Iowacookiemom wrote:
Niacin flushing?


Huh?

Well, google it, woman! :-)

We've recently started taking niacin supplements. It's a B-vitamin and
it's possible that your kid got a larger-than-normal dose if he ate
several vitamins plus some supplemented cereal, I suppose. An unusually
large dose for your tolerance level can cause "niacin flushing".

I'm no doctor, but my personal experience is that it causes a hystemic
reaction where the skin turns hot and red and itches. It lasts 10 minutes
to 1/2 hour. It's worse if the niacin was taken with something hot. It
has to do with the dilation of the blood vessels near the skin and the
flushing out of toxins that don't normally fit into the tiny vessels so
when they DO fit they start flowing and your body sees them as foreign.

Or something. Remember, I'm no doctor. But niacin flushing is harmless,
though startling.

A racing heart could just be from panic at what's happening. The pain? I
don't know about that. I personally experience itching with the same
intensity and flight response as I do pain. (In other words, itching
terribly and being in terrible pain have about the same response in me and
maybe your kid confused the words?)

-- Wendy