Child given melatonin without our consent

[HuckleberryBlackcurrant]

DS6 went to his first sleepover last night, at a close friend's house. 4 other kids were there also, ages 6-8.

His friend's mum messaged to say he was asleep shortly after 9 which I found unusual because he would usually stay up later with all that excitement. But I thought that he was just very tired. We have been very busy recently, he has been in swimming lessons and football and was starting a mild cold.

This afternoon when I picked him up it was casually mentioned that the kids were all dosed with melatonin. I know it's super common to do so but our son has never had melatonin, and we certainly would have said no if we were asked.

It put him into a really deep sleep, causing him to have an accident in the night which really embarrassed him.

I didn't really say anything when my friend mentioned this. I was a bit blindsided, and the party was still going on so I didn't know how best to address it.

My husband is really irritated that they went ahead and dosed our child without our consent. Melatonin has been something we agreed not to give our children unless medically directed. He wants me to say something to the parents. I'm inclined to leave it as he's unlikely to go there for a sleepover again for quite some time. I was thinking we could just bring it up if he ever sleeps there again.

My husband thinks that on principle, you don't give a child anything without their parents' consent, so we should raise the issue and set the boundary now. Our children do play there occasionally in the daytime. Usually he is the non confrontational one and I am the one bringing these things up. Idk if it's because I'm 38 weeks pregnant so I just don't feel like pursuing it?

What would you do? Are we right to be irritated?

I absolutely am.

Oh sorry I've muddled a couple of poster up maybe.

So are you basically making a distinction between people buying in the black market and people buying from legitimate international sellers who are ignore national laws?

I don’t underestimate the issues you face at all, and because genuine melatonin food supplement is available readily in the US and elsewhere in all likelihood you are getting what you think you’re getting. That’s not the case for many other illegally sold prescription only medicines which may be counterfeit.

Ah I see I missed out a word. Buying medicines sold illegally on the internet.

Ah okay that's the misunderstanding.

No I’m saying it’s illegal for anyone to sell a prescription only medicine in the UK, regardless of where they are based. It’s not illegal to buy unless it’s a controlled substance. Likewise it’s not illegal for anyone to have some US melatonin food supplement in their cupboard that they bought while over there.

Buying food supplements in the supermarket is like buying food. It’s regulated in the same way, so there’s a chance it might not be quite 100% of what it says on the tin but is unlikely to be dangerous or just filler.

Buying medicines over the internet from anywhere other than a registered pharmacy is foolhardy, but not illegal. Anyone who thinks they can tell whether what they have purchased is the genuine article or something potentially dangerous is mistaken.

Yeah sorry - I ought to have proof read!

Seriously? Deadly nightshade and hemlock are natural, dare you to take them!

In the UK its a controlled drug and you would be prosecuted for giving it to your own child let alone someone else's child! I see you're in the US but originally from the UK, I would check the law where you are but frankly illegal or not they are bang out of order and my child would not be going there again and they would be told exactly why. My DD is prescribed melatonin but tbh its the fact they "drugged" him like it was no big deal, what will they do if next time he goes and if he hurts himself, oh we had these antibiotics lying around so we gave him some....do they know his allergies? Do they know what medication he has already taken that may interact with whatever they gave him? Jesus I'm getting angrier the more i type so I'll leave it there but seriously that is NOT OK

@Tessabelle74

Seriously? Deadly nightshade and hemlock are natural, dare you to take them!

The poster you quoted clearly stated that natural does not equal safe. She was making the same point as you.

=/= means “is not equal to”.

It is not a controlled drug.

This thread is full of ridiculous nonsense.

What does it say that a post like this is necessary?

Its prescription only in the uk so not really common! I’d be furious

In the UK it is, if I even increase the dose for my DD without the GP okaying it the social services will be involved. If I give it to my DS who isn't yet prescribed it social services will be involved. I have a disability social worker for my DC and I've told her I want to give my DS a dose because he doesn't ever sleep but I can't because he hasn't yet been prescribed it. You think it's nonsense? Give some to your DC without it being medically prescribed and report yourself to the GP and social services, see how nonsense it is when your DC are removed from your care whilst you are investigated

Did you see this from the article Appleofmyeye posted, OP?

Studies have also found that morning sleepiness, drowsiness, and possible increased urination at night are the most common side effects that occur while taking melatonin

The initial post seemed to suggest this was happening in the UK. Context is very important, it's legal in the US to buy melatonin OTC, for both adults and children. Having said that I'm not condoning what happened. No medicine should be given to a child without parental consent. On this site people often jump to conclusions without having the full picture first.

Yes I can recognise the difference, I would never give any medicine to someone's child without their consent, if at all! I'm not condoning what was done here, the initial poster didn't give the proper context, the impression was that the law had been broken which it hadn't. Someone even mentioned calling the police, FGS!

It is not a controlled drug in the UK. It is a prescription only drug.

”Controlled drug” has a very specific meaning in the UK.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/controlled-drugs-list--2/list-of-most-commonly-encountered-drugs-currently-controlled-under-the-misuse-of-drugs-legislation

You think it's nonsense? Give some to your DC without it being medically prescribed and report yourself to the GP and social services, see how nonsense it is when your DC are removed from your care whilst you are investigated

I told my GP & the nurse practitioner at CAMHS I was giving it to Ds & they did nothing other than nod in approval. The nurse practitioner advised me to try increasing the dose.

You're right to be irritated. I can only presume that you're not in the UK because if you are, when did it become super common to give Melatonin? In the UK, it's prescription only for good reason.

Do people in the U.S ever wonder how well their children may sleep without the drugs and ask themselves how their children are going to progress through life without depending on some sort of drug/supplement etc to function? Pharmaceutical companies must be loving this.

See info attached from uk nhs website.
OP you may want to point out the issues raised below. Some people are allergic to melatonin and some can have serious negative side effects.

https://www.biovea.com/uk/
I used to buy from here regularly before getting an NHS prescription.

You don't need to buy it from the states, put it that way!

"Do people in the U.S ever wonder how well their children may sleep without the drugs and ask themselves how their children are going to progress through life without depending on some sort of drug/supplement etc to function? Pharmaceutical companies must be loving this."

I don't wonder, I know exactly how well my child sleeps without melatonin thanks, given his absence seizures due to lack of deep sleep that went on for years.

And the irony of this statement makes me chuckle given how normalized and prevalent alcohol, an actual poison, is as soon as kids hit their teen years. How many adults can't make it through their life without gin/wine/Prosecco o'clock? I'm far more concerned about the socialized effects of alcohol on my kids than I am about giving a legal supplement to help him get the rest he needs.

Irrespective of the above, it seems a bit tiresome getting knickers in a twist over a freely available supplement available in another country, no?

Some melatonin supplements may not contain what’s listed on the product label. A 2017 study tested 31 different melatonin supplements bought from grocery stores and pharmacies. For most of the supplements, the amount of melatonin in the product didn’t match what was listed on the product label. Also, 26 percent of the supplements contained serotonin, a hormone that can have harmful effects even at relatively low levels.

Pressed post to soon.

The 2022 study also showed that the number of reports to U.S. poison control centers about people 19 years and younger who took melatonin increased from 8,337 in 2012 to 52,563 in 2021. Over the 10-year period, the number of reports increased each year. Hospitalizations and serious outcomes from melatonin ingestion by people 19 years and younger also increased over the 10 years. Most hospitalizations involved teenagers who had intentionally taken melatonin overdoses, and the largest increase in hospitalizations occurred in children 5 years and younger.