My 4yo ate half a bottle of ashwagandha gummies thinking they were fruit snacks... help?
OK so this happened about 2 hours ago and I'm still shaking. I keep my ashwagandha gummies (the berry ones from that popular brand) on the top shelf of the pantry, but apparently my 4yo figured out how to climb the stool and get them down. He ate maybe 10-12 of them before I caught him. Called poison control and they said since it's ashwagandha and not iron or something, just watch for drowsiness and give him water. He's currently napping HARD and I'm sitting here watching him breathe. Has anyone else dealt with this?? I feel like the worst mom ever. Also WHY do they make these taste EXACTLY like gummy bears?? I'm a retired nurse so I should know better but here we are.
Oh mama, don't beat yourself up. Kids are basically tiny raccoons with opposable thumbs. We had a similar scare with my 6yo and melatonin gummies last year. Poison control told us the same thing - watch and wait. The real issue is that supplement companies make these things look and taste like candy because they want adults to actually take them. It's a double-edged sword. My advice: move them to a locked box or the very top of the fridge. Also, check the label for any other ingredients like valerian root or lemon balm - those can make the drowsiness worse. But ashwagandha alone in that amount is usually just a good nap. Keep us posted, ok?
Dude I'm a digital nomad and I've been living out of a backpack for 3 years, so I don't have kids, but I've definitely accidentally double-dosed my ashwagandha gummies before a flight. Let me tell you, I slept through an entire layover in Istanbul and woke up in a different time zone. The berry flavor is dangerously good. But for a 4yo? Yeah, that's a lot. The half-life is like 2-3 hours, so if he's napping now he'll probably be fine by dinner. Just keep an eye on his breathing and maybe don't let him watch any exciting cartoons when he wakes up. Also, pro tip: put them in a pill organizer that's not see-through. Out of sight, out of mind. You're not a bad mom, you're just a mom who bought tasty supplements.
Not a parent, but I'm the tech gadget guy who has every smart home device known to man. If you want a solution, get a small lockbox with a fingerprint scanner. I use one for my nootropics because my roommate's girlfriend kept 'borrowing' them. They're like $25 on Amazon. Also, I second what BioBob775 said about checking the label. Some ashwagandha gummies have added melatonin or L-theanine for 'calm' and that can really knock a kid out. If it's just KSM-66 or Sensoril, you're probably fine. But seriously, kids are resilient. My nephew ate an entire stick of butter once and he's a straight-A student now. You got this.