The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a major product recall for Hyland's homeopathic teething tablets Thursday, April 13. The reason stated for the major recall is that the company had mislabeled the products regarding the amount of belladonna alkaloids contained in the product.
Previous Warning
Just last year, the FDA released a statement warning parents of the possible adverse effects of homeopathic teething tablets and gels, which include seizures, muscle weakness, lethargy, and difficulty or slowed breathing.
What's more, the FDA has since been investigating cases of infant deaths that could possibly be linked to the use of such products.
Despite these warnings, however, many parents still opt to use the tablets and gels to ease their young children's teething pains.
Now, FDA's new announcement is no longer a warning, but an announcement that Standard Homeopathic Company is conducting a major recall of two specific products, Hyland's Baby Teething Tablets and Hyland's Baby Nighttime Teething Tablets.
The major recall that is currently pulling all stocks of the said product from shelves across the country is due to FDA's findings that the products contain amounts of belladonna alkaloids that are inconsistent with the calculated amount on the labels.
The FDA suggests contacting a healthcare provider if they believe that their child has experienced adverse symptoms after using the product.
What Is Belladonna?
Belladonna is a plant that is native in Europe, North Africa, and parts of Asia, and its berries were once ingested by women in Italy to enlarge their pupils, hence giving them a striking appearance.
Ominously nicknamed "deadly nightshade" and "the devil's berry," Atropa Belladonna is a poisonous plant that is unsafe to use when taken orally, as it contains chemicals that are considered to be toxic to the human body especially to children and small animals.
Symptoms of toxic oral ingestion include enlarged pupils, blurred vision, inability to sweat and urinate, dry mouth, skin redness, fever, mental problems, coma, spasms, convulsions, and hallucinations.
Though oral ingestion of Belladonna is quite unsafe, it is still regarded as a useful medicinal plant, and is used as sedative, as an aid for asthma and whooping cough sufferers, as a fever remedy, and as a painkiller.
It is also used in ointments for rheumatism, sciatica, and neuralgia, and in plasters to help treat excessive sweating and certain psychiatric disorders.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) stresses that there is still not enough scientific information to specify the safe dosage of belladonna, and suggest consulting a healthcare professional before using the product.
