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.
Feb 12, 2022·edited Feb 12, 2022Liked by Dr Alex Kennerly Vasquez
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