A local health official with the Middlesex-London Health Unit is offering some context for a recent announcement from Health Canada.
The national agency announced last week that it was recommending Canadians stop using gentian violet, a “natural” ingredient found in both human health products and veterinary drugs.
The ingredient is an antiseptic dye used to treat fungal infections, and Health Canada says products containing it have been used on the skin, mucous membranes (inside the nose, mouth or vagina), on open wounds or on the nipple of a nursing mother to treat oral thrush in infants.
In the agency’s announcement last week, officials said a review found exposure to gentian violet may increase the risk of cancer.
“For me, the takeaway is really about ‘natural’ products,” said Dr. Chris Mackie, medical officer of health for the Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU). “Anything that’s natural can have its own risks, just like anything that is man-made.”
The MLHU issued a statement about Health Canada’s advisory alerting local residents to the advice to stop using gentian violet in all forms.
Mackie notes there are other medical treatments for conditions like thrush and candidiasis, or infections caused by yeast.
“They work well — nystatin, that sort of drug — so gentian violet is something that has been offered as a natural alternative,” Mackie said. “Just because something is natural doesn’t mean it doesn’t carry a significant risk of something like cancer in this example.”
Health Canada says it has worked with all manufacturers with licensed drug products containing gentian violet to remove them from the market.
Comments