The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday have cautioned users of improper use of laxatives as it may cause health damages.
Laxatives are commonly used to relieve constipation, which is described as infrequent bowel movements or difficulty in passing stools.
According to its label, use of laxatives should only be once daily but not for three consecutive days. It is also not recommended for kids and older adults, who are over the age 55, suffering from dehydration or any heart and kidney problems unless they have sought medical advice prior to use.
"The bottom line is that these products are safe for otherwise healthy adults and older children . . . as long as they follow these dosing instructions and don't take the product more often, or in greater amounts, than the label instructs," said Dr. Mona Khurana, a medical officer in FDA's division of nonprescription regulation development, in a press release.
Unfortunately, such simple instructions and warnings are taken for granted, which at times results to unfavorable events.
According to Philly.com, Sodium phosphate laxatives, like Fleet, can cause dangerous side effects if improperly used. These side effects include dehydration, which causes abnormality in the levels of electrolytes in our blood.
Dehydration is one great factor of kidney damage and death.
The federal agency also announced new warnings which are not stated in these laxatives' labels. The new warnings apply to kids and adults with inflammation of the colon (colitis) and those taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen, diuretics or fluid drugs, anti-hypertensive drugs like angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), and heart and kidney failure medications.
In recent assessments, the agency has noted 54 cases of serious side effects and over a dozen of reported deaths related to the use of over-the-counter oral and rectal sodium phosphate laxatives.
