Hyland’s Baby Teething Tablets - Safety Information
First and foremost, the quality of homeopathic medicines manufacturing is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as required in the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The production of Hyland’s homeopathic medicines occurs within a validated process, as with any FDA-regulated drug, to ensure an accepted level of consistency in product output.
Hyland’s Teething Tablets contain homeopathically prepared forms of Calcarea Phosphorica, Chamomilla, Coffea Cruda, and Belladonna. These ingredients are all prepared in accordance with the Homeopathic Pharmacopœia of the United States (HPUS). HPUS has been recognized by the FDA since 1938 as the official compendium (or formula book) for homeopathic medicine in the U.S. When homeopathically prepared, active ingredients are diluted to the point that the risk of toxicity is extremely low (see specific details below).
Calcarea Phosphorica is included in Hyland’s Teething Tablets for its ability to support teeth formation. Chamomilla is included in the Tablets for its actions on irritability commonly associated with teething pain. Coffea Cruda is included in the Tablets for its actions on wakefulness and increased urination.
Belladonna is included in the Tablets to ease the redness, inflammation and discomfort of the child’s gum that often occurs during the teething process. Belladonna 12X HPUS is manufactured from the whole plant, of which a small portion is Belladonna alkaloids (the component sometimes associated with side effects). Each Teething Tablet (which weighs about 65 mg) is composed of 0.0000000000003% Belladonna alkaloids as stated on the label. As calculated, this means that each complete teething tablet contains only approximately 0.0000000000002 mg of Belladonna alkaloids.
The amount of Belladonna alkaloids in teething tablets is minuscule, especially when compared to conventional medicines that contain Belladonna alkaloids. To put the calculated amount of Belladonna in a Hyland’s Baby Teething Tablet into perspective, the 0.0000000000002 mg of Belladonna alkaloids is THOUSANDS OF TIMES below even the therapeutic amounts of Belladonna used in conventional anti-spasmodic medicines that doctors sometimes prescribe (0.2 to 5 milligrams of Belladonna alkaloids). The side effects (called anticholinergic side effects) sometimes caused by conventional medicines delivering more than 0.2 mg of Belladonna alkaloids – such as dry mouth, blurred vision and urinary retention – are not associated with homeopathic medicines because of their minute dosage.
To further clarify the homeopathic dosages of Belladonna in Baby Teething Tablets, a 10-pound child would have to accidentally ingest, all at the same time, more than a dozen bottles of 135 Baby Teething Tablets before experiencing even dry mouth from the product. Additionally, the body clears Belladonna alkaloids from any single dose in a matter of hours. Therefore, the Belladonna in the product would be very unlikely to build up in the system when taken as directed on the package label. Nonetheless, in the event of any accidental ingestion of a Hyland’s product, we encourage you to contact your own medical professional and/or poison control center immediately. Hyland's on-call pharmacists are also available to assist you and your doctor with product-related information.
Hyland’s Baby Teething Tablets have been safely used by millions of children since being introduced to the U.S. market in 1945!
Hyland's pharmacists str available around the clock (24 hours per day, 7 days per week) to provide emergency information related to any of our products. You can contact Hyland at 1-800-624-9659 (number also available on all packaging). You can be confident that a Hyland pharmacist can help parents and their doctors reach informed decisions regarding their products.
Please keep in mind that even if a child ate an entire bottle of homeopathic medicine, the minute total amount of active ingredients renders the chances of a medically serious anticholinergic toxicity effects highly unlikely. However, even with the very low doses of source materials that are in homeopathic medicines, extremely allergic individuals could experience acute allergic reactions to one or more ingredients.
Nonetheless, parents are understandably and rightfully cautious about their own child, so call Hyland anytime if you are concerned.
While adverse toxicity symptoms that may be attributed to an overdose of Belladonna alkaloids are well documented in the literature, the concentration necessary would require the ingestion of multiple bottles of Teething Tablets at once. As this is very unlikely, such symptoms could be due to any of a number of other causes (click here for more causes that could be explored).
Please do not hesitate to call 1-800-624-9659 and ask for Hyland's on-staff pharmacist to receive any additional information.
This information was taken from an article by Iris R. Bell, MD, PhD, Director of Scientific Affairs, Hyland's Inc.