In 2002, the two-year-old daughter of actor Jude Law attended a children's party at London's Soho House Club.
It was reported that while there, she swallowed a pill she’d found on the floor— which turned out to be ecstasy left over from an event the previous evening.
She was rushed to a hospital, where she reportedly had her stomach pumped. She was later declared okay, and was released the next day.
As scary as that incident was, it turns out that poison control centers in the U.S. get a call every 24 minutes regarding overexposure to not only illicit drugs — although they get plenty of those — but also to dietary supplements.
A new study reveals that 70 percent of those calls are about kids 6 and younger accidentally ingesting a supplement, most often energy-enhancing products and yohimbe.
Yohimbe is available as a standardized prescription drug for erectile dysfunction. And that's a different product than over-the-counter yohimbe, which claims to boost performance, aid weight loss, and cure high blood pressure, diabetic neuropathy, and impotence.
According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, yohimbe is associated with heart attacks, arrhythmia, and hypertension, stomach problems, anxiety and seizures.
Here’s what you need to do.
1. Adults, avoid OTC yohimbe and steer clear of most energy supplements, which can trigger increased heart rate, headaches, and mood changes. In kids, they can cause heart and breathing problems, even seizures.
2. When buying any supplement, look for a seal from U.S. Pharmacopeia, NSF, ConsumerLab.com or UL indicating that the ingredients have been verified.
3. Place all supplements in childproof bottles.
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