FDA Warns Parents of Teething Aid Safety Concerns
The FDA is warning parents against using some teething medicines with numbing agents. They have also asked that manufacturers stop selling these potentially harmful products.
According to WNEM, the Food and Drug Administration is warning about teething medicine that contains benzocaine. These products are typically in a gel or cream and marketed to babies. Benzocaine can cause rare but deadly side effects in children, especially those two and under.
The FDA has been warning parents about these products for over a decade, but the illnesses and deaths have continued. Since there is little evidence that these products are even effective, the FDA is asking that they are removed from store shelves. According to WNEM, if companies do not voluntarily remove these products, the FDA is prepared to take legal action.
The ingredient benzocaine is found in many over the counter products besides children's teething medicine. You will also find it in products for cold sores or teeth aches for adults. The side effects have not been a problem for adults, and those products will remain available.