Terra Medica has issued a voluntary recall of 56 lots of products
Penicillin was found in products produced by the Washington company
Homeopathic remedies are not meant to contain any medical elements
Because they are meant to be harmless they’re not regulated by the FDA
A homeopathy company has recalled some of their products because they might contain traces of a real antibiotic.
Terra Medica of Ferndale, Washington, described the products they’re recalling as not containing antibiotics or antibiotic substances, but now they will now be conducting a voluntary recall of 56 lots of products.
The recall was ordered when the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) found that the process the company used to make six of its products could have contaminated the products with penicillin.
Terra Medica has performed a voluntary recall of many of its products, as they were found to contain penicillin
Homeopathic remedies are usually highly diluted and are not supposed to contain any active medicines.
As a result, the FDA has chosen not to regulate homeopathic remedies as they are generally harmless.
Unless they claim to cure a serious condition, such as cancer, the FDA doesn’t usually ask the companies to prove their products are safe or effective.
The danger with the recalled products is that if they have been contaminated with penicillin, users who are allergic to the antibiotic could have a reaction.
Terra-Medica, Inc. is recalling 56 lots of Pleo-FORT, Pleo-QUENT, Pleo-NOT, Pleo-STOLO, Pleo-NOTA-QUENT, and Pleo-EX homeopathic drug products in liquid, tablet, capsule, ointment, and suppository forms.
Terra Medica has had to recall 56 lots of products, including creams, suppositories and oral tablets because they could cause an allergic reaction
As a result, the FDA put out an immediate safety warning for those who might be allergic to penicillin.
The organisation said: ‘The FDA has determined that these products have the potential to contain penicillin or derivatives of penicillin, which may be produced during the fermentation process.
‘In patients who are allergic to beta-lactam antibiotics, even at low levels, exposure to penicillin can result in a range of allergic reactions from mild rashes to severe and life-threatening anaphylactic reactions.’
Previous scandals have been caused by homeopathic remedies and medicines containing various ingredients that may be harmful, or have adverse effects.
For example, some products by the homeopathy manufacturer Zicam, a company that provides homeopathic remedies to coughs and colds, had unintended ingredients.
In some cases products were found to contain active levels of zinc, and was linked to anosmia (a loss of smell) in some cases.
WHAT IS A HOMEOPATHIC REMEDY?
Homeopathy is a medicine-like system which involves treating a person with highly diluted substances, given mainly in tablet form, with the aim of triggering the body’s natural system of healing.
Based on their specific symptoms, a homeopath will match the most appropriate medicine to each patient.
When manufactured correctly, homeopathic remedies are generally harmless, mostly just solutions of water or alcohol, possibly mixed into a sugar pill, or something similar.
Homeopathy has been used for more than 200 years in various cultures across the world.
It was discovered by a German doctor, Samuel Hahnemann, who was shocked with the harsh medical practises of the day (which included blood-letting, purging and the use of poisons such as arsenic).
Dr Hahnemann looked for a way to reduce the damaging side-effects associated with medical treatment.
He came up with a system of treating ‘like with like’, when a person is given a substance that may cause symptoms is given to somebody suffering those symptoms.
E.g. Sleeplessness and agitation drinking too much coffee, so according to homeopathy, when made into a homeopathic medicine, coffee could be used to treat people with these symptoms.
Source: Daily Mail
