Reports to poison control of children ingesting too much of the sleep aid melatonin ballooned 530% over 10 years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

The National Poison Data System received over 260,000 reports of children ingesting melatonin from January 2012 through December 2021. Melatonin ingestion accounted for nearly 5% of all pediatric poisoning cases in 2021 compared with 0.6% in 2012, the report said.

“Unintentional ingestions were the primary drivers of this increase [in pediatric melatonin ingestions],” the authors reported. “This might be related to increased accessibility of melatonin during the pandemic, as children spent more time at home because of stay-at-home orders and school closures.”