How MCADD is treated

There's nospecific treatmentfor MCADD.A specialist care teamwill give you advice about how tolook after your child and support them as they get older.

Children and adults with MCADD can eat a normal diet, as long as they:

  • frequently take special high energy drinks when they're ill this includes common illnesses such as fever, diarrhoea , or vomiting
  • avoid long periods without eating during the newborn period and infancy even when well the length of time your child can go without eating is known as the maximum "safe fasting time" and it varies depending on age; you'll be given advice about this

The high energy drinks used in treating MCADD are available on prescription from your GP. You'll be advised by a specialist dietitian about when to use them and how much to use. If the drinks don't help or your child refuses them, they may need to be treated in hospital.

You can find more detailed information about MCADD treatment in the MCADD information sheet for parents and carers (PDF, 116kb) produced by the British Inherited Metabolic Diseases Group (BIMDG).

Content supplied by the NHS Website

Medically Reviewed by a doctor on 21 Dec 2018