Hyland's Teething Tablets - Important Info

Prior to today, I was a big fan of Hyland's Teething Tablets. (http://www.hylands.com/products/teething.php) Most mothers I have "met" in online forums both in Singapore and internationally sing praises about this wonderful product, which does wonders to relieve the crankiness and irritability of a teething infant or toddler. I have given this homeopathic product to DS when he was teething (he was horrible everytime he cut a tooth) and would always be amazed at how his crankiness would miraculously disappear. As such, I have recommended this product to quite number of mummies. I have even bought a new bottle of Hyland's Teething Tablets in anticipation of DD cutting her first tooth, just in case she doesn't take very well to teething, like her brother.

Well, after reading what one mother posted on the Baby Center board, DH and I discussed it and we decided NOT to give our children anymore Hyland's Teething Tablets. We're going to throw away the bottle that we bought for DD. Here's a summary of what the mother wrote on the Baby Center board, for those of you who do not wish to read it - essentially, this mother gave her infant son the recommended dose of Hyland's Teething Tablets and he got anticholinergic poisoning from it. In anticholinergic poisoning, the person may, for example, get delirious, hallucinate and have urinary retention. If medical care is not administered, death may result in severe poisoning.

For the record, I would like to say that I am a skeptic. I usually read what others write with a pinch of salt, especially if it's related to personal experience and not evidence-based. However, DH has read what this mother wrote and he says her description of her son's symptoms does accurately fit a case of anticholinergic poisoning. Some of you will know that DH is a medical toxicologist-in-training (that's why we're here in Denver!).

The reason why Hyland's Teething Tablets work is because they contain a substance called Belladonna. According to DH, Belladonna causes numbness, hence the tablets work to ease the discomfort caused by teething. However, in large doses, Belladonna can cause anticholinergic poisoning. Now, do note that the dosage stated on the product label of Hyland's Teething Tablets is NOT high enough to cause any sort of problems. However, there is no guarantee that there will not be any mistake in the manufacturing process, hence resulting in a higher amount of Belladonna present in the tablets. Hyland's Teething Tablets are manufactured in the US, and the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in the US does NOT regulate homeopathic products, Hyland's Teething Tablets being one of them. There is really no guarantee that the tablets contain the substances in the proportions stated on the label.

In addition, infants/toddlers may accidentally be overdosed on Hyland's Teething Tablets. I know that I am guilty of having given DS slightly more tablets than recommended on the bottle.

For those mummies who have used or are still using Hyland's Teething Tablets, it is really up to you whether you will continue to use it. I just wanted to highlight the hidden dangers of using this product, which I didn't give much thought to before. DH and I have decided not to use it anymore, even though it worked very well to ease DS's crankiness when he was teething.

I will follow up the case posted on the Baby Center board and post if the laboratory test results are out. I am also curious to know if the tablets in that bottle did contain more Belladonna than they were supposed to.