Antifreeze chemicals discovered in America’s ‘favorite’ pediatric laxative

It’s America’s favorite laxative for kids. And pediatricians have been recommending it for years.

But now it looks like it’s too dangerous for them to even take.

New facts are coming to light about Miralax that are making many doctors change their minds about its safety. And that includes pediatricians who were telling parents to have their kids take it daily — sometimes for years.

And it isn’t only Miralax. This OTC drug comes in generic versions with the same active ingredient, one called PEG 3350 or polyethylene glycol 3350.

Believe it or not, Miralax was never approved for — or even tested in — children. But doctors still pumped out the scripts like it was as safe as milk and cookies.

Meanwhile, even the FDA says it’s only to be used by people over 17, and then, no longer than seven days.

But somewhere along the way it somehow became the solution to childhood constipation.

And that’s what makes this even more troubling.

We’ve just discovered critical information about this dangerous drug that the FDA has kept hidden for 7 years.

The agency received numerous reports of tremors, tics and obsessive-compulsive behavior in children taking Miralax. So back in 2009, the agency called a drug safety meeting.

The shocking results revealed two antifreeze poisons in it — an impurity, the FDA said, that came from the manufacturing process.

You don’t need the FDA, a bunch of doctors or a 7-year-old study to tell you that your kids shouldn’t be taking antifreeze, whether it comes from the manufacturing process or not.

Not for a year, not for a week, not even for a single day.

Sources:
“Scrutiny for laxatives as a childhood remedy” Catherine Saint Louis, January 5, 2015, The New York Times, nytimes.com