Does chamomile have the same potential to cause methemoglobinemia as benzocaine orajel

On the 21st of November 2013 Vashra asked me about the potential of chamomile to cause methemoglobinaemia, apparently the same effect produced by benzocaine/orajel. Well, I always love to help, but my free time is nearly null, and now with a child making me change nappies and feed him every 2 to 3 hours, is ever more complicated. Nevertheless, I want to maintain the blog as active as possible and I am now using a few moments of my paternity leave to read a little more about what is bugging my readers brains. For starters, let me assume my ignorance and state that there are a lot of things here I am not familiar with, thus I decided to learn about them to make a little sense before thinking of researching adequate answers. 

Methemoglobinaemia - "is a blood disorder in which an abnormal amount of methemoglobin -- a form of hemoglobin-- is produced. Hemoglobin is the molecule in red blood cells that distributes oxygen to the body. Methemoglobin cannot release oxygen. In methemoglobinemia, the hemoglobin is unable to release oxygen effectively to body tissues." [1]

Benzocaine -  "Benzocaine is a local anesthetic (numbing medication). It works by blocking nerve signals in your body. " [2]

Orajel - a pharmaceutical used in adult and child oral care to counteract pain generated by infection and/or teething. [3]

So basically what Vashra wants to ask is if chamomile can cause a blood disorder in which an abnormal amount of methemoglobin is incapable of adequate releasing of oxygen into body tissues, apparently an effect previously observed as result of using Benzocaine. Benzocaine being the active substance of the pharmaceutical Orajel used, for the sake of the example, in calming teething pain in children.

By searching the web I came across a page referring the Food and Drugs Administration website, where one can find the immediate awareness alarm to several gels and liquids containing benzocaine and the observed cases of teething children poisoned by this substance. It occurs that benzocaine reduces the oxygen available in the blood stream and symptoms can  appear at any time point [4]. There is a special danger with over-the-counter products containing benzocaine as they are readily available, therefore it is quite important to reassure parents that there are different options on the market that can help relieve pain in children and toddlers.

Hot and cold gel packs mold themselves and fit various parts of the body, septic raw honey (not manufactures honey) is a potent anti-infection and anti-inflammatory natural product [5]. There are many folk remedies available, some might have a scientific explanation where others might live on myth passed from generation to generation.

When it comes to chamomile, it is known to help children suffering from colic and teething pain, but what about side effects associated to this natural plant? Well, I could find a few but nothing mentioning methemoglobinemia. I found mainly four toxic effects in humans caused by chamomile, 1) the normal allergic reaction in some individuals, 2) anaphylaxis (a life-threatening allergic reaction in people allergic to plants in the daisy family), 3) drowsiness, and 4) contact dermatitis [6].

Perhaps the biggest risk associated to the use of chamomile and vascular imbalance is the presence of coumarin (organic chemical compound) for its thinning effects. Coumarin has very mild blood thinning effects, though! Overall, I wasnt able to find any relation between methemoglobinemia and the use of chamomile.

If you know more about this issue, please help us build good knowledge on it by sharing your opinion in the comments section.

Cheers.

[1] Methemoglobinemia - Medline Plus, [http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000562.htm], last visited on the 05th of December 2013, last update on the 31st of October 2013.

[2] Benzocaine topical - Drugs.com, [http://www.drugs.com/mtm/benzocaine-topical.html], last visited on the 05th of December 2013, last updated on the 01st of December 2013.

[3] Orajel, [http://www.orajel.com/], last visited on the 05th of December 2013, last update unknown.

[4] FDA warns... do not use this pain reliever... you could turn blue and die - Mercola], [http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/04/25/warning--fda-issues-alert-that-topical-anesthetics-may-kill-you.aspx], last visited on the 05th of December 2013, last update unknown.

[5] This bee product has enormous benefits for your health - Mercola, [http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/11/17/This-Bee-Product-Has-Enormous-Benefits-for-Your-Health.aspx], last visited on the 05th of December 2013, last update unknown.

[6] Integrative Medicine for Children, edited by May Loo, MD - June 2008.

[7] Web MD - Chamomile Herbal Information, [http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/lifestyle-guide-11/supplement-guide-chamomile], last visited on the 05th of December 2013, last update on the 13th of October 2012.

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What is the Difference Between Bio and Non Bio and why does it matter

When two forces in the universe secretively combine to test your scientific brain you learn the incredible value of those lessons covering scientific thinking back in the days. Im not even talking about early uni days, I mean when I was 10 years old and my teacher sent us home with an assignment to describe a simple scientific thinking process. Something simple we observed at home or on our way home. I was confident I was going to be awesome for I was by then an excellent student. I was also a very inventive child that counted on my personal report with electrocution by the age of 8 and a serious bacterial poisoning by the age of 6. Apparently by then two electrical wires attached to a nail do not work as a lamp magnet, and the raw egg mixture Rocky Balboa drank cannot be kept under ones bed for days.

Tough life my bulb-has-no-light-because-its-broken example did not account for the fact that maybe the Power Station was down that day! Tears invaded me as I learned a much valuable lesson: Humility, observation, discussion. These are stepping stones for a proper scientific approach.

This lesson helped me adapt to the inconvenient mysterious and secretive combination of two universe forces that united strengths to make me, for a period of 15 days, a very worried father.

When my son suddenly appeared with plain red patches resembling mild edemas all over his body, my overprotective father software kicked out. My wife started blaming different bacteria, virus, read long pages of "Parenting is for Pros" websites. But by the end of those 15 days we couldnt understand this sudden rash-type plain red edemas that would emerge all over his skin, stay for 10-15 minutes and then vanish like they never were.

It was after bombarding myself with extensive literature on the many stupid things kids tend to catch, and after visiting a GP that reinforced everything was alright and surprisingly no Paracetamol (a GPs best friend) wasnt a necessary therapeutics, that I accepted I could not figure out what that was.

The kid was not getting better but he wasnt complaining of anything either. It was just those red plain edema-like patches surging from nowhere to invade his whole body, stay for a quarter of an hour and then leave like it has never been there at all. Luckily nothing resembling meningitis. We did the classic glass test; he is even vaccinated for the type C strain though.

What could that be if not two mysterious simultaneous forces in the universe that combined to piss me off big time. One had been triggered by myself and the other one by his nursery. WE HAD BOTH CHANGED DETERGENTS AT THE SAME TIME.

I honestly had thought of that before and even tested him with a cotton bud and a sample of the new detergent we had, but seems like these tend to change from brand to brand. Very little changes can trigger allergic reactions, but in fact what happened is that both us and nursery had changed from non-bio to bio detergent. 

I always had in my mind that bio would be better. I mean, bio... ermmmm... biological, isnt that so? Non-bio... ermmm... non-biological, therefore not organic at all. Quite a stupid uneducated consideration have I realised, only after reading the available brand literature on the subject.

(click on images to enlarge)

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How does Napalm work

Watching Forrest Gump for the fifth time or so, a few weeks ago,  my wife (yet again my wife), asked me if Bubba would survive whilst Forrest Gump was trying to find him. The air strike was imminent and Napalm was about to descend from them airplane belies. Thats when my wife asks me wearing this intrepid stare...

How does Napalm work?

Well the when and the why should always outrun the how in this specific case, it is indeed a sad story that deserves to be told to everyone, not only those who found themselves involved in the Vietnam war, or the preceding Cambodian armed conflicts. But this is not the right place to do it.

A QuickFix on Napalm urges one to visit Medscapes webpage on Napalm exposure.

Napalm is an incendiary substance produced by the combination of a gelling powder (like the one in babys nappies only the Napalm one contains Naphtalene and Palmitic acid) and gasoline in different concentrations. This will form a white, cloudy, gelatinous inflammable matter, that is very stable (not temperamental like nitroglycerin) tolerating temperatures in between 4 to 66 degrees Celsius. Thermal stability on such a range of temperatures make of Napalm the "right" ingredient to roast tropical forests or debunk bunkers hidden deep in icy landscapes.

Sated curiosity?... just dont Napalm your coming Summer barbecues. Keep watching movies and reading The Toxicologist Today, its safer and peaceful.

I WANT TO OVERDOSE

Medscape, Napalm exposure, [http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/833665-overview], last visited on the 29th of April 2014, last update unknown.

I want to overdose redirects you to the web page based on articles by Lisandro Irizarry, Assistant Professor at the Weill Cornell School of Medicine. 

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