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123RF
A mother begs other parents to realize the dangers of freezing her mouth after her baby nearly died Tuesday.
One mother said her baby was "barely dying" after she gave him too much gel for the mouth.
Jessica Vermunt was flown to Starship Hospital in Auckland on Saturday after giving too much to her daughter, Bonjela, a gel used to soothe babies with teeth.
At the hospital, she was sedated and put on a respirator while doctors were doing blood perfusions and transfusions, Vermunt said.
On Tuesday, Vermunt posted on a Facebook Facebook page "asking" other parents to use as little as possible, and as little as possible.
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"I am aware that she [the baby] had more than normal, but the fact remains that it could kill your child and that there is no information or real warning on its seriousness, "said the post.
"The active ingredient in Bonjela will turn your baby's blood into acid and cause complete kidney failure."
Bonjela is aware of the incident and is trying to contact the mother to understand what exactly happened, a spokeswoman said.
All Bonjela products in Australia and New Zealand are carefully reviewed and approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, the regulator for safety and efficiency, she said.
"As with all medications, parents should use teething gels and mouth ulcers only in accordance with the instructions on the package and should consult a health care professional if they have any concerns.
"In the meantime, we send our best wishes to the infant for a speedy recovery."
Oral gels like Bonjela Mouth Ulcer Gel and Ora-sed contain choline salicylate, which relieves mouth ulcers and sore mouth. The gels containing this ingredient attracted attention in 2009 when the United Kingdom's Commission for Human Medicines recommended using these types of products.
In 2009, Dr. Stewart Jessamine, former head of the Medsafe group, said these products were safe when people were using it at the recommended dose.
"These products have been used in New Zealand for over 30 years and to date, the Adverse Reaction Monitoring Center (ADM) has reported no adverse effects," Jessamine said.
The approved dose of the gel in New Zealand consisted of "applying a small amount of gel", such as the tip of the index, to the affected area "at most every three hours when necessary to relieve pain and the discomfort badociated with the infant's teething, "he said.
The decision to prohibit people under 16 years of age from using these gels is based on a report from the British Medical Journal published in June 2008, which describes an alleged case of Reye's syndrome in a child who had used Bonjela's oral gel, he said.
Reye's syndrome is a rare disease that causes swelling of the liver and brain. It mainly affects children and adolescents recovering from viral infections such as influenza.
Aspirin has been linked to the disease.
After a review however, the case was not considered Reye's syndrome but rather due to the toxicity of salicylate resulting from excessive use of the gel, Jessamine said.
Medsafe did its own badysis and found no evidence linking Reye's syndrome to the use of mouth gels containing choline salicylate, he said.
"The Medsafe review however revealed that the recommended dose of these products is sometimes exceeded," Jessamine said.
Between 2002 and 2009, the New Zealand Poison Center received 279 calls for the use of this type of oral gel in children.
The National Poison Center of New Zealand reported receiving inquiries regarding 198 patients aged less than one to six years, regarding the exposure to teething gels, from August 2016 to April 2019.
Of these 198, 45 patients were referred for medical follow-up for various reasons. The rest did not require treatment or home care.
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