If you?re looking for baby teething gels at the pharmacy, you may be surprised by what you find?and don?t find?in stock. Orajel, Little Teethers, Anbesol and other popular infant teething gels that contain the anesthetic benzocaine have quietly been pulled from store shelves in Canada.
The concern with the products is a rare but serious condition called methemoglobinemia, which results in low oxygen levels in the blood. In 2013, Health Canada told the companies that make teething gels with benzocaine to include label warnings about the risks of methemoglobinemia.
In the U.S., these products were banned outright for children under two by the Food and Drug Administration, back in May 2018.
But so far, there hasn?t been an official recall in Canada, and Health Canada won?t say why the whole class of products seems to have disappeared from stores. The manufacturers that we spoke to would only confirm they were no longer for sale in Canada. ?It?s a good thing that these products have been withdrawn from the marketplace,? says Nardine Nakhla, a pharmacist who teaches about over-the-counter medications at the University of Waterloo. ?All the evidence suggests that there is no need for a gum-numbing agent, especially in light of the fact that there are significant safety concerns.?
She worries, however, that because there has been no information released to the public, parents may now inadvertently choose the more potent, and more dangerous, adult versions of these products. The ...