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Teething: Hylands/Whiskey?

1K views 14 replies 12 participants last post by  Panserbjorne 
#1 ·
Okay, two quick questions:

1) DD is getting 5th tooth. She is clearly uncomfortable, wants to nurse a lot. Yesterday I bought Hyland's tablets, gave her three before bedtime. She was up EVERY HOUR screaming as if in very bad pain (though she stopped and went back to sleep immediately when I picked her up). Usually (the past few weeks) she has been up every four hours, so this was weird. I eventually slept with her in the twin in her room and she was just fine the rest of the night. She woke up very cheeful and bright eyed.

So-- this was just a coincidence with the Hylands tabs, right?

2) I love Dr. Mendhelson's book (how to raise a healthy child in spite of your doctor) and he recommends whiskey (1 tsp) for colds and teething. My husband swears that whiskey is the only thing that helps him when his allergies are acute. I am tempted to give some to DD-- even just to rub some on her gums. I feel that it would be much safer than even tylenol or ibuprofen.

Thoughts?

Thank you!
 
#2 ·
People used to swear that chugging alcohol was good for a lot of what ails. Does not mean it is a good idea today. I do not see how it could be safer than tylenol or ibuprofen. A tiny body is not meant to process alcohol.

I like baby oragel. Worked great with my first. Hylands did not work at all.
 
#3 ·
I found a slight improvement with homeopathics, but maybe it was only the distraction of taking them. Frozen wet washcloths are good. Honestly for nighttime relief though drugging them is the most effective. Tylenol and alcohol are both toxic and filtered by the liver. Ibuprophin is toxic filtered by the kidneys. If you're going with poison to remedy it, you pick which one and use the minimum effective dose. I wouldn't choose alcohol but your milage may vary.
 
#6 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by delphiniumpansy View Post
People used to swear that chugging alcohol was good for a lot of what ails. Does not mean it is a good idea today. I do not see how it could be safer than tylenol or ibuprofen. A tiny body is not meant to process alcohol.

Well, I definitely wasn't planning of giving it to her to chug!
It certainly could be safer than tylenol or ibuprofen if a smaller amount (relative to the difficulty of the body processing it) was required to relieve her pain. I don't necessarily think that her "tiny body" is meant to process tylenol, either.... but I don't want her to be in pain unnecessarily.

orajel contains, per their website, benzocaine (rated 7 on 1-10 scale of danger at Cosmetics Database) , FD&C red #40, flavor,glycerin, polyethylene glycols (rated 8), purified water, sodium saccharin, sorbic acid, sorbitol

It seems reasonable, to me, to wonder whether fermented grains might be equally, if not more, safe.
 
#9 ·
Orajel worked all right for my kids - but nothing except ibuprofen stopped that wake-up-shrieking-in-pain thing. I think it's important to assess how much the disturbed sleep is harming them and you, and choose to use medicine if you think the exhaustion is a real problem (wearing down your immune systems, making you an unsafe driver, etc.)

A child in good general health will survive the occaisional administration of pain-numbing substances. I don't think whiskey on the gums is any better or worse than ibuprofen. I used ibuprofen because the dosage was standardized, so I knew hwo much they were getting.

I think that because teething is "normal," adults tend to minimize how very painful it is. I don't generally give my kids drugs, but for teething pain, there were times when it seemed appropriate.
 
#10 ·
In our experience, a dab of alcohol on the swollen gums was the only thing that gave DS obvious relief because it numbed the tissue. Oragel didn't work (and he hated the cinnamon taste), and I never saw any clear improvement with the Hylands tabs, although I hope they helped. Oh, I should add that when the teething pain got SO severe that DS was running in circles screaming like a maniac and bashing his head on the ground uncontrollably - we finally broke down and gave him some baby Tylenol. That definitely helped, but I wouldn't want to give it to a child unless absolutely nothing else was working. My personal bias, I guess.
 
#14 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by MaterPrimaePuellae View Post
I eventually slept with her in the twin in her room and she was just fine the rest of the night. She woke up very cheeful and bright eyed.
If she was ok once you climbed into bed with her then maybe there are other things to consider besides just the pain from teething. Could she be suffering separation anxiety maybe or night terrors? If the act of comforting her is enough to ease her teething pain then I would opt for that over giving her meds. But that's just me.
 
#15 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by mama_in_PA View Post
If she was ok once you climbed into bed with her then maybe there are other things to consider besides just the pain from teething. Could she be suffering separation anxiety maybe or night terrors? If the act of comforting her is enough to ease her teething pain then I would opt for that over giving her meds. But that's just me.
ITA.
However the correct homeopathic remedy will take this into consideration. I don't use combination remedies at all. IF you like homeopathy I recommend taking a few minutes to select the appropriate remedy. That way it will address the physical symptoms as well as the emotional.

FWIW I also rub castor oil that I infuse with either clove, hypericum or german chamomile on the jaw line and up behind the ears. All EO's are analgesic and castor oil is anti inflammatory. This in conjunction with homeopathy has let us sleep every night, and I have 3 kiddos.
 
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