TOOTHPASTE PANIC!!

[twisty]

Heard that you should avoid toothpastes with triclosan in them during pregnancy and I have been using colgate total which contains triclosan since becoming pregnant. Will my baby have come to any harm?

I didn't know that and so i never avoided it.

Thanks for that - did you use colgate total?

Never heard of that. I am sure if it was that much of a risk it would say so on the tube and your midwife would tell you.

Thanks colditz x

I think you'd have to be eating plates of Colgate Total for breakfast, lunch and dinner for it have any effect on your pregnancy, twisty.

I've certainly never heard of anyone being told to avoid it.

Seriously,I was addicted to Macleans when pregnant.

I would secretly creep to the bathroom to eat some

Heee hee. I love weird cravings. I have strange cravings for cleaning products, the smell of them. I sometimes put my head under the sink to have a sniff. And if someone is cleaning a floor in a shop with hot steamy water and a big old fashioned mop - seriously I am in seventh heaven. And I also love the smell of rubber. I used to go to our railway crossing about 10 times a day when pregnant first time - it was summer and the rubber between the tracks was hot and so smelled really strong.

Isn't pregnancy odd? These cravings did go once I had the baby. I put the cleaning down to nesting, not sure about the rubber.... I'm sure there could be some dodgy ideas about that one

Try Weleda or Green People toothpastes, they are nice. Triclosan is stored in human body fat I believe so you don't really want to be consuming it, but you won't have endangered your pregnancy or anything like that. If you're concerned about chemicals in toiletries then the Women's Environmental Network have a great website to help you avoid the nasties. Relax about what you have already had and just try to improve things for the future.

(p.s. Triclosan is also in certain handwashes, wipes, and even impregnated into products like chopping boards under the name of Microban)

Kayzed you have hit the nail on the head, I am frantically looking through my cupboards and panicking over anything even remotely "dodgy". I have scoured my local shops this week looking for toothpaste minus the triclosan and only found a few! Also had a panic over nivea hand cream which I use at least once a day as it contains all kinds of stuff (magnesium this, etc) Driving myself insane!

Have never heard of the toothpaste thing and I avoided a lot of things while I was pregnant!! I'm sure it's fine.

There was a scare about Triclosan in the Evening Standard (london) a few months ago. From what I read it sounded well worth avoiding (and not just when you are pregnant). However, ordinary Colgate toothpaste doesn't have it and I think its quite easy to avoid without radically altering your shopping habits.