After my post about Aiden's rough week teething last week, a couple people have asked to know more about the teething oil we use with Aiden. We do not use Orajel. Among other things, it has artificial colorings, flavorings, and sweeteners in it. We try to stay away from as much of that stuff as we can. We have been using an herbal oil with Aiden since he started teething - Gum-omile Oil by Herbs for Kids.
Now, you really shouldn't rely on these type of numbing agents much at all - orajels or oils. It is possible to numb the child's tongue or throat (hopefully they do not get enough to swallow it!!) because they could bite their tongue, and other problems have come from the numbing of children's throats due to these types of things. This is not the first thing we reach for. Plus, Aiden isn't crazy about the taste, though I've read reviews where people said their children loved it. It is good for those times when there is a lot of pain and you need something immediate. We used it with the molars a tiny bit last week, mostly when trying to get Aiden down for a nap and the other things we were using hadn't kicked in yet - and he just needed something to help calm him down for a moment to help get to sleep. The last couple times we used this with Aiden, he did not seem to mind the taste at all. Not sure if he is just ok with it now or if he realized that it helped his pain (and therefore the taste didn't factor in).
When you do use it, be sure to shake it well. The first couple times I used it, I didn't and was wondering why it didn't seem to work. (I tried it on myself first - I always do that before giving something to Aiden.) But (thanks to my mom for having common sense and asking...did you shake it?) if you shake it, that stuff does work! Just use a tiny bit on the area that is sore. And remember, it doesn't last long and you shouldn't be using it repeatedly. That's not what it's for.
For the locals, I got a jar of this from the Women's Birth and Wellness Boutique in Chapel Hill. It cost $9.99 for a 1 oz bottle - but baby this stuff goes a long way!
Most of the time, we use Hyland's teething tablets for teething. For those REALLY bad times, we do Motrin (dye-free, of course). I have heard that Hyland's makes a teething gel, but I haven't tried that.
We have a hard time relying on some of the other non-medical methods for teething...though we don't use any of these things unless Aiden really needs it. Of course, the child teeths on everything. But he doesn't like cold things, so (even though we keep trying) giving a frozen piece of fruit, wet/cold or frozen cloth, or something like that is not something he goes for. He doesn't pay any attention to his actual teethers anymore. What he does go for is nursing, though, so we do rely on that some. If he's in pain and that helps, why not?! :) And no, he doesn't bite.
Any of you have some tricks that always work?
1 comment:
Nothing 'always' works, but occasionally Colin will suck on a frozen pacifier. The avent ones can be filled with water and frozen and he likes those. Also ice water in his sippy cup sometimes helps it cools down the tip and he just chomps on it. Thats all I've got.
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