Hello! Thank you for being a part of this community!

My son Payton is nearly 1. He is G-Tube fed at night (Good Start formula fortified to 25 cals/ounce) with enough calories for his kilogram weight and then breastfeeds and eats purees (kind of) during the day. We're playing catch up after months of FTT (he weighed 10 pounds at 7 months old before he had his fundo).

We're working with an Occupational Therapist to desensitize his mouth and get him to chew. He has no teeth as of yet, though I swear he has been teething since he was 4 months old! The important info for you here is that he is not getting adequate nutrition by mouth during the day to support growth and he refuses to eat nearly anything with any kind of texture. But we're working on it!!!

Problem:
I'm noticing that the hair on the back of his head is dry and frizzy and he has a few finger nails and toe nails that are dry and flakey.

I was told to give him a vitamin supplement as it was a vitamin C deficiency, but it's been about 6 weeks and I see very little improvement.

Questions:
- Have I not waited long enough to see the effects of the supplement?
- Should I give him and Omega-3 supplement or something similar as well?


Thank you!!!

Hi,

I really doubt that this is a vitamin C deficiency. This would be highly unlikely in a child this age being fed a formula like Good Start. Try the C supplement, but maybe ask your pediatrician about it. This may be just the normal way his hair and nails are coming in.

Good luck, Dr. Olson