# hyland's teething tablets contain very dangerous ingredient



## [email protected] (Sep 7, 2010)

Belladonna (deadly nightshade). So they're not really homeopathic after all, since they contain a drug. And a toxic one at that. Anyway:

http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm230761.htm


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## [email protected] (Sep 7, 2010)

http://www.mothering.com/community/forum/thread/1273900/hyland-s-teething-tablets-recall

sorry, see there is already a thread


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## elisheva (May 30, 2006)

Go read more about homeopathy, how remedies are made, and how they work. What these children likely experienced is called a "proving". Belladonna wasn't the appropriate remedy for their particular teething pain (very few children require the belladonna remedy for teething). Hyland is at fault for providing a crappy "catch all" remedy that prob caused more problems than it solved, but no one was ever in danger of being "poisoned".


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## [email protected] (Sep 7, 2010)

I already know how homeopathy works, I used to work for a naturopath. The problem here is that children taking the tablets showed toxic levels of belladonna, and had evidence of poisoning. The manufacturing process was not well-controlled, since tablets showed inconsistent levels of belladonna.

I've seen some on other boards state that there is no proof that the kids involved were poisoned by belladonna from this particular product. However, this product contained belladonna. So either you believe it came from this product, or you have to suppose the parents gave their kids belladonna from another product.Additionally, some parents were probably popping them like candy. Since there were flaws w/ the manufacturing process, it is most reasonable to assume that it came from the Hyland product. Regardless, it's now off the market & a moot point. Hyland pulled them off, and now offers an alternative gel product.

If people want to use homeopathic products, they can purchase them directly mixed by a naturopath.


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## chattyprincess (Feb 24, 2009)

I have mentioned it before and I shall mention it again. Where are the blood tests on the children taken into er's and docs? Im sorry you cannot diagnosis a poisining from something if you are not even sure if its in the blood stream. I could say my daughter was in a home with lead paint and is exhibiting symptoms of lead poisining but in reality is teething horribly badly or had a bad stomach bug. Unless our doc does a blood test there is no PROOF that the lead paint is the problem or there is another culprit.

On top of that they were recalled based on SUSPECTED poisinings...not on ACTUAL posinings.

Just some food for thought.


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## [email protected] (Sep 7, 2010)

The tablets were supposed to be manufactured at 1:1000 strength, apparently enough to create an actual biological effect. The FDA did an analysis, and found that the tablets had variable amts of belladonna, some up to 16X more than reported in their manufacturing documents.

As parents, you can all choose to believe what you want. I think it's important to be aware that ultimately all companies can make errors. And once again, people can buy better controlled formulations from local practitioners.


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## [email protected] (Sep 7, 2010)

It's true, the kids evidenced signs/symptoms consistent w/ belladonna poisoning, and did not have their blood labs drawn (or at least reported). Poisoning can be obvious, though, and belladonna as the culprit was probably suspected after looking at several cases that presented similarly. I'm sure it took investigative work to discover the consistent factor among the cases called in to medwatch was that they all had taken Hyland's teething tablets.

Once again, for the safety of our kids, I think it's important to be a little cautious w/ all medicines we give our kids.


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## BathrobeGoddess (Nov 19, 2001)

Belladonna is a homeopathic remedy. I have some that my homeopath prescribed for me for my chronic sinus problems (along with a couple other things). Homeopathic belladonna isn't a drug in that it comes from a flower. The people at Hylands have been very accommodating and we even have a thread in this forum where they are answering parent concerns. Maybe posting your concerns there would be helpful.

http://www.mothering.com/community/forum/thread/1276659/hyland-s-teething-tablets-recall-information


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## MacKinnon (Jun 15, 2004)

Thanks Eden! I was going to post the same link to the thread about teething tablet's. Hyland's has been great about answering questions and concerns. I'm not very knowledgeable about homeopathy, but I'm sure they could help with concerns about the amounts of Belladonna.


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## leighi123 (Nov 14, 2007)

When ds was a baby, there was another baby in our local mom's group who got belladonna poisoning, he was given the amount on the bottle. They took him to the ER and he had all of the symptoms so he had a blood test and then tested the remaining tablets and they had a really high concentration of belladonna. So it was proven.

They didnt seem to do anything at all for ds, so we used clove oil instead.


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## [email protected] (Sep 7, 2010)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *BathrobeGoddess*
> 
> Belladonna is a homeopathic remedy. I have some that my homeopath prescribed for me for my chronic sinus problems (along with a couple other things). Homeopathic belladonna isn't a drug in that it comes from a flower. The people at Hylands have been very accommodating and we even have a thread in this forum where they are answering parent concerns. Maybe posting your concerns there would be helpful.
> 
> http://www.mothering.com/community/forum/thread/1276659/hyland-s-teething-tablets-recall-information


The fact that belladonna comes from a flower does not make it less of a drug. Many medications traditionally come from natural sources, but are pharmacologically active (ex. digitalis from foxtail, aspirin from willow bark). What makes a drug homeopathic is the dose. Homeopathy can use just about any substance, but it is made very, very dilute so that it is no longer an active pharmaceutical (ie. about the dilution of water).


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## BathrobeGoddess (Nov 19, 2001)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *[email protected]*
> 
> Belladonna (deadly nightshade). So they're not really homeopathic after all, since they contain a drug. And a toxic one at that. Anyway:
> 
> http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm230761.htm


Oh I was just addressing this in your first post... It sounded like you were saying that Belladonna is a drug in that it is artificial. MDC has a large audience and some might not know how homeopathic remedies are produced. I wanted to clarify that point.

I know that many on MDC are skeptical of the FDA and their motives...I mean NFL is hand in hand with alternative medicine and many members who support their children through illness with herbs and homeopathy instead of conventional Western medical practices. Everyone is allowed to have an opinion on this topic and respectful discuss is encouraged. I wouldn't presume to try and push my personal views on another parent. We all have tough choices to make and personal comfort zones. Peace.


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## chattyprincess (Feb 24, 2009)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *leighi123*
> 
> When ds was a baby, there was another baby in our local mom's group who got belladonna poisoning, he was given the amount on the bottle. They took him to the ER and he had all of the symptoms so he had a blood test and then tested the remaining tablets and they had a really high concentration of belladonna. So it was proven.
> 
> They didnt seem to do anything at all for ds, so we used clove oil instead.


No offense to yourself or to the mother this happened to. But besides word of mouth stories such as these I have never seen a TRUE medical report that says this. I refuse to believe people stories such as these without evidence to back them up. Its way to easy for people to exaggerate and to alter the truth. Lab reports are solid evidence, especially if they ran them more then once as the generally do to assure that the results of a baby being poisined is correct.


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## [email protected] (Sep 7, 2010)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *BathrobeGoddess*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> ...


Not really sure what you are trying to say here, but I don't believe that either of us is trying to push a view on others. I'm not against alternative medicine at all, and believe that patients have the choice to determine their remedies -- however, I saw the dosing issue as one of safety. No, my original comment referred to dose alone, since that is what determines whether a substance is a drug or homeopathic remedy.


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## MacKinnon (Jun 15, 2004)

I'm going to jump in with some mod-ly info and close this thread.

First, in keeping with the guidelines of the Family Safety forum, I'm going to remind everyone to please be respectful as we post, both of each other and of Hyland's.

Quote:


> In this forum, you will see discussions about specific products. We ask that you refrain from any comments that could be defamatory toward a manufacturer, individual or product. If you would like to take an activist position on a particular topic, please submit a call to action in our Activism forum. When posting recall notices, please make sure you are giving a credible source and provide links when possible. Commercial advertisement is not allowed in this forum.


Hyland's has been very accommodating in directly answering questions about their product. I would encourage anyone with concerns to post to that thread, located here. I understand and respect why people are concerned and want to be sure they are using a safe product.

Further discussion about what does or does not constitute a homeopathic remedy is really not an appropriate conversation for the Family Safety Forum.

We had (previous to the move) a stickied note directing conversation about the Teething Tablet recall to the thread linked to above. I am going to close this thread and ask that poster's with concerns please address them on the other thread. Please feel free to PM me with any questions

Many thanks for understanding!


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