Rectal catheters sold for personal use (gas and colic relievers): Do not use in infants, including for the treatment of colic, gas-related discomfort or constipation (DSI/2026/008)
Read and act on the official notice on GOV.UK
In plain English, for the pharmacy team
Why is this relevant to community pharmacy
This notice is about rectal catheters sold for personal use, sometimes sold as gas and colic relievers for babies. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) says they should not be used in infants, including for colic, gas-related discomfort or constipation. This matters to the whole pharmacy team because families may ask about these products at the counter or bring them back with concerns.
What to tell patients
Use your professional judgement for each patient.
- Do not use rectal catheters sold for personal use in your baby, including for colic, gas, bloating or constipation.
- Dispose of any unused devices.
- If you are worried about your baby, speak to your health visitor, call NHS 111, see a GP, or call 999 in an emergency.
- If you think your child has had a side effect from using one of these devices, report it to the MHRA via the Yellow Card website.
What needs to be done
- Check any stock of rectal catheters sold for personal use and stop supplying them for use in infants.
- Pharmacists: make sure the team knows this advice does not apply to rectal catheters used for specialist medical treatment when parents or carers have been trained by healthcare professionals.
- If anyone asks about these products, advise that they should not be used in infants for colic, gas-related discomfort, bloating or constipation.
- If a family says they have used one of these devices and are worried about their baby, tell them to speak to a healthcare professional.
- Pharmacists: report any incidents linked to use of these devices in infants to the MHRA via the Yellow Card Scheme or local reporting routes.
- Read and act on the official GOV.UK notice.
Pharmshark summary, checked and approved by Chris Dotchin on 2 Nov 2026. It is not the official notice: always read and act on the GOV.UK notice.
How this summary was written
An AI tool drafted it from the MHRA's own notice and nothing else. A second check compared every line with the notice. Pharmshark's clinical lead then read it against the notice, edited it where needed and approved it. If the MHRA changes the notice, this summary is taken down until it has been checked again.
The MHRA's summary
Do not use rectal catheters sold for personal use (gas and colic relievers) in infants, including for colic, gas-related discomfort or constipation. Stop using these products immediately and dispose of any unused devices.
MHRA's audience tags: General practice, Gi hepatology pancreatic disorders, Paediatrics