addressing the health problems of little children. It makes me very sad that parents and pediatricians are afraid of this safe and simple treatment. After blogging for over a year, I still feed this way. Read more here
Every time I go to the mall, I see small children walk by with pale faces and dark circles under their eyes. I see a sick child in need of help. No one else sees anything wrong. I have found myself powerless to help.
My recommended cure uses three supplements that are inexpensive and easy to find. These are 500 mg chewable vitamin C tablets, children’s chewable multivitamins, and 250 mg time-release niacin gel caps. If you have a toddler with a pale face and dark circles under the eyes, feed him or her 6 of the vitamin C tablets, one multivitamin, and 1/2 of one 250 mg time-release niacin gel cap. Follow up with 4 more vitamin C tablets before bedtime. Many toddlers are happy to take one kid’s chewable multivitamin and lots of chewable vitamin C. These taste good. The half niacin gel cap is the only toddler-unfriendly ingredient. Fortunately, niacin has a mild flavor. The gel cap is filled with tiny spheres. Break the gel cap in two and add half of the spheres to ice cream or pudding, or some other soft, sweet, toddler-friendly food. The niacin may cause the toddler to flush – a temporary reddening of the skin. Although the flushing can be unpleasant, it is harmless. Further, flushing is unusual with time-release niacin gel caps at such a low dosage. Keep going with 125 mg/day of time release niacin and the vitamin C, 4 chewable tablets every morning and every bedtime until the dark circles are gone and are replaced by rosy cheeks. 4 chewable vitamin C tablets and a multivitamin should be taken every day, even when healthy.
Why are so few other people concerned with toddlers that have pale faces and dark circles under their eyes? More importantly, why are so few other parents concerned? Does anyone really believe that these toddlers are in robust good health? Is it just a feeling of helplessness? Is it because the condition doesn’t have a name?
I’m willing to go out on a limb and give the condition a name. The name is immunodeficiency. Toddlers all go through a crucial period of immune system development. These years are their first exposure to the ordinary diseases that are a natural part of our environment. The most ordinary of these ordinary diseases are viral respiratory tract infections. Because toddlers are developing immunity, the average toddler has 8 to 10 respiratory tract infections/year. A typical infection lasts a week start to finish. Therefore the average toddler is dealing with a cold for 3 months of every year. This means below average toddlers are dealing with a cold more than half the year. I believe that this can cause tremendous stress and runs the risks of permanent consequences. That’s why I’m alarmed when I see these kids.
So, in this blog I’ve given a medical name to toddlers with pale faces and dark circles under their eyes – immunodeficiency. The serious (in my opinion) nature of their condition no longer lacks for a serious sounding name. I’ve gone out on a limb and provided a remedy that is easily implemented. That takes away the excuse of helplessness.
All parents should be open to the idea that toddlers with pale faces and dark circles could be in better health. All parents should be open to the possibility that extra vitamins are especially useful for rapidly growing toddlers. I know where that leaves parents. They can try the recommended remedy and know that they are nearly on their own without the support of friends, family, or pediatricians. Or they can do nothing and risk the consequences of their inaction – asthma, obesity, chronic respiratory infections, learning disabilities, sinusitis, ear infections, etc. Most will not act.
posted by Steve @ 12:22 PM
30 comments
30 Comments:
Steve,
Thanks for your post. I am a firm believer in taking the natural route first whenever my son (who is 2 1/2) is sick. I've noticed that lately he has dark circles under his eyes and my google search bought me to this article. I'm going to give the Vitamin C a try. My husband and I take 1000 mg of VItamin C almost daily and feel pretty good. I imagine my son will also benefit greatly from your Vitamin C recommendations.
hmmm....I USED to think exactly like you Steve....until I had a (sickly looking) child of my own. ALLERGIES...yes, to dust, mold, ragweed, trees. He is only three! It's amazing what a few simple changes at home has made and things that we have found that have deeply impacted and possibly caused the allergy in the first place (water settling in our central a/c air handler in the attic...MOLD). It's amazing how easy it is to jump to conclusions "at a glance" when you look at someone. BTW, I am a home grown/organic/natural as they get...
my son and daughter have these circles... I give them a multivitamin... good quality... I guess that may not be enough? ~ kim
NJ,
Thanks for your comment. I agree that allergies are also an important root cause of pale faces and dark circles. By all means, parents should have their children checked for allergies if they are not thriving. In my opinion, the vitamins I recommend will help whatever strategy is employed to fight the allergies. I believe parents should protect their children from allergens and give them a multivitamin, extra niacin, and vitamin C.
If I were to walk through the mall with my 6 year old, I would be one of the people targeted in this blog. A parent that doesn't care, or seem to. And I guess that's why I am responding. Because you are making a huge assumption when you see people and don't know their story. I personally don't feel attacked by this article and feel that parents should definitely do what is necessary to keep their children in good health. Let me tell you my story, and how such comments don't always apply.
My son has been sick his entire life. I have been called everything from an "over-worried first time mother" to a "mother with Munchausens." My son has many diseases and I have always advocated for his health, even at the expense of friendships and family relations. When my son was 4, after trying elimination diets, and putting him on a gluten free diet, and using Papaya Enzymes to stabilize his gut because he had diarrhea his whole life, I finally saw a commercial about PI (or Primary Immunodeficiency). It was a 30 second commercial which has saved my sanity.
To make a long story short, I took my son 475 miles away to a Pediatric Immunologist that specialized in PI. The very first thing he did was test my son for allergies, which I knew for sure my son had. One of the reasons I was so sure was because of his pale skin and dark circles under his eyes.
When the doctor came back into the room to inform me that my son had absolutely NO allergies, my first thought was that he was crazy. Then he told me he would perform a humoral essay study. This was a 2 part test and I had to return in a month.
6 weeks later, I found out that my son has an Antibody Deficiency. He also has non-allergic rhinitis and moderate asthma.
My son takes asthma meds, prophylactic antibiotics, rhinitis med and nerve pain medicine. Because he is on all of these medicines I have been informed by all of his specialists and his pharmacist that I am under no circumstances to add ANYTHING including natural medicines to his regimen.
I don't like to have to give my son ANY medicine, especially synthetic. But I am dealing with a child who has multiple brain cysts, syringomyelia, Chiari Malformation 1, Ehlers Danlos Type 4, a cystic mass in his sacrum, among other things. At this point, 6 months after brain surgery, we are looking at another brain surgery. We are also looking at possible spine surgery. My son is in constant pain and cannot tell when he needs to go to the bathroom without medication.
So, back to the shiners. Tonight he was sent to bed with shiners. He is pale. I will take him in in the morning and they will most likely diagnose a sinus infection. I have done and am doing everything possible to keep my child healthy. But when I walk through the mall and I cross your path (theoretically), the assumption is, I'm not advocating for my child. I hope that you now realize that that's not always true. I just thought you should hear the other side of the story.
Monica,
I'm so sorry that you've misunderstood me! This column is written for you, not against you. You are afraid to give your son extra vitamins because your pediatricians have recommended strongly against this course of action.
Your son gets vitamins supplements every day in the food that he eats. If your son did not get any vitamins, he would die. If you choose to give your son extra vitamin C, extra niacin, and a multivitamin, you will only be increasing the daily dose of nutrients he is already eating.
If you left your son in my care, I would take the risk of feeding him vitamin supplements. I would not expect the vitamins to make much of an immediate, obvious difference. Your son has many problems, some of which could heal with time. Extra vitamin C and extra vitamins have proven, healing powers.
If you read my other columns, you'll understand that I agree with your decision to seek professional help and treat your son with prescription medication. The medications attack the illnesses. The vitamins are complementary. They help the body heal. It's a little bit over simplistic, but perhaps useful to think of prescription medications as tools that attack diseases and vitamins as tools that promote healing.
Whatever you decide, I'll keep your son in my prayers.
Thanks for taking the time to stop by the site and share your story.
I am so thankful that i have found this comlumn! Just today I told my husband we had to figure out why are 2 and half yr. old daughter always looked so much more pale & sickly than other chidren!! Im running out to buy vitamins now! Thankyou!
Mommaboo,
I'm glad you found the column too. Thanks so much for the encouraging comments. Progress happens one child at a time.
How important is the niacin to be in the gel cap sphere form? I purchased (without realizing) anti-flushing niacin powder capsules.
Also- how soon would one notice a difference in the appearance of their child? Thank you so much.
anonymous,
Thanks for asking about the type of niacin. The niacin you purchased is probably niacin inositol, or some other ester of niacin. It will probably work fine. I used time-release niacin with my kids so that's what I recommend because I am conservative. I also prefer time-release niacin because the safety is so well understood. Go ahead and use the niacin you bought. But next time try and get the time-release niacin that I recommend.
thanks for this information. i was recently told that there is a vitamin deficiency connected to my sons pale skin and dark circles. he's been like this since birth, and i just assumed he's one of those people with dark circles. but recently my sister (a preschool teacher) told me that her co-worker went to some seminar where they explained that there is a link between those kid's and their attitudes and it's some type of vitamin deficieny, something since birth. i've search and thanks to you ahve found my answer. let you know if his attitude gets better.
Steve,
I'm glad I found your column, too. I've been worrying about my 4yr old daughter's conditions lately. She seems a bit low energy, gloomy, irritable, not sleeping well at night and most recently dark circles under the eyes. I will try your vitamin c recommendations for her dark circles under the eyes, but do you have other ideas why she might be this way? I know she doesn't eat enough (very very small portions) each meal to get the nutrients -- maybe this is the reason why. She gets full on really small portions and it's hard to get her to eat more. I'm thinking of trying vitamin B6 on her too, what do you think? I got a list of foods containing vitamin B6 and ready to hit the market tomorrow -- guess it doesn't hurt to start with the foodlist. Anyway, I've been researching the internet to trying to find out what's wrong with my daughter before I make the appointment to the pediatrition.
I'm glad to have stumbled on your column.
Thank you kindly,
vh
VH,
My recommendation is more than vitamin C. It is vitamin c, time-release niacin, and a multivitamin. The multivitamin contains a decent dose of vitamin B6. The three supplements I recommend are enough of a challenge to get into a 4 year old every day.
Here's my recommendations from the column:
6 chewable 500 mg vitamin C tablets, one multivitamin, and 1/2 of one 250 mg time-release niacin gel cap or tablet. Follow up with 4 more vitamin C tablets before bedtime.
If you can manage the entire recommendation, please post a comment letting us know how you managed to persuade your daughter to eat all the vitamins. It wasn't hard for me with my kids, but all children are different.
Steve, Are you saying to give a toddler 3000mg of vitamin C? I have a two year old who has some dark circles under his eyes. I give him half of a chewable Flintstone and half of a 500mg. tablet of chewable vitamin C. He has a wonderful diet (chicken, avacado, veggies, fruits, etc). I try to buy organic when I can get it. I can't see giving him three times the amount of vitamin C that I take and I'm an adult. I'm also a nutrionist as well and feel the natural way is the only way. Thanks
Anonymous Nutritionist,
As hard as it is to believe, 3000 mg/day is a conservative dose. It is only 50% higher than the UL of 2000 mg set by the Food and Nutrition board. The UL means that >95% of the population can take 2000 mg/day until they die with no harm. We're not recommending 3000 mg/day forever - just until the toddler gets well. 3000 mg/day is much lower than the highest doses reported (20,000 mg/day for toddlers) here.
I'm a scientist. I believe in what works, and try not to lose sleep trying to define a treatment as natural or un-natural. As a scientist, however, I'm comforted by the "naturalness" of this treatment. Fred Klenner reported teas made from plants contain 10,000 to 30,000 mg of vitamin C per cup and have long been used to ward off colds. See his report here.
I will definitely try your suggestions about the vitamins. My 2 year old looks horrible..... very pale skin with very dark circles under her eyes. She has acutally been diagnosed with an immune deficiency (when she was 7 moths old) and is receiving IVIG treatments every other week and has been for over a year. She has had fever every day of her life (no lie) since she was 6 weeks old..... We have an MRI scheduled next week to rule out a hypothalamus dysfunction, but I feel that it's all related to her low IgG levels. I do appreciate your suggestion and hope it helps her weak immune system.
Dear Ashley,
I'm so sorry about your daughter. My thoughts and prayers will be with her, and you as well. I'm sure life is a struggle with a child who is so sick.
Please try the doses recommended in the column, and then come on back to the column and share your experience. If the recommended doses don't appear to be working, come on back for more advice. Your daughter is very sick and may benefit from more aggressive treatment.
Finally, make sure you get all the help you can from your pediatrician. Keep going with the testing and any recommended medications. Vitamins and pharmaceuticals often work better together than either do alone.
Steve,
My nine year old has pale skin and dark circles under her eyes. She is being teased at school and its upsetting her. We have tried lots of water, extra sleep and an anti histamine none of which have got rid of the dark circles. What dosage should I give her of the vitamins? She is a healthy, lively girl apart from these circles.
Dear Anonymous,
I'm glad you found this column. Thanks for taking the time to leave a note. My working hypothesis, until disproven, is that safe vitamin doses don't change much with age. This is contrary to the situation with drugs, where toxicity is often a function of body weight. As a consequence, I recommend the same doses for 9-year-olds as for toddlers. I believe infants are best breast fed and that the mother should take extra vitamins.
So, there it is. Can your daughter swallow pills? If so, give her four 1 gm tablets of vitamin C (two pills in the morning and two in the evening), one 250 mg time-release niacin tablet or gel cap, and one multivitamin/mineral tablet. It will take longer for the dark circles to clear up in a 9-year old than in a toddler - give it a few months. You may also want to consider allergies. Doctors don't have any good way to test for food allergies - the easiest thing to try is a pseudo-fast for just 3 days. Pick a food like oatmeal or rice and have your daughter eat only oatmeal and/or rice for 3 days. This is pretty drastic and you and your daughter may not feel it's worth it. There's certainly no harm trying the vitamins first. There are a couple of other things I might recommend if this basic vitamin plan doesn't work. So - please come on back if this - the easiest solution - doesn't work.
Steve, Thank you for your Jan. '07article I just found. I know my 3.5yo daughter has food alleries and we are addressing those. As far as supplements, I'm wondering whether you think the Emergen-C product is a good one to use? The adult version has 100mg/C plus a broad B vitamins, the children's has B vitamins with 500mg/C--both are in a fizzy, tasty flavored drink mix. Or, is using a separate chewable C and multivitamin a better absorbed option for kids? Thank you!!!
I have been giving my daughter the vit c and vit b for just three days and already the difference is incredible. Thank you.
WJB,
Thanks for writing. Curing pale faces requires 2000 to 10,000 mg/day of vitamin C. The chewable tablets are typically 500 mg. So - your daughter should take at least 3 with breakfast and 3 more at bedtime. The Emergen-C does not have even close to enough. What it does is substitute for a multivitamin. I recommend two multivitamins/day for kids with pale faces. Time-release niacin is the final essential ingredient and it has to be purchased separately.
Good luck.
I know that this advice works. I have seen it with my own eyes many times. I also know it works because I'm not seeing negative comments from disappointed parents. For some reason, when the vitamins work, people just take their regained health for granted and go on with their lives (for some reason I do the same thing myself). This was a long prelude to commenting that I was very happy that an anonymous just dropped a comment letting us know that the vitamins were making an "incredible" difference in just three days. Great news! Keep spreading the words. There are millions more children out there who can benefit from extra vitamins too.
I totally disagree with everything written on this page except for the post about the ladys son GO HER!!!! If you feel your child looks sick he or she might be ask your childs DOCTOR what to do not some nut job of the net if you want them to have more vitamins FEED them more vitamin enriched foods!!!!!! there are plenty to choose from!!! i'm here to see what ppll say my 3 year old looks pale and has the dark circles but im not gonna start popping him full of pills and vitamins it just means we need to add a little more variety of vitamin filled foods!!!! USE YOUR BRAINS!!!!!!!
Anonymous,
Thanks for your comments. All views are welcome.
I completely agree with you that it is urgent to take sickly children to see a pediatrician, to follow up with specialists as recommended, and to take any prescribed medications. I do not recommend using vitamins as an alternative to conventional care and healthy food. I recommend vitamins as supplemental to these approaches.
I simply don't understand your passion. Why do you want to bully me into not feeding my kids extra vitamin C, extra niacin, and a multivitamin? You make it sound like I'm tormenting my children. (I'm not - don't ask me - ask them). Do you think the vitamins I recommend aren't safe? (the facts speak for themselves - these vitamins are sold without childproof caps and have the enviable lable of "generally recognized as safe" GRAS). Do you think the vitamins will neutralize the effect of conventional medications? (they don't - go to the Physicians Desk Reference - vitamins are rarely counter-indicated) Do you think vitamin makers are extorting outrageous profits by playing on the fears of parents? (they aren't - the vitamin C, niacin, and multivitamins I recommend can be purchased for just pennies a day. Generic vitamins are now a low margin, commodity product like flour or sugar with similar margins). Do you have an idea that I'm recommending an unending, undefined plan with no milestones? (I'm not. You should be happier about the health of your child within weeks of starting my recommendations) If the vitamins aren't working and your child is getting worse, or isn't getting better, by all means stop.
Please reconsider your logic. There is much to be gained and almost nothing to lose by seeing if extra vitamin C, niacin, and multivitamins can return your child to excellent health.
Hi Steve
I had over the years taken my daughter to my GP, Consultant and a private Consultant. All three said she has dark circles as she is part Asian and Greek and her condidtion is hereditary. I totally diagree with them as not one member in either of the families have this condition. I believe it is an allergy but am at my wits end as my daughter is now a teenager and appearance matters. I did take her to a Kineologist who gave me a strict diet for her, which I find very hard to keep to as when she is at school/parties/other relatives she is tempted to eat the 'banned' food. Also I do not give them a lot of red meat. She also has a left displastic kidney therefore I am worried about giving her or my other children with the same condition the vitamin tablets advised. If safe for them I will try.
Anonymous,
Thanks for stopping by.
Please read my recent post about four special nutrients. In addition to the vitamin C, niacin, and multivitamin, you should consider supplementing your daughter with vitamin D and thiamine (as TTFD - preferably rubbed into the skin with cream).
I am not a physician and am not familiar with your daughter's kidney condition. I recommend checking with your pediatrician to double check the safety.
Do not ask your pediatrician if the vitamins are a good idea - just check on the safety and ask to see evidence. If your pediatrician says the vitamins are not safe, I'd recommend getting a second opinion. If you conclude they are not safe, please come back to the site and let me know why or provide me with contact information for the pediatricians. I collect all the information I can get on vitamin safety, and would like any new information for my files.
I'll be keeping you and your daughter in my thoughts. Good luck.
Hi to the Anonymous person that decided to hit a full on frontal assault against Steves "SUGGESTIONS". Perhaps not all of us are so lucky as to have a child that will eat enough vitamin enriched foods!!! My 3 year old son refuses to eat meats, vegetables or fruits. The only thing he will eat without arguement and hysterics is Yoghurts, cheese sticks and drink Milk. which although good sources of vitamins and minerals they are not enough. He has dark cirlces under his eyes and looks like he has been 10 rounds with Mike Tyson, but although I have my reservations about what Steve is saying (sorry Steve) I'm not about to be so close minded and pig headed. I'll give the vitamin C a try. I give my son a multivitamin already and I remember those yummy chewable Vitamin C tablets that do absolutely no harm to anybody.
Dear Tamsin,
Thanks so much for your comments.
I'm glad that you're going to add vitamin C to your child's diet. Please also consider adding the time-release niacin. Like the vitamin C, you can also say to yourself that the niacin will "do absolutely no harm to anyone". Please don't think too much about it - just give it a try. Then come back in six months and update us on the dark circles.
I hope that all readers have reservations about what I'm saying. My recommendations are far from the mainstream. I'm claiming that the RDA's for children are inadequate, and I'm accusing pediatricians of not providing good care for the children that count on them. I had a very uncomfortable relationship with my children's pediatrician. She refused to recommend that I take my children off the vitamins (their improved health spoke for itself), and she also refused to recommend vitamins to other children. So - it is what it is.
Dear Steve,
I am here today because my son has always been a bit pale, and ALWAYS has the dark circles under his eyes like I have always had too. He has had them since birth. I just always assumed they were hereditary? I will definitley try the vitamins you recommended and see what happens, as his skin is looking even more pale despite being outside this summer. Can you tell me EXACTLY what causes this condition, what's happening in our bodies that makes us this way? Also, should I been on the same protocol/dosage for mine as well?
Dear Anonymous,
Thanks for your post - you've come to the right place.
Yes. You should also be supplementing with a similar strategy. Please see my post titled "Four Special Nutrients" (just type these words into Google and the post is the first hit).
No. I can not explain exactly what causes you and your son to have pale faces and dark circles. Many different failures in metabolism and disease conditions will lead to these generic symptoms. I can't explain much because I don't have any information about your son. What's extraordinary about this situation, is that I know that your son will respond positively to the recommended doses of vitamins because these vitamins are involved in almost every instance of poor health in a child (this is not true for adults).
Your pediatrician can do a great deal of blood testing. This is a good way to look for clues as to what may be the trouble. Your son may have some conditions that would respond to pharmaceuticals (e.g. allergies, sub-optimal lung function....). Please make sure your pediatrician fully understands your concerns, and please try any recommended medications.
On behalf of your son, thank you for trying the vitamins. Working together, vitamins and modern pharmaceuticals will work miracles and promise to bring most of the population into excellent health.
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