Kratom poisoning has been multiplied by 52 in six years as one turns to the opioid herbal alternative.

New research reveals that poison control received 682 calls to kratom exposures in 2017 – 52 times more than US centers received about the supplement in 2011, a new study finds.

Kratom has been falsely advertised as ranging from mood stabilization to relief of opioid withdrawals, but it is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Last year, the FDA warned that some substances in kratom were acting on the same receptors as opioid drugs. Yet, the substance is distributed unattended and no security tests required by the US government.

Yet, according to a new study from the Nationwide Hospital Children's Hospital, this substance has sickened hundreds of people, including several children and even weaned newborns.

The kratom powder comes from a tropical tree native to Southeast Asia (although it is now banned in several countries in the region) and its natural roots can mislead consumers into making them believe that this substance is much safer than it actually is.

"The idea that it is a natural alternative to other pain medications and that it is a plant and that it is natural is equal to without danger – it's not something we want people to think about, "said Henry Spiller, director of Ohio's poison control center.

"It's not because it's a plant that a large quantity will not put you in danger."

Kratom is not particularly well understood or studied closely, and that is where, Spiller says, much of the problem.

"There is not much information or real evidence about kratom," he says.

"This is no longer just anecdotal reddit and various things on the part of those who are trying it, but there is not much evidence of its risks and toxicity."

Redditors have relied on supplement websites and tobacco shops selling kratom and even advertising as an alternative to drugs to alleviate the painful symptoms of opioid withdrawal.

And despite the FDA's severe warning that kratom is not tested, regulated or safe, it seems to have become more and more popular among Americans.

In 2011, poison control centers in the United States received only 31 kratom related calls.

In 2017, agencies received 286 calls in one year.

"We went from tens to hundreds. If we get to thousands of people, I'm pretty sure someone will have to step in, like the Drug Enforcement Agency, "says Spiller.

Although the FDA and other health experts have paid special attention to the components of this substance, which resemble opioids, its other mechanisms are more often the cause of kratom intoxications.

Kratom is "what we call a" dirty drug ", says Spiller, which means" it does more than one thing ".

He says his main action is more similar to that of tramadol, a painkiller very different from opioids like OxyContin.

Both kratom and tramadol alter how the brain treats serotonin and norepinephrine.

& # 39; It causes tachycardia, restlessness and convulsions and it is a totally different picture than [people] think they're getting, says Spiller.

"It's a pain reliever but it's very different."

These are the main types of symptoms seen in poison control centers of kratom exposures.

But when people took kratom at very high doses, the effects of the substance on the mu opioid receptor became the dominant feature of their reactions.

Some people have slipped into coma or slowed or stopped breathing.

"It really goes in two different directions," says Spiller.

He was also surprised by the number of children and even infants exposed to kratom.

Between 2011 and 2017, there were 48 poison control center calls for children 12 years of age or younger who had contact with kratom.

Nearly 70% were under two years old, seven were newborns and five of them had withdrawal syndrome.

Their withdrawals were related to the opioid kratom alkaloids their mothers had used.

& # 39; C & # 39; was a surprising feature [of the study results] that I did not anticipate, "says Spiller.

Babies "go out with a surprise reflex," which means that they react as if they were alarmed when there is no trigger "and diarrhea".

"They're just newborns, they're not really working yet, but they're going into neonatal intensive care units instead of going home with mom the next day.

None of the babies seemed to have been permanently affected by kratom and they all survived, but it is too early to tell if they are likely to suffer the consequences later in life.

For adults, many exposures to kratom have ended badly.

More than 30% ended up in a hospital or other health facility, more than half had serious health problems and 11 died.

& # 39; If [kratom use] continues to rise as it presents itself, we will start seeing more and more people in emergencies and something needs to be done, "says Spiller.

"It's early, it's just the beginning and I hope it'll go away.

"But people need to know that it's not because it's a plant and that it's natural that it's safe."