Sola Ogundipe
2 December 2008
The feeling one gets as one holds a bottle of My Pikin Baby Teething Mixture does not arouse suspicion or doubt. Even if its clear, liquid content looks deceptively innocuous, the light brown white-capped 100ml bottle is certainly attractive. On its yellow and orange label is the picture of a happy mother with her smiling baby.
The pack bears all the relevant dosage instructions, warnings, manufacturer's address and level of contents. The batch number, manufacturing/expiry dates as well as the NAFDAC registration number are clearly marked.
Not only does the brand come highly recommended, it is sold at registered and accredited drug outlets manned by qualified and experienced personnel. On the whole, the label bears all the pointers of a quality and genuine product, and one could be pardoned for concluding it is harmless.
On the contrary, events of the last couple of weeks have proved beyond doubt that there is indeed danger afoot. My Pikin Baby Teething Mixture and perhaps other yet-to-be known brands of infant teething mixtures and medicines.
From hindsight, the medication is very popular. Several nursing mothers and medical personnel recognise it as an effective remedy for the relief of infant teething problems, cough, pain, restlessness and fever symptoms. Even experts say the effectiveness of My Pikin Baby Teething Mixture is attributable to the composition of its active ingredients.
Each 5ml of the mixture contains 120 mg of paracetamol, the choice pain relieving drug, and 6.25 mg of Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride - an antihistamine. In syrup formulations, Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride is excellent for symptomatic relief of perennial, seasonal allergic reactions, as a nighttime sleep aid, and management of cough from colds or allergy.
But laboratory analysis by NAFDAC revealed that the deadly batch of the teething mixture was laced with lethal doses of a highly toxic chemical. The poisonous drug - Diethylene glycol - is often used by drug counterfeiters as a component of cough syrup, toothpaste and mouth wash.
The substance, has also been found to have acute toxicity, and adverse effects combined with its sweet taste which raises the risk of poisoning, particularly in children.
Basically, Diethylene glycol is an organic solvent. It is a sweet, viscous liquid which upon metabolic conversion becomes oxalic acid, which is toxic to the kidney. The compound is used in the production of polyurethane, unsaturated polyester resins and triethylene glycol.
It is also used as a textile softener, in petroleum solvent extraction, in the dehydration of natural gas, as a plasticizer, in surfactants and as a solvent for nitrocellulose, resins, dyes, oils and many other organic compounds. It is used as a humectant for tobacco, cork, printing ink and glue.
It is also used in casein, in synthetic sponges and paper products, in bookbinding adhesives, as a dyeing assistant, in cosmetics, in antifreeze solutions, in lacquers, in lubricants and in brake fluids.
Typical symptoms of Diethylene glycol poisoning include nausea and vomiting.
Others are headache, narcosis, cyanosis, tachycardia, hypotension, stupor, prostration, hypoglycemia and unconsciousness. Exposure can cause muscle tenderness, pulmonary oedema, convulsions and death.
It can also cause degenerative changes in the kidneys and liver, central nervous system depression, nephrotoxicity, abdominal pain, weakness, respiratory failure, cardiovascular collapse, acute renal failure and brain damage.
Essentially the eyes, skin, respiratory tract, central nervous system, liver, and kidneys. On the short term, it irritates the eyes, skin and respiratory tract. It may cause effects on the central nervous system, liver, and kidneys and may result in unconsciousness. On the long term, it causes kidney failure and certain death.
Clinically, Diethylene glycol has low acute toxicity, but its adverse effects combined with its sweet taste raises the risk of poisoning, particularly in children. As a result of its adverse effects on humans, diethylene glycol is not allowed for use in food and drugs.
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