Safety and side effects

Too much vitamin A can be harmful. Taking a single large dose of 200,000 mcg or many large doses can cause:

• Nausea.
• Vomiting.
• Fatigue.
• Dizziness.
• Blurry vision.

Taking more than 10,000 mcg a day of oral vitamin A supplements long-term can cause:

• Balance issues.
• Liver damage.
• Headache.
• Nausea.
• Hair loss.
• Dry skin.
• Pain in the joints and bones.
• Rarely, death.

If you are or might become pregnant, talk with your healthcare professional before taking vitamin A. The use of too many vitamin A supplements during pregnancy has been linked to birth defects. So has applying vitamin A creams to the skin. Examples include the creams isotretinoin and etretinate.