Dear Linda,
OK.  Here goes:
1.  I would NOT boil off the alcohol as it would only increase the
concentration of the GV which would result in oral burns in the infant.
Also, it would probably destabilize the solution as GV requires alcohol to
stay in solution.
2.  Isopropyl alcohol can cause poisoning at 20 ml of oral ingestion or
more, so several drops in the baby's mouth is not going to cause any
toxicity.
3.  One can make the solution with ethanol (which should be a controlled
substance and maybe not as rapidly available in the pharmacy) would result
in a solution with no potential at toxicity at all with several drops.
Frank J. Nice, DPA, CPHP

-----Original Message-----
From: Linda L. Pohl, IBCLC [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, June 27, 2003 11:28 AM
To: Nice, Frank (NIH/NINDS)
Subject: RE: Gentian Violet Alcohol


Thanks for the input from Lactnet. Mom's concern was using it in baby's
mouth, not on the nipples.  Any further feedback would be appreciated.

The original LACTNET question/post was:

For our Pharmacist Friends on line -
I received a call from a first time mom who is also a physician.  She stated
that she had yeast and was thinking about using Gentian Violet per Dr.
Jack's on-line instructions.  She was calling me because she was worried
about the alcohol content of the GV.  I explained that it was 10% alcohol in
1%GV solution and if she diluted it to 1/2% the result would only be 5%
alcohol in maybe 2 - 3 drops per use.  She was still worried so I went
through the other options for treating yeast as well as suggesting she have
an LC look at latch and all of the other possibilities.
Anyway, as we discussed, we talked about the possibility of heating the GV
to boil off the alcohol.  I told her that I did not know how that might
affect the GV chemically.  Does anyone know how that might change the GV?
Would it be safe still if heated and cooled?  Would it still be effective?
How long would the resultant concoction last?
Linda L Pohl, IBCLC
Phoenix AZ

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