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Top doctor gives advice to parents after baby overdoses on teething product Bonjela

May 1, 2019

The baby is in Auckland’s Starship Hospital fighting for her life.

A Ministry of Health doctor says Bonjela is safe to use after a baby was left fighting for her life in hospital due to an overdose on the product.

Bonjela is a product that many Kiwi parents reach for in the middle of the night when their young one is teething.

Jessica Vermunt rushed her baby to Hawke's Bay Hospital on Tuesday after an overdose of the product before they were flown to Auckland's Starship Hospital intensive care unit.

Ms Vermunt then posted a warning to other parents on Facebook after the incident.

"I'm aware that she [the baby] 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," her post reads.

Speaking to Seven Sharp the Ministry of Health's Clinical Chief Advisor Dr Juliet Rumball-Smith says Bonjela is safe when used properly.

"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.

Dr Rumball-Smith says that as with any medication there are risks.

"There is a certain amount you can have within a given time-frame and the salicylate in Bonjela you can have too much of."
 

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