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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: 3, Informative) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday February 01 2017, @12:34PM

    by Phoenix666 (552) on Wednesday February 01 2017, @12:34PM (#461625) Journal

    I did a little checking to see if it's a case of mis-identifying herbs, since I know that there are some like water hemlock and cow parsnip that are commonly confused. It seems juice from the berries of black nightshade are used for toothache [dailykos.com], so that part makes sense. Black nightshade is native to the Americas and was safely consumed by natives before Europeans arrived. It's easily confused with deadly nightshade, though, which is probably what happened here.

    It does seem like peppermint or clove oil would be a better choice with babies, since it only takes a couple berries from deadly nightshade to kill a baby, whereas it would only sicken an adult.

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