Remedies for Teething Below are recommendations from PSP members in response to a “teething help” question- here’s what worked for their teething kiddos! -Anything cold – here are a variety of cool favorites: Frozen teething rings Ice – rub an ice cube along baby's gums. Frozen juice slushy or popsicle Cold spoons Frozen bagel or banana Frozen washcloth (try a damp baby washcloth twisted up and frozen in the freezer.) -Acetaminophen or Ibuprofen– these are both safe and effective pain relievers to help your baby, and you, get some sleep. -Teething gels– there are various over-the-counter gels, pastes, or liquids that numb the gums. Pat the gums dry with a washcloth, then apply a small amount only on the area of the gums that is bulging. There are several drawbacks to these, so we suggest you only use them as a last resort: They taste terrible; They travel throughout the mouth in the saliva and can numb the tongue and lips; It is easy to use too much; Baby may swallow too much -Tylenol, tylenol, tylenol!! get the right dose from your doc, and then give every 4 hours. -I recommend Tylenol or Motrin (although I'm not sure at what age they are allowed Motrin, it might be 6 months). It should help with the pain, and will last longer than Orajel -We've been using a homeopathic remedy to treat our son's teething problems called Camilia - it's a liquid which you squirt into the baby's mouth. very gentle stuff, i think it hasn't got an unpleasant taste and it really seems to help relax him and soothe the pain. Once i did use that Baby Orajel after my son had gone through a long bout of crying and writhing around - he fell asleep within moments but I know some people don’t like it. Really the camilia is the only stuff that seems to directly work - frozen teething rings don't do much. my aunt recommended letting the baby suck on a frozen wet washcloth which i haven't tried. -Teething Cookies can help if your child's started eating, esp. if you place them (or apples, pears or other foods) inside a little teething food holder which he can suck on without fear of biting off a piece he isn't able to chew. -We used Boiron Camilia. It is homeopathic and worked really well for us. our daughter is 2 now and getting her real molars and we still give it to her - but , all the way through teething, when she was really miserable Infants Motrin was the only thing that gave her relief when it was really bad. We would give her the camilia- up to 3 doses in an hour and if that didn't do it we would give her some Motrin. -I've heard that Orajel doesn't last for very long. You could try the Highlands teething tablets which are sold at many pharmacies and are essentially herbs but that didn't really work for us. I think what worked best for our daughter was something cool to chew on and Tylenol. Good luck. -I used Hyland’s Teething Tablets with Chamomila (everyone will recommend them too)...i am not sure how well they work, but you have to kind of keep your finger in their mouth while they dissolve and my baby likes that anyway! also, the best, i got one of those mesh bags with a handle on the end for feeding babies/toddlers so they don't choke on pieces and i put frozen peach slices in it. he loves it. -Try a wash cloth wet with cold water (you might even stick it in the freezer for a few minutes). It seems to feel good to chew on the washcloth, and the bonus is that you can also use it to swipe away all the drool! Good luck- and remember, you’ll make it through!
