Unnecessary

Today was a very frustrating day. Sophie is sick, and a trip to the pediatrician confirmed strep. She prescribed an antibiotic for Sophie, which is pink.

Guess what makes it pink.

Right - Red 40. The pharmacist was patient and understanding enough to check for me. There is not a dye-free version. The pharmacist said she was at risk for anaphylasis. The pediatrician said she would only get a rash, nothing more. I am stuck in the middle, unsure of what to do. Both say "It's up to you" but I just don't know. Will she only have a rash? Likely (and she does, in fact, have one around her mouth). But I am constantly afraid of the "what ifs?" of the next time, or whatever time in the future she has a worse reaction. Because I've done my research; it IS possible.

Then, I needed to pick up a new tube of toothpaste for Sophie. She does NOT like the Tom's kids toothpaste at all, and she brushed her teeth all by herself over the weekend and used all the remaining training toothpaste she had. Her dentist recommends switching to toothpaste with fluoride since she spits well now, and she had a couple spots to watch at her checkup. Not yet cavities, but spots that could become cavities. The fluoride should help prevent that. I stopped at Walgreens, thinking surely a pharmacy would have safe toothpaste, right?  No. So I went to Target. Same choices as Walgreens, but at least they had her old training toothpaste. I guess willing participation and therefore thoroughly brushed teeth is better than a quick, hit-or-miss-through-tears session.

The worst thing, though, is that artificial dyes are completely unnecessary. They add no nutritional value to anything, and cause documented harm. This post from last year lists several sources of information about food dyes. Artificial colors have been banned in many countries, yet the FDA still has no problem allowing or even encouraging these petroleum-based additives into our foods, especially foods targeting children.

Why?