(NewsNation) — From 2012 to 2021, the number of reports to poison control indicating a child took too much of the sleep-aide supplement melatonin increased 530%, according to a team of researchers from the CDC.
The No. 1 conclusion from the study, however, was not that melatonin is inherently dangerous — just that it should be kept out of the reach of children.
“The biggest thing for us to take away from it as parents, caregivers or anybody with children at home is that we should be putting melatonin away in medicine cabinets, lock boxes, wherever you would keep your other prescription medications, and not necessarily on a nightstand or coffee table,” said lead researcher Dr. Karima Lelak.
Most children in Lelak’s study who took high doses of melatonin, a naturally occurring hormone that helps regulate sleep, did not show any symptoms or end up in a hospital, Lelak said.
“It was a very small subset of children that had symptoms and an even smaller subset of children that did have to go to the hospital,” Lelak said. “Largely, melatonin is safe. It is safe to take and is safe to use, it should just be put away just as any other medication.”
There were 52,563 unintentional pediatric ingestions of melatonin reported in 2021, up from 8,337 in 2012. Roughly 600 children were hospitalized in 2021 because of melatonin poisoning, up from around 200 in 2012.
The sale of melatonin in the U.S. also skyrocketed during this time; from 2016 to 2020, sales of melatonin increased 150% in the U.S.
People may experience nausea, vomiting or a headache after taking too much melatonin. Melatonin is not regulated by the FDA because it is considered a supplement.