Yesterday, I saw an attack piece against melatonin promoted by the American Medical Association, which I interpreted as my signal that this topic needs to be addressed.
Hey Dr. V, Thanks for all your amazing work. Thoughts on using melatonin on a 4 yr old? We’ve hesitated using it because we weren’t sure about how it could affect his hormones. What do you think?
Thank you and that is a good question. Generally speaking, it should be fine to use low-dose MLT in a 4yo. Start low and work up. Remember that many people do better with low doses. Many people!!! For example, I sleep great <4mg but my sleep is a disaster at 20mg. I have seen many people have the same experience. You can also combine with sedative herbs. Some studies have used 10mg in infants for short-term immunostimulation against bacterial infection. Physiologic dosing for adults starts at 200 mcg po hs. Thanks again for the question, DrV
Also another consideration is that in a few patients, melatonin can have a pro-inflammatory effect which has been noted especially in patients who have rheumatoid arthritis. It might be transient or a permanent but you have to keep an eye out
Hey Dr. V, Thanks for all your amazing work. Thoughts on using melatonin on a 4 yr old? We’ve hesitated using it because we weren’t sure about how it could affect his hormones. What do you think?
Thank you and that is a good question. Generally speaking, it should be fine to use low-dose MLT in a 4yo. Start low and work up. Remember that many people do better with low doses. Many people!!! For example, I sleep great <4mg but my sleep is a disaster at 20mg. I have seen many people have the same experience. You can also combine with sedative herbs. Some studies have used 10mg in infants for short-term immunostimulation against bacterial infection. Physiologic dosing for adults starts at 200 mcg po hs. Thanks again for the question, DrV
Also another consideration is that in a few patients, melatonin can have a pro-inflammatory effect which has been noted especially in patients who have rheumatoid arthritis. It might be transient or a permanent but you have to keep an eye out