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Diane (Lake City, Ar) on 05/08/2011
5 out of 5 stars

In 1982, my newborn had thrush in his mouth. The doctor advised swabbing his entire mouth (NOT to be swallowed) with a q-tip dipped in Gentian Violet. After a few swabs, it was cured.
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Replied By Julie (Virginia Beach, Virginia) on 05/31/2011

from wikipedia- Precautions

One study in mice demonstrated dose-related carcinogenic potential at several different organ sites. [25][26] The Food and Drug Administration in the US has determined that gentian violet has not been shown by adequate scientific data to be safe for use in animal feed. Use of gentian violet in animal feed causes the feed to be adulterated and is a violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act in the US. On June 28, 2007, the US food and Drug Administration issued an "import alert" on farm raised seafood from China because unapproved antimicrobials, including gentian violet, had been consistently found in the products. The FDA report states:

"Like MG [malachite green], CV [crystal violet] is readily absorbed into fish tissue from water exposure and is reduced metabolically by fish to the leuco moiety, leucocrystal violet (LCV). Several studies by the National Toxicology Program reported that the carcinogenic and mutagenic effects of crystal violet in rodents. It has also been linked to increased risk of human bladder cancer. The leuco form induces renal, hepatic and lung tumor in mice. "[27]

Gentian violet's common side effect is the staining of skin and cloth, but it can easily be washed off skin with a solution of bleach and water. However, if used on ulcerations or open wounds it can cause tattooing. It is generally considered safe for use on children and breastfeeding mothers. It has even been applied to the mouth and lips of premature infants, and has a long history of safe use. La Leche League recommends gentian violet for thrush on the nipple. [28] However, in large quantities, gentian violet may lead to ulceration of a baby's mouth and throat and is linked with mouth cancer. [29] Gentian violet has also been linked to cancer in the digestive tract of other animals. [30]

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Replied By Rob (Kentucky ) on 09/02/2022

Correspondence| Volume 361, ISSUE 9369, P1657, May 10,2003

During the five decades of my medical career, I have seen gentian violet used as an anthelmintic (enteric-coated tablets administered orally for entrobiasis), a local antibacterial and antifungal surface agent, a laboratory stain, a fungal inhibitor in culture media, and to improve visualisation of surface sutures, not to mention its use as a dye for labelling and marking.

Restrictions on the use of this chemical have now been imposed in the UK, Canada and Australia, based on reports of its mutagenic and carcinogenic effects in animals. However, after centuries of use, there is not a single report linking gentian violet to cancer in human beings. Furthermore, in the National Toxicology Program (NTP) Study on New Zealand white rabbits, no evidence of teratogenicity of gentian violet was recorded. That this cheap and effective antiseptic agent still retains its place in the US Pharmacopeia is reassuring.

Ishak Mansi has not only restated the benefits of a largely abandoned, though useful and inexpensive topical antiseptic, but also touched on the almost obsessive apprehensions of every practising clinician: what if even in doing their best for a patient, a much-advertised trial lawyer finds fault with their handling of the individual?

From the instant a doctor has first contact with a patient, to weeks, months, and years afterwards, he or she has to live in the shadow of an impending lawsuit.

This is not the art of medicine one dreamed of, or was trained for. In such a scenario, even the patient does not get treated in the best traditions of medicine; unnecessary investigations are ordered, and the most expensive medicines prescribed even for trivial ailments. This trend has sent the cost of medical care skyrocketing and has forced doctors into early retirement due to appalling costs of malpractice insurance.

By all accounts, medical practice is in need of a renaissance, the signs of which I do not see on the horizon.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(03)13287-4/fulltext

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