In a typical case, there are no actual outward signs of folic acid overdose. In a few rare situations where an individual continually overdoses on folic acid, certain symptoms may develop. Some of these include an inability to sleep and gastrointestinal difficulties like diarrhea. Some people may also experience some unusual mental symptoms, including feelings of paranoia or a total psychotic breakdown. Overall, these kinds of problems are very uncommon, and for that reason, they aren’t generally considered a reason for major worry by medical experts.
Folic acid is a kind of B vitamin which also occurs naturally in many foods. It is generally given to people who have some kind of B-vitamin deficiency in their blood. It may also be prescribed for pregnant women who are breastfeeding. The doses can vary somewhat depending on the reason for taking it, but many people can go well over the recommended amount without suffering any bad results.
One of the main dangers of folic acid overdose is that it can make other serious problems invisible. Sometimes people may have seriously dangerous B-vitamin deficiencies, and taking folic acid can hide this from doctors by preventing many outward symptoms. At the same time, the person may be suffering very harmful effects of the deficiency internally. This is considered one of the main reasons to avoid a folic acid overdose.
Another problem with folic acid is that it can sometimes have bad interactions with certain medications. This mainly applies to drugs that are commonly used to treat epilepsy. The general problem is that folic acid can actually stop these drugs from working, and a folic acid overdose is not generally required to cause this particular problem.
There is some scientific evidence for other physical problems related to folic acid use. For example, some experts think that folic acid increases heart attack risk. The evidence for this connection is not absolute, but it’s still being investigated.
Some people may also suffer an allergy to folic acid. This can happen quite suddenly and doesn’t necessarily require a folic acid overdose. The symptoms of this reaction would include things like swelling in the tongue or face and other common symptoms of a food allergy. Folic acid allergies are not considered particularly common compared to other food allergies. Any sort of food allergy symptoms are generally an emergency and will usually require immediate medical treatment just to be on the safe side.
