Hyland's Teething Tabs Question

[MammaV]

Another question for all you mommas. I've been using Hyland's Teething Tabs for my DDs teething pain. I noticed it contains belladona 3x. I understand that belladona is an opiate. Can anyone tell me how this affects a child? Is there an opiate high associated with it? Addiction? Withdrawals? Any issues with giving small children belladona on a consistent basis? Does it affect brain development? Help!!!!

[Britishmum]

At about two years old, dd got hold of a bottle of Hylands (she climbed the stair rail, unzipped my bag, got out the bottle and opened it, all in 2 minutes while dh was getting the baby - how determined is that? :eek )

She ate an unknown number and we spent a few hours in emergency. However, poison control said that there is so little of any ingredient in them that she could have eaten the whole bottle without any after effect. As it was, she was just wired for a few hours from the caffeine. (she called out to each nurse as they went past and told them it was "half past four, and you're late!" It was somewhat embarrassing. :blush

So I don't imagine they'd have any bad effect taking them regularly, better than Tylenol, anyway.

[MammaV]

Britishmum,
What a great story! Thanks for the encouragement. I don't like giving tylenol or ibuprofen for pain. I think they're full of bad things and so try to avoid them

[frodo]

i've got a question about the lactose base the tabs are made of. i suspect my girl is lactose intolerant. would she have a problem with lacose-based homeopathic remedies? are there teething tabs that are not lactose-based?

frodo

[Quirky]

Frodo, I've seen some other homeopathic teething remedies that are liquid, not tabs, at our Whole Foods that I don't think are lactose based. I don't know what the brands are but I think they're pretty mainstream (well, for homeopathy!)

[amnesiac]

Lactose intolerant people frequently benefit from taking a probiotic blend of lactic acid bacteria (like acidophilus) because those bacteria normally live in our GI tracts & eat up ingested lactose as their fuel source.

[AmyB]

Hylands is a homeopathic medication, so it contains extremely little of the active substances.

Actually, conventional medicine says that it is impossible for homeopathic drugs to work because the active ingrediants are so very diluted that there may not be even one molecule in a particular containter.

Someone gave me a tube of Hyland's gel and I'm trying it, but I can't tell for sure if it does anything. What do you think? Does Hylands work for you?

--AmyB

[MammaV]

my dd prefers the teething tabs over any other med. The gel is like the tabs, but gel form. I get better results with the tabs cause dd doesn't like gels.

Frodo,
As far as the lactose sensativity and your child, does your dd have lactose intolerance to the lactose in breastmilk? could it be a cows milk protein intolerance? Just a thought...

[RachelGS]

I have better luck with the Boiron remedies. They seem to really help for both colic and teething, with no lactose.

[mtn. mama]

There will be absolutely no withdrawl/sideffects from your child ingesting belladonna in homeopathic form. It is the "essence" of the plant that is in the tabs. The process involves a series of systematic dilutions and forceful shaking. This removes all toxicity while allowing it to affect the body theraputically. There are strict guidelines to ensure that homeo. remedies are consistent. The potencies are designated like you saw, 3x. This refers to the number of dilutions the tincture has gone through. The letter refers to the propoertions used in each dilution, x =10. Basically, what you purchased has one part of the plant that has been combined with a liquid (water) and shaken 10 times. The result of that is taken and repeated again, then again hence 3X. Essentiallywhat you have is an EXTREMELY diluted remedy. Which opens the doors to skeptics who wonder how homeo. remedikes work at all. But, I have used these with all three of my teething babes and I wouldn't use anything else.

[mamabeard]

i have used them, and they seemed to work quite well for my son.

i have a question too.. i would assume that it would apply to children that they should also not eat/drink anything for half an hour before or after taking a homeopathic remedy, but that is almost impossible with a nursling in pain! would breastmilk kill the effectiveness?

[Inwe Surion]

There are homeopathics made without lactose. Check Boiron. If not try a homeopathic pharmacy: 1-800-homeopathy, homeopathyovernight are a couple.

[mtn. mama]

No, I don't believe that applies to bf.

[MammaV]

mtn mamma,
thanks for the great explanation. I talked with a homeopath today and you explained it better than she did. It's so fab having knowledable moms out there!

[momalah]

The Teething tabs do work, believe me. They calm the baby down and help relieve the stress and pain of teething. It works differently than conventional medicine, because it also helps emotionally with the baby, instead of just blocking the symptoms. Amy, you should really give it a try. Some people do resort to Tylenol for the night, but you should always try something gentle at first. I have heard that Tylenol works by shutting down the liver. I don't know if this is true, but I have heard this before. Anyone else out there hear this?

[branwyn]

i dont know about the shutting down of the liver part but i know tylenol lowers ones white blood cell count (at least thats what my ped told me)

[jaredsmom]

As mnt. mama stated there is no way for anyone to o.d. or become addicted on homeopathic remedies. A friend challenged me by saying that the healing must be psychological. I came back at him to explain how it works on a baby when they don't know what medicine is?He's still trying to figure that one out! :LOL

I don't know if you know, but homeopathy is based on the law of similiars; that "like cures like." This is why you would see such items as caffiene in the teething tablets. Most babies who experience pain during teething cannot sleep. It is said that since caffiene keeps one awake, that an extremely diluted solution of caffiene relax someone enough to let them sleep. (I have seen this happen with ds after taking the teething tablets on numerous occassions!)

:OT? I have to add this tidbit. The science of homeopathy has been around for nearly 300 years. It's popular still in Canada, India, Great Britian (used by the Royal Family!), etc. It was strong in the US back in the late 1800s, early 1900's, but conventional doctors started to scoff the practice, and it started to fade out. It's making its come-back. Why? Because it works!

Now I'll get off my little soap box! :D