Talk to me about acetomenephen

[Tattooed Hand]

DD is teething and in alot of pain and discomfort. Most of the time her amber teething anklet, frozen baby socks and Hylands teething gel are enough. But she has seriously been teething for 3 months. We have 2 teeth so far and all her front gums seem to be lumpy and bulging (top front teeth are about to pop through). Some nights we need a little something more. Is acetomenophen dangerous?

We have very bad sleep over here - last night she slept 7 hours (with 3 wakings, one of which it took an hour to get her back to sleep) last night after only napping a total of 2 hours during that day. She is tired all the time and miserable. What can I do?

[TnMsMama]

Ive had good luck w/ some homeopathic teething tablets we found at the healthfood store - they've got chammomile in with the other ingredients so it soothes her gums and her little soul.

In times of EXTREME distress I've been known to rub vodka from the freezer on her gums, LESS than a drop, but the cold combined with the numbing helps a lot. She's got 4 teeth now and I've only odne it twice, so it's when I know she's in HORRIBLE pain.

(My parents used to do it to me with amaretto and I loved the taste so I'd fake a toothache, so that's why I use flavorless vodka! LOL)

[Knitting Mama]

The Hyland's homeopathic teething gel has the same ingredients as the tablets, TnMsMama.

Tatooed Hand, I will admit that I have given Cecilia generic infant Tylenol for teething twice. I don't like that I did, but she was hysterical. My generally easy-going baby wouldn't stop crying, and would chew on my finger like it was manna from heaven, only to get frustrated when the pain didn't go away. I hated doing it, but she seemed so much happier afterward.

[carmel23]

From Dr. Sear's site:

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/8/T089101.asp

"Acetaminophen has been safely used in children for many years. There are minimal side- effect concerns in a healthy child. It has a high safety margin, i.e. it takes about seven times the regular dose to be harmful. If given at the proper doses, it is safe to use "around the clock" for several days."

I think if you use it for occasional pain relief, it is fine. For simply reducing a fever, no I wouldn't use it, but pain relief is different, in my opinion.

Since teething can last for a long time, the danger is giving it to children simply because they are tired, crying etc. and there is a chance of giving the baby it too frequently. But it sounds like you are only reserving it for when it is really bad.

I don't get headaches that often, but when I do, I am not going to drink some chamomile tea, I'm going to pop some pills.

I've read that the pain of teething is so bad, that an adult couldn't handle it.

[Lula's Mom]

I pretty much never give my kids pain medication. I never take it myself.

But this teething thing has been so hard on my baby. I've been using Hyland's and Orajel like crazy, but there were a few awful nights when he was waking up screaming in pain. My friend finally talked me into trying generic acetominophen after a particularly bad night. I did one dose before bed. And he was so much more comfortable and woke much less that night. I felt bad for holding out on him that long, because he really needed it.

I've given it a few more times when he was clearly in pain, right before the tooth breaks out and the gums are lumpy, purplish and swollen looking. I have no regrets.

[marsipan]

we also use pain medication very rarely but i never regret doing so, because he's clearly in a lot of pain that homeopathic meds and cold wash clothes aren't close cutting it. i use baby ibuprofen though, i think it lasts longer than acetaminophen, 6-8 hrs vs 4.

[tzs]

Originally Posted by carmel23

I don't get headaches that often, but when I do, I am not going to drink some chamomile tea, I'm going to pop some pills.

I've read that the pain of teething is so bad, that an adult couldn't handle it.

totally this!
i mean, give me a break, if we had pain as bad as teething (and they say it's not just the gums that hurt like we would think..it's in the whole jaw) we would either pop some pills or be running to the dentist so fast to have it taken care of.

also remember that if we are trying to do as little "harm" as possible in terms of not medicating...that sleep deprivation can also be considered "dangerous" in many ways.

[Honey693]

Originally Posted by carmel23

I don't get headaches that often, but when I do, I am not going to drink some chamomile tea, I'm going to pop some pills.

I've read that the pain of teething is so bad, that an adult couldn't handle it.

I second this. My brother had 2 of his wisdom teeth come in and he said it was excruciating. If it's that painful for a 20 year old I can't imagine how bad it must be for a baby. I had no compunctions about drugging DD before bed so she could sleep pain free if she had been showing teething symptoms.

[Knitting Mama]

Yep, I've felt the pain of a tooth being pulled, and it is phenomenally excruciating pain. While I don't think the pain of a tooth coming through is quite as bad as one being pulled, it does stand to reason that there's a correlation.

[Lauren31]

Teeth pain IS horrible! If the baby is in pain I would do everything in my power to make her feel better.

[JavaJunkie]

Once any of my kids were over 6 months of age, I would usually give motrin for teething pain. Teething tablets were worthless for them(and yes, I tried them on each child! LOL)

[cristeen]

Teething tablets did nothing for my little guy. And my ped told us not to give acetaminophen before 6 months. Regardless, Acetaminophen does nothing for the teething pain, either... Motrin is the only thing that works for him, and sometimes even that doesn't.

I hate how often I have to give it to him, but the fact is that if I don't, he's absolutely miserable. I know I wouldn't put up with that and I harass DH if he tries to muscle through pain himself. So I don't really see that I have another choice.

[ssh]

I use ibuprofen because it's an anti-inflammatory. Anytime I've had teeth pain it's what I've taken. Acetaminophen has never been effective for me, and it is more toxic than ibuprofen.