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| First Time Moms |
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I read a couple post here about teething tablets and thought I would mention something that I had read. I read a post on the FDA website regarding the tablets that say they are homeopathic. Apparently there is an ingredient called Belladonna, which is a powerful sedative, in them that can be fatal. In most cases there is no problem because in small doses, there is no danger. The problem arises because these tablets are not regulated by the FDA which means that there is no standard to make sure that they tablets are safe. According to the post, there is a possibility of gettinga bottle that contains tablets with high amounts of this ingedient. As soon as I saw this, I threw my bottle out. I've heard people say that they have used the tablets with no problem and such, and I had no problem for the couple months that I used them, but I do not want to take a chance on getting that bad bottle. I would rather stick to tylenol and oragel. Anyway, wanted to mention this so that everyone can make an informed decision in using these.
Here is a link to Hyland's website that states that Belladonna is an ingrdient and that in large amounts it can be dangerous. It also states that even if your child took a whole bottle, it is UNLIKELY that they would experience problems. Unlikely is not good enough in my opinion.
http://www.hylands.com/news/teethingnews.php
Here is a link to a post from a woman who's child had belladonna poisoning from Hyland teething tablets.
http://talk.tuscmoms.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/5701077266/m/4581017386
There are many other websites that talk about the dangers of this product. There are also website that boast about how wonderful it is. I have decided for my family, the benefits come nowhere near to outweighing the risk. I think anyone who uses this product should do a lot of research before using it, and then watch their children closely when using it. I hope this has been helpful. I don't want to tell anyone how to raise their children, but I do want to share information I have in hopes that it helps keep other informed and keeps their children safe. That is the most important thing. |
| Posted by Casey on 02/20/2008 01:38 PM
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| Thank you for posting this. There are risks with anything you use. Did you know that thousands of infants and children go to the ER every year because of over dosing on Tylenol and other pain relievers? Every parent should use caution with anything they chose to give their child. |
| posted by on 02/20/2008 02:24 PM
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I forgot to add some links.
http://www.ismp.org/newsletters/acutecare/articles/20020807.asp
http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/HO/00002.html |
| posted by on 02/20/2008 02:36 PM
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| I agree with your statement that parents should use caution with anything they give their children. I feel safe giving my child Tylenol because there are no ingredients that are inherently toxic and it is regulated in regards to the amount of active ingredients that are included. I know how much to give my son and I know how often, so I feel safe. The problem that I have with the teething tablets is that I have no control over weither I get a bottle that has toxic amounts of Belladonna in it, or I get the bottle that is safe. That is why I feel that they are dangerous. I hope I don't offend anyone with my post. I just want to make sure that someone who does not know about the dangers is made aware of them so they can make an informed decision. I gave them to my son for several months before a friend directed me to a website discussing how they are unsafe. From there I did research of my own and made the decision that they are not safe enough for me and I'm not willing to accept the risk, however slight it may be. It is a personal decision that each parent must make, and will remain that way unless they are taken off the market by the FDA(I have not heard or read anything to suggest that they plan to). |
| posted by Casey on 02/20/2008 04:24 PM
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Hey all,
I am an NMD (naturopathic medical doctor) who has studied homeopathy and used homeopathy in practice. I know this is going to sound weird, but the science of homeopathy is such that the medicine is diluted so many times that the original substance introduced cannot be detected if taken to a laboratory. Like I said, I know this sounds weird, but homeopathy is a very complicated facet of science; one in which I cannot even begin to explain here. While Belladonna is extremely fatal in it's gross form, it doesn't exactly follow that it is in a homeopathic preparation. In saying this, I would never give my child any homeopathic preparation unless it was prescribed to me by a Homeopathic physician, or a Naturopathic Medical Doctor who has studied homeopathy extensively. Google homeopathy for more on how it works. |
| posted by Allison on 02/20/2008 04:24 PM
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Casey,
I was not offended. I just don't really trust the FDA considering how often they pull drugs off the market and say "oops, this is really bad for you". Most recently infant’s and children’s cold medicines. I have been using homeopathic remedies for years, ever since I had bad reactions to things like Tylenol.
Allison,
Thanks for your input. I know how they work and how they are created, and it is difficult to explain. |
| posted by on 02/20/2008 04:37 PM
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Hi Casey:
Thanks for posting this. I myself have been doing a lot of research on the matter, and I have gathered some information that might be useful. I have yet to start giving my baby the Hyland's tablets, even though I did buy 4 boxes of them! A couple of weeks ago I read the same posting of the woman in AZ who claims that her child was poisoned by Hyland's product, so until I am convinced that it is safe, I am holding off, its the natural thing to do.
However, there are some considerations to be made, I'll start with the most simple, which is that there are a lot of contradictory information on the internet all the time. Hyland's has been around for so many, many years, that I would assume that if their products were so out of whack, there would have been innumerable lawsuits against this company. The fact is that this has not been the case. But, never mind that.
Homeopathic drugs are reputed to be safe because of how diluted their composition is. It is usual that the dilution is 1:1 000 000 000 000 in water. So much so, that in general they do not interfere with traditional drugs. On another note, the FDA does regulate homeopathic medicine, albeit in a different manner than the rest of them. I am directly quoting here:
"Because of their long use in the United States, the U.S. Congress passed a law in 1938 declaring that homeopathic remedies are to be regulated by the FDA in the same manner as nonprescription, over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, which means that they can be purchased without a physician's prescription. Today, although conventional prescription drugs and new OTC drugs must undergo thorough testing and review by the FDA for safety and effectiveness before they can be sold, this requirement does not apply to homeopathic remedies.
Remedies are required to meet certain legal standards for strength, quality, purity, and packaging [...]
The guidelines for homeopathic remedies are found in an official guide, the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States, which is authored by a nongovernmental, nonprofit organization of industry representatives and homeopathic experts.The Pharmacopoeia also includes provisions for testing new remedies and verifying their clinical effectiveness. [...]"
(see the whole article here: http://nccam.nih.gov/health/homeopathy/#q7)
Also, if you look at the listed ingredients, the belladonna is listed as "Belladonna 3X HPUS", which means that the original source of belladona has been diluted MANY times. Or, as it says, 3 ten-millionths of a percent tropane alkaloids (the toxic chemical in the plant). Each tablet contains 0.0000003% of Alkaloids.
The Berkley Parents blog has some interesting opinions:
http://parents.berkeley.edu/advice/babies/teething.html#homeo
On Medline plus, you can find this information as well, which states that belladonna in small doses
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-belladonna.html#Safety
Well, having said all that, I did email the FDA with specific questions about the safety/non-safety of this product. If ever I hear back, I can let you know what they said, if you want.
I am not trying to play devil's advocate here, by any means, as I said I am holding off from giving my own daughter this "remedy". But if it worked, like I have heard people swear up and down ("it works!!! really!!!") wouldn't that just be awesome??
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| posted by Valentina on 02/20/2008 04:43 PM
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| I don't trust the FDA either; I think the pharmaceutical companies have them in their back pockets. There's even a push to make daily supplements available by prescription only. Since I am a physician, I felt responsible to warn people to check with the appropriate physician before giving any sort of medication to a child. However, the fact is, most homeopathics are EXTREMELY safe, even if a person takes one that is not suited for his/her condition. One may also read google sites that claim homeopathy is junk medicine. I have personally witnessed many 'miracles' occur from the proper use of homeopathy. The problem with simply purchasing a homeopathic preparation (as for teething) at a store is that a typical homeopath will ask what seems like millions of questions relating to all facets of mind, body and spirit before prescribing the appropriate remedy (even for something as benign as teething) . There are medical schools that solely teach homeopathy because the art of this sort of medicine is so complicated. |
| posted by Allison on 02/20/2008 07:20 PM
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| I'm very cautious regarding medication for children especially infants. For things like teething in particular, I guess I am lucky so far that my son have no major complaints while doing so, however I prefer non medical reliefs such as the water filled teethers. |
| posted by Afihtan on 02/21/2008 11:08 AM
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