Infants and Tea

In my practice, I've come across several parents who give their infants tea. Most of the time I discourage it especially if the infant is under 4 months. Infants under 4 months should only be drinking breastmilk or formula. This is something I came across when trying to find more info on the safety of tea consumption in babies.




Herbal Teas Linked to Liver Damage in Hispanic Infants

In Mexico, many parents use herbal teas (yerba buena) to treat colic and other minor ailments in their infants. Although most of these teas are not toxic, some may contain pennyroyal oil which can result in serious complications, including hepatic and renal failure, seizures, gastrointestinal hemorrhage and respiratory problems. The consequences of pennyroyal poisoning were recently observed in two Hispanic infants admitted to the emergency room of the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, after drinking between 90 to 120 ml of herbal tea. In one case, the infant had taken herbal tea previously without becoming ill. However, on this occasion, the child also had a viral infection. In both infants, serum samples contained a metabolite of pennyroyal oil, menthofuran which is known to damage hepatic and pulmonary cells. The authors stress the importance of early recognition of the symptoms, since treatment with N-acetylcysteine may improve outcomes. Nutritionists and other health providers should alert parents to the dangers of using home-grown mint teas, because distinguishing the safe plants from the toxic ones can be difficult.

Source: Bakerink, J.A., S.M. Gospe, R.J. Dimand, and M.W. Eldridge. (1996) Multiple organ failure after ingestion of pennyroyal oil from herbal tea in two infants. Pediatrics 98 (5): 944-947.

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