Thoughts on Belladonna in Teething Tablets?

The Hyland's brand is a *homeopathic* remedy. It does not actually contain the belladonna in it. It contains the energy from the plant that is obtained from putting a drop in water and shaking a certain number of times, then putting a drop of that solution in a new amount of water, shaking a certain number of times, etc. By doing this, you get the energy of the plant, but not the chemical.

I cannot explain how it is that homeopathics work, but they work.

Adding on here: Homeopaths are the safest thing you can use, because they only contain the energy from the substance. Tylenol can damage the liver (it damaged mine in only one dose) and motrin can damage the kidneys. There are no side affects from homeopaths, other than a possible allergy to the milk base that they are in to make them taste good and keep them in tiny pills.

My son got into my entire Hyland's kit when he was a baby, and ate every single one of the "pills" - that's probably over 8 bottles in the "kids kit". Nothing ever happened. He didn't seem any different, and poison control said that it wouldn't do a thing to him. That is one of the reasons I prefer to use homeopaths when I can - because they are so safe. If he would have gotten into that much tylenol, we would have been at the ER, clinging to life.

With homeopathics, it is not just "diluted" but actually no physical part of the substance is present. It is only the molecular energy of the substance, the vibration (electro magnetic), and not the actual substance itself.
Therefore, it is perfectly safe.

I've taken hylands myself, once, at the correct dose for my weight. WOW... talk about high as a kite. Hallucinations, euphoria, numbness... sheesh. Of course since there are neurotoxins, hallucinogens, & euphorics in hylands, it shouldn't have come as a surprise... but man oh man... I'd do whiskey & sugar before I'd give my kids their teething tablets. It's no wonder they work so *well*.

Hylands is a company that has been around for years, and they follow the HPCUS standards very stringently. They've been dealing with this rumor for a while, here's a link to their response to the issues with people saying belladonna in the product is causing adverse effects:
http://www.hylands.com/news/teethinginfo.php

I used a midwife and a naturopath for pregnancy and post-partum care, never once have either of them expressed concerns about homeopathic remedies. Think about it, if you're nursing, you could eat something that doesn't affect you at all, but does a number on your baby (I've had lots of people say eating anything garlicky made their baby have a night of suffering)... so there's potential for reactions all the time.

We've used Hylands teething and colic tablets with both our girls, and have never had any adverse effects. With my older daughter when the Hylands didn't do the trick (after her initial 4 teeth) I made a remedy with glycerin and clove oil. That definitely worked. You can find recipes online for the right portions. I also highly recommend chamomile to help a teething babe feel soothed (which is another ingredient in the teething tablets, but you can also make a diluted tea if your baby is over a certain age and can drink from a sippy).

Once I was feeling very bloated and took what I thought was 8 of the colic tablets, but afterwards realized they were the teething tablets (the bottles are the same) and had zero effects from it. I think Riley is being creative. Although, I do have to admit, those colic tablets have helped me big time with bloated tummy feeling and zero side effects! I have a friend who takes them regularly for herself.

It's perfectly safe. The amount of the herbs in the teething tablets is incredibly small (think a drop of it in a pool of water, it' that diluted). In fact skeptics of homeopathic remedies claim that it's so dilute that it's impossible for it to do what it claims to. It does work though and I've had great results using the Hyland's products. I've also had a child that consumed an entire bottle of a Hyland's product and poison control said that they love getting calls about homeopathic remedies because they known they shouldn't hurt the child.

I used them a lot with my older son. he really dragged out the teething and i could only handle so much comfort nursing and it's certainly not safe to give him motrin for weeks at a time.
I heard one horror story, on a message board I was a member of. I believe the story, and it was scary. But for me, it was just a side affect to be aware of and not ignore. The child got belladonna poisoning, was wide awake, pupils dilated...basically "tripping."
Of course the cdc doesn't like the homeopathics because they aren't regulated like other drugs, but we can't really pretend like there hasn't ever ever been a problem with drugs that *are* regulated.
I've heard of a lot more bad reactions to formula or peanuts or shellfish. There are no guarantees about how a child will react to anything. You just have to decide if the risk is big enough to you. For me, the risk seemed so incredibly small and I really needed something to help us thru those endless nights.

I used them with both of my kids without incident. I felt they were safer than orajel, Tylenol, or Motrin! The amounts of herbs used are very small. With any medication I always use just half of the recommended dose and usually no more is needed. Why use more than you have to? I also know an 11 year old that ate a whole bottle of them when he was 1 and nothing ever came of it, nor were his doctors too concerned given the amounts and naturally occurring ingredients.

P.S. I've taken them as well as other hyland's meds and never felt anything even slightly weird just calm and relief of symptoms. And I don't know why some people knock natural healing, our bodies aren't made of Tylenol, motrin, or other non-natural products. Medical mistakes and medications are among the leading causes of death in our country! It's silly to say "would you use poison ivy? It's natural". There are many natural substances you shouldn't use, but many that are safe and effective. Talk to a trained homeopath or naturopath of you have questions not an MD or other moms, they and we are not trained in this field of knowledge!

Homeopathics are wonderful, but they don't always work for everyone. To answer your question, yes the amount of Belladonna in the tablets is very safe and the process it's gone through changes the characteristics. Like lima beans, once cooked they are safe to eat, but raw, they contain arsenic and can be poisonous if too many are consumed.

Anyway, one thing you should watch out for is mixing homeopathic remedies. If you are using this, do not use any others in conjunction. Too many and you can risk side effects if you don't know what you are doing.

The Hyland's didn't work for my daughter when she was a baby, so I went to an aromatherapist and she developed a teething oil that worked wonders. It contains clove oil, chamomile oil, peppermint oil and grapefruit seed extract as the active ingredients and it works wonders for cutting pain, calming your child and relieving inflammation. Plus it works instantly without toughening the gums like orajel will.

http://www.punkinbutt.com/punkin-butt-teething-p-1893.html

You can find it on my website at the link above. I also sell the Hyland's products as they do work wonders for some people. We carry teething necklaces that help ease pain. I even use them when my babies have earaches to help ease their pain!

I have small samples of thhe teething oil if you would like to try the teething oil for free.

Good luck in finding a solution!
A.
www.punkinbutt.com

I see you've already made your decision, but I get wonderful results with no side effects and no risk from homeopathic remedies, and they work well for about 80% of people who try them.

Homeopathics contain none of the original substance (or perhaps an infinitesimally small amount – perhaps a few molecules – in the 3X strength in teething tablets). They are completely different from herbal remedies, which contain measurable amounts of the active substance. Instead, they work by carrying the energy signature of the substance, which provokes a healing response in the body.

Sounds pretty woo-woo to my scientific background, but I originally tried it on the advice of an M.D., and was amazed that it worked amazingly well in spite of my deep reservations. Homeopathy is now my go-to remedy for hay fever or hives; instant results with absolutely no side effects. Also for bruises and sprains. Great stuff.

(Well, I suppose idiosyncratic reactions are possible, but I've known lots of people who use other remedies containing belladonna, and have never before heard a story like Riley's. I'll have to go try that! And I had to chuckle over the doctor's comment that poison ivy is natural but has no medical uses. It's actually used in the remedies I have used for sports injuries and arthritis, because it reduces inflammation.)

Modern drugs incorporate deadly substances in controlled amounts to good effect. Of course these are not things you'd want to mess with on an amateur basis, but both botulism (botox) and foxglove (digitalis), and a shellfish toxin that paralyzes, for example, are widely used and usually safe and beneficial in the small doses used.

This form of belladonna is a homeopathic form...which means that there is almost an indistinguishable amount of the herb actually in the substance...so small that it is nearly indetectable & not harmful in the least bit.

I asked my doctor about this same thing when my son was first starting to teethe. She said she didn't recommend it, because there was no regulation or approval required for homeopathic remedies. I have also heard from almost everyone that they are wonderful, and it is ridiculous not to use them. That is what one person told me when I told her what my doc said when she kept pushing them on me- "that's just ridiculous!" Ok, like I am going to listen to my neighbor who put old mascara on her baby's eyes "just to see what it would look like" over my pediatrician? I don't think so. I decided not to give it. I'm sure the risk is slight, and yes, there is risk in everything. But I am pretty careful what I put into my baby. My sister's doctor also told her the same thing. I was very interested to read what Riley wrote. I might just have to try that. I guess that is a pretty good rule of thumb- don't put anything into your baby that you don't try first yourself.

I used the Highland Teething Tablets, and actually had an incident where my son got into them when he was a little over 1 year old and ate many. I called the Poison Control Center because I was worried about the belladonna, too, and they actually looked it up and he would have to eat the entire bottle, times two, to even BEGIN to have even any MILD adverse reactions. So, I guess what I am saying is that, yes, it's an ingredient, but in a microscopic amount (no where near "therapeutic" levels for belladonna generally) and you should not worry or hesitate to use the product.

Many of you are totally right that homeopathics are extremely diluted and contain no chemical. But if you read your labels you will find an asterick next to homeopathic belladonna, the note with it states that the homeopathic version of belladonna still contain small amounts of alkaloids. Unlike, other homeopathic remedies there are certain alkaloids that can not be fully removed nor can their dosing and mixing be done consistently. The alkaloids in belladonna are atropine, scopolamine, and hyoscyamine. They cause serious side effects including acute pyschosis, seizure, and coma.
This happened to my daughter, not from Hyland's teething tablets, but from using Bioron's Cold Calm. She went into an acute state of pychosis with a mild seizure to start it all off for over 24 hours. All other possibilties have been ruled out in her case. The FDA is recommending that all Hyland's tablets be thrown out, and that parents do not give their children belladona. Many states have already pulled the product from their shelves. The studies site that inconsistency in the dosing and mixing of the compounds are the reason for the poisoning that has occurred. The FDA will now be researching Bioron's Cold Care. Do not trust everything. I am a huge supporter of alternative medicine, and will continue to use many homeopathic and herbal remedies. My daughter has only been on antibiotics once in her life, and I haven't been on any prescription or non-natural medicines since in 8 years. I know why homeopathic dilution is safe, and I didn't want to believe that my daughter was hospitalized from the use of a product from a company I fully trusted. The 100% truth is that she did, and she could have dies. My five year old hallucinated and suffer many other symptoms of alkaloid poisoning for over 24 hours. It was the most scary thing I have ever seen, and I never want another parent to experience this with their child. Please do more research on this than just the blogs if you, or a family member uses homeopathic belladonna. You won't be sorry you did it. Get your info for yourselves and not the blogs......FOR THE SAFETY OF YOUR CHILDREN.

I used Hyland's Teething tablets throughout my daughters teething and never experienced a problem. The belladonna is in such a small amount that you'd need to take 2 entire bottles to overdose on it.

Meg .... we used Hyland's teething tablets for our son and they worked wonders! No adverse reactions whatsoever. I do recommend them. My daycare provider recommended them to us and we were so happy she did!

Never heard of it but don't have teething children in house now. I have read the replies and see the verdict is mixed on the use of this, I would say follow your heart.

Hello,
You may have received your answer by now. Whay might help yo to know is that hylander products, or at least the one I'm aware you are talking about are based on homeopathy. The amount of belladonna in the product is so minute it is not hazardous. I actually gave one of my children a homeopathic of belladonna alone. Again, the amount of the actual plant that is in a homeopathic solution is very, very, very small.
When it came right down to it, having twins, and finding that the natural remedies didn't give them pain relief. As much as I believe in natural remedies and a wholistic approach, I succombed to motrin. AND we were all the better for it :)

Nothing is perfectly safe. Your child may be the 1/1,000,000 that has a reaction.

Please keep in mind that most products are never studied on children because of the concern of what happens when something goes wrong. Herbal products are NOT FDA approved and likely not registered with the FDA despite being able to purchase them from reputable companies.

As a doctor (from Seattle, Dan Diamond) mentioned at a recent conference in regard to patient's wishes for natural products: poison ivy is natural - what are you going to use that for?
Including a link for a physician's perspective on using herbal supplements and alternative medications:
http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2010/02/alternative-herbal-me...

As adults we can make the decisions to use these products ourselves, our children don't have a say.

I was recommended these by a friend and before giving them to my daughter decided to take the recommended dosage myself just to make sure it tasted okay and didn't make me feel wierd. within minutes i felt slightly stoned and was having some strange nerve spasms/sensations in my legs. (something that i have also experienced the two times i smoked pot in college) i found this disconcerting, so i read the package more closely and was shocked to see "belladonna" on the label because i know that is a poisonous plant in larger quantities. apparently it has some psychotropic qualities in smaller amounts. i was not comfortable with giving my baby something that might make her feel stoned in light of my own body's reaction to the pill and decided to not to give her these. i know many people have recommended these and swear by them but i did not end up giving them to my daughter because of this experience. Something very important to remember is that just because something is natural doesn't mean it is safe or free of side effects. even in very small quantities, belladonna is a powerful drug.

belladonna: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patie...

http://www.ehow.com/about_###-###-####_risks-teething-tab...

In the homeopathic form there is no actual plant material left.

I used Calms Forte and found it really worked. It is a homeopathic combination. The other thing that really worked was Orris Root on a ribbon.
It is the root of the Florentine Iris and soothed the baby's gums.
Belladonna is a remedy for a sick child and should be saved for the uses it really covers. As a general rule I do not use combination homeopathics with the exception of Calms.
I prefer to use a specific remedy for the illness and the symptoms a person has. For that go on line and see if you can get a used copy of Dr. Barry Rose's book. It will help your skills in using homeopathy.