A baby has narrowly avoided death after her mother gave her too much Bonjela to soothe her teething pains.
Jessica Vermunt was putting the recommended doctor's dosage of Bonjela gel on her seven-month-old daughter Athena's mouth before she was rushed to Auckland's Starship Hospital.
'I am currently in Starship Hospital with my seven-month-old baby who was literally minutes from dying after having too much Bonjela,' Ms Vermunt wrote in a parenting group on Facebook.
'The active ingredient in Bonjela will turn your babies blood ACIDIC and cause complete renal failure.'
Ms Vermunt said Athena was in pain over a few days which is why she kept using the gel.
'She kept screaming at us. Over a period of a few days I slowly gave her a bit more,' she told nzherald.co.nz.
The pair were at the doctor's four hours before Athena stopped breathing and responding to anything.
Athena was sedated and put onto a breathing machine while the doctors did blood infusions and transfusions.
'They diagnosed her with salicylate overdose. Salicylate is the active ingredient in Bonjela,' Ms Vermunt told the publication.
She admits to using to using the gel 'more than normal' but said the point was to warn other parent's to be careful of what the gel could do.
'I'm aware that she had more than normal but the point remains that this has the potential to kill your child and there is no real information or warnings about the severity of it,' Ms Vermunt continued.
'The doctor was aware of the amount of Bonjel she was having and didn't think it was of concern at all.
'That is because even the doctors hadn't been informed how dangerous this product is.'
Ms Vermunt linked the incident to case in the UK where in 2009 a total ban of the product was issued for anyone under the age of 16.
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She said Bonjela was banned from the shelves until the active ingredient choline salicylate was removed.
The United Kingdom Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) based their decision on a case report published in the British Medical Journal in June 2008.
They found a 20-month-old child had a suspected case of Reye's syndrome following the use of Bonjela.
Further investigations concluded that it would not cause Reye's syndrome but symptoms were more likely due to salicylate toxicity from the overuse of gels.
The MHRA then concluded the use of this product should not be used by anyone under the age of 16.
The medicine's supplier, Reckitt Benckiser, said it was trying to contact Ms Vermunt to investigate the case.
'I'm begging you, if you do use Bonjela for your baby please please please the smallest amount as little as possible,' Ms Vermunt said.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Bonjela for comment.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
