FDA Bans Hyland's Homeopathic Teething Tablets

FDA Bans Hyland's Homeopathic Teething Tablets
The FDA is stealing your right to use safe products. Remember, the FDA says you have no right to health—and they mean it.

by Heidi Stevenson

20 October 2010

he FDA's goal of making the world safe for Big Pharma is made obvious by their attack on a product for which the possibility of harm is so far-fetched that it's laughable: Hyland's Homeopathic Teething Tablets. Well, it would be laughable if it weren't for the fact that an exceptionally safe product that's been used by thousands to ease their children's teething pains is now gone.

I was alerted to the ban on Hyland's Homeopathic Teething Tablets by JacQue Hawkins-Howard, who hoped that it wasn't true. Sadly, it is. JacQue's unsolicited testimonial for the product—"I use Hyland's products and their teething remedy. It was wonderful!"—isn't the FDA's concern. Their concern is that safe and effective products like it interfere with the sales of pharmaceuticals and the profits of doctors, because they don't see as much money from JacQue and other patients who successfully manage their own health.

Proof of the FDA's Dishonesty

In its attack on Hyland's, the FDA clearly stated:

The FDA has not evaluated Hyland’s Teething Tablets for safety or efficacy.
So, without any proof of any sort—not even an attempt to find any proof—the FDA decided that Hyland's Teething Tablets should be banned. They don't even provide any estimate as to the amount of the product that would have to be ingested to cause harm. That, of course, is because they don't care.

Not one shred of evidence is given that the product is dangerous, which isn't surprising, because it would take an incredible quantity to cause even the mildest adverse effect. Yet, the FDA panders to fear by suggesting that parents consult with a "health care professional if their child experiences symptoms such as seizures, difficulty breathing, lethargy, excessive sleepiness, muscle weakness, skin flushing, constipation, difficulty urinating, or agitation after using Hyland’s Teething Tablets."


They imply that children have been harmed because they've "received reports of children who consumed more tablets than recommended". Notice that they don't say how many, nor do they even try to indicate whether they've found any connection between the tablets and the possible symptoms. Here's why:

It would take ingestion of at least a thousand tablets by a ten-pound child to see even the first hint of a negative response. That's at least six bottles—and even this is an extremely conservative figure.
The FDA's Targeting of Belladonna

Many pharmaceuticals utilize a Belladonna derivative, atropine, as an antispasmodic. A typical potency is 0.4 - 0.8 milligrams per pill(1). In this form, it can be effective, but it also carries serious risks. In contrast, the amount of Belladonna in the Hyland's formulation is a mere 0.0002 milligrams per pill. A single pill of the pharmacy formulation is 2,000 to 4,000 times stronger!

Hyland's Homeopathic Teething Tablets Ingredients

Here is the full list, quoted from Hyland's website, of the banned product:

Formula: Calcarea Phosphorica 3X HPUS - supports dentition
Chamomilla 3X HPUS - for irritability
Coffea Cruda 3X HPUS - for wakefulness and diuresis
Belladonna 3X HPUS (0.0003% Alkaloids) - for redness and inflammation
In a base of Lactose (milk sugar) NF.(2)

Available in bottles of 125 quick dissolving tablets.
Calcarea phosphorica, Chamomilla, Coffea cruda, and Belladonna are all homeopathic preparations in the 3X (US scale) homeopathic potency. That means they have been diluted so that there is less than 1 molecule of each substance per thousand molecules of the solvent—and they're even less concentrated in the final product.

All of these ingredients, when taken at a high enough dose, can be poisonous. However, at this homeopathic potency, any suggestion of poisonous qualities is beyond absurd. One is more likely to die from drinking too much water than to suffer the tiniest amount of harm from this teething remedy.

FDA's Methods

The FDA's first method is intimidation. In the case of Hyland's Teething Tablets, they simply issue a warning to the public. They claimed that the product contains a "potentially toxic" agent, implied, without evidence, that it has caused harm to children, and claimed that an inspection showed "substandard control of the manufacturing operation", though they don't say what was wrong.

Most companies cannot afford the costs involved in fighting the FDA, so most do what Hyland's has done: They acquiecse. Naturally, they're hoping that will be the end of it—but history has not shown that to be the case. As has been happening to raw milk producers and distributors, once the FDA has you in their sights, your chances of survival are slim.

That, of course, is why the FDA goes after small companies and single products. For the most part, each action manages to slip under the public's radar, and most companies simply don't believe that they could be the next target. As a result, a mass movement against the FDA hasn't started...yet.

Another Attack on Your Health Freedom

Obviously, this is yet another attack on your health freedom. The FDA is targeting individual companies, picking them off one by one. Your health is the last thing on their agenda.

If your health were their concern, the FDA would go after the makers of products like the fake butter flavoring of most popcorns, which causes brochiolitis obliterans, a disease that steals people's breath, in employees of factories that make it. They took months to take any action against the battery egg manufacturers who poisoned dozens, and those two companies are still practicing without obstruction.

Instead, the FDA goes after raw milk and a harmless homeopathic compound that soothes teething babies and eases the stress it causes their families. There can be no doubt that the FDA is serving its masters, Big Pharma. The idea that the people are their masters is just so...quaint.