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posted by mrpg on Wednesday February 01 2017, @07:14AM   Printer-friendly
from the parents-these-days dept.

Beth Mole at ArsTechnica has an article about the levels of belladonna in homeopathic teething products made by Hyland's:

After investigating reports that more than 400 babies were sickened and 10 died in connection with homeopathic teething products, the Food and Drug Administration confirmed Friday that it had indeed found elevated levels of the toxic substance, belladonna, in the products.

Belladonna, also known as deadly nightshade, was the prime suspect of the investigation from the beginning, which Ars reported about last fall. Nevertheless, the products' maker, Hyland's, would not agree to recall the products when it was notified of the FDA's conclusion, the agency reported

In a response to Ars, Hyland's has acknowledged that there are some inconsistencies in the amount of belladonna in its products, but the company said that it has not seen any evidence from the FDA indicating that the elevated levels were toxic or excessive. [...]The FDA said it had found inconsistent amounts of belladonna in Hyland's products. Some of the amounts were "far exceeding" what was intended.

[...] As before, the FDA is urging parents to avoid the homeopathic teething products and toss any already purchased. The FDA does not evaluate or approve the homeopathic products, which have no proven health benefit.

Also: Hylands FAQ about the discontinuation.


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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 01 2017, @10:00AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 01 2017, @10:00AM (#461606)

    No, it isn't easy to be sure about these poisonings. Lots of things can lead to similar symptoms. Also, the people using this product are no doubt doing all sorts of non-fda approved things unusual for the population in general, and this population is enriched for groups with certain socioeconomic and genetic attributes. I can tell you that is true without checking TFA on this specific topic because... it always is! Your science training has failed you.

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  • (Score: 2) by jdavidb on Wednesday February 01 2017, @05:18PM

    by jdavidb (5690) on Wednesday February 01 2017, @05:18PM (#461701) Homepage Journal

    It's also not clear if the people involved were using the product according to the directions, or were giving their kids these pills like rats on a saccharine study. The FDA really isn't releasing a whole lot of actual scientific data, here - just making pronouncements. For what it's worth, as a result of what the FDA said about this last year, Hyland's stopped selling in the US (they still sell in the rest of the world), so it's a bit overblown to complain that they haven't recalled it. Sure, there's still some out there, but it isn't going to last forever.

    Also for what it's worth, the FDA has previously taken products for infants off the market simply because they felt parents wouldn't follow the directions, which really isn't fair to those of us who do in fact follow directions.

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