Parents of baby hospitalised after Bonjela overdose say health professionals were aware of amount being used

The parents of a baby who was left fighting for her life in hospital after a Bonjela overdose appeared on Seven Sharp to warn others after their "frightening experience".

Jessica Vermunt rushed baby Athena to Hawke's Bay Hospital last Tuesday after the overdose, before they were flown to Auckland's Starship Hospital intensive care unit.

"She was unresponsive and like a deathly grey, barely breathing, it was the most frightening thing I've ever been through," Ms Vermunt says.

The parents say they had been to two different doctors with Athena in the week leading up to the overdose and even saw a doctor just six hours before she was hospitalised.

Ms Vermunt and her partner Eddie say doctors were "well aware" of how they had been using Bonjela to treat what they thought was a teething problem.

Ms Vermunt says the amount of Bonjela used was "quite a lot over the space of a few days, I think the most over the 24-hour period was close to a tube."

She says Bonjela was the only thing that seemed to calm Athena down and when asking for advice health professionals said "it's just Bonjela it's fine."

When asked for a response to some online criticism of their parenting skills Ms Vermunt replied: "As a parent you do whatever you can to keep your baby safe, healthy and comfortable, we thought we were doing what is best under medical advice given."

Now, Athena's parents want Bonjela to offer clearer warnings with their product so no other family has to go through the same ordeal.

Athena has recovered from the overdose and is back to her happy self.

Last week the Ministry of Health's Clinical Chief Advisor Dr Juliet Rumball-Smith appeared on Seven Sharp to talk about the best way to use Bonjela on teething infants.

"Bonjela is a safe and effective medication to help your baby through teething provided that you use it according to the instructions on the box.

"That is, a fingernail worth, with no more than six of those doses in a 24-hour period and you want there to be a three-hour gap between those doses," Dr Rumball-Smith says.