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Affordable, fast, safe teething remedy to try as an alternative to toxic “drug-free” baby teething gels available over-the-counter.
When my kids were babies, teething gels contained the chemical benzocaine as the active ingredient.
The FDA has issued repeated warnings about benzocaine over the years, finally taking action in 2018 to remove it from the market in products like Anbesol and Baby Orajel. (1)
Under certain conditions, benzocaine can trigger a rare and sometimes fatal blood condition called methemoglobinemia which causes dangerously low oxygen levels in the blood with resulting symptoms of ashen, gray, or blue-colored skin, lips and fingernail beds, shortness of breath, headache, light-headedness and rapid heart rate possible.
The scary symptoms triggered by benzocaine in baby teething gels can occur within minutes or even hours. Methemoglobinemia can occur the first time the product is used or much later after several uses even when the child appeared fine previously.
Non-Medicated Teething Gels Are Toxic
Unfortunately, the benzocaine-free teething gels that are newer on the market are not much better!
They are still highly toxic with numerous undesirable and dangerous ingredients.
Check out the label below for the popular brand Orajel’s Daytime and Nighttime baby teething gels.
I mean, SERIOUSLY?
Starting with a sketchy first ingredient…chlorinated and likely fluoridated tap water…barely a single thing in this list is safe, especially for a baby who has no developed blood-brain barrier protection yet.
From the carcinogenic saccharin sweetener to propylene glycol (edible antifreeze which causes loose bowels already a problem for a teething baby), GMO citric acid, and artificial flavor….this stuff is a nightmare!
Other Teething Remedies
While a chilled teething ring as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics may seem safer, I personally didn’t want my children chomping on plastic.
Chewing on a synthetic substance might introduce another chemical danger to their vulnerable little bodies.
Swapping one chemical cocktail (teething gels) for another (plastic) doesn’t seem like a good idea at least to me.
I never tried an amber necklace, as they seemed to be a possible choking or strangulation hazard. The FDA issued a formal warning about them in 2018. (2)
Massaging the gums does help but is not always practical.
For example, if you are trying to get baby to sleep and she won’t lie still due to teething discomfort, this approach is probably not going to work!
Homeopathy for Teething
In cases where you need help with teething pain right away, I suggest trying these homeopathic baby oral relief tablets.
The tiny white pills that dissolve under the tongue are sweetened with lactose, a natural sugar abundant in breastmilk.
No white sugar or artificial anything is added.
Since they dissolve with no chewing, even babies with no teeth can easily take them.
As a bonus, homeopathic teething pills are quite inexpensive like many homeopathic remedies I’ve used.
I can’t tell you how many times I had a crying, fussy child in discomfort from teething pain who calmed down and went to sleep within minutes of having a couple of these tiny homeopathic pills placed under the tongue!
My husband and I used to call this homeopathic teething remedy “magic pills” because of how amazingly fast and effective they were with all three of our children.
For any homeopathy doubters out there, the effect is not a placebo effect either. A baby who is still nonverbal wouldn’t even know what this meant anyway.
My suggestion is to skip the dangerous, over-the-counter gels and other teething remedies containing toxic chemicals to soothe your irritable child.
Give homeopathy a try! Hopefully, you will be as delighted as we were with the nontoxic, effective results!
It’s certainly worth a shot given how affordable they are and no doctor visit is required to obtain them!
(1) FDA Takes Action on Benzocaine teething products
(2) FDA warns about safety risks of teething necklaces, bracelets to relieve teething pain or to provide sensory stimulation
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There’s also an alternative for babies who are allergic to dairy–bc believe it or not, there’s DAIRY in Hyland’s tablets! why!? idk, but we were lucky to find Humphrey’s Teething Tablets which are dairy free 😀
they are also magic pills. i stashed one in my purse, one in our diaper bag, my husband had a bottle with him… they worked WONDERS 🙂 Our son didn’t like anything but me being in his mouth (no teethers, pacis, etc) so the tablets saved our sanity lol…
We use the teething tablets! Fabulous!
I am allergic to Benzocaine for topical things. I had not heard of these problems. I am grateful for the allergy. I have steared clear of the gels for my children because of it! What about Hyland’s teething gel?
When our youngest was itty-bitty and had colic, we used Dr. Christopher’s Kid-e-Col tincture: catnip and fennel in a veg glycerin. It not only helped relieve the colic symptoms, but also worked on his gums when he teethed. Great stuff.
Bethany, Hylands had a recall on their product after this incident. They were off the shelves for awhile, but came back. We used them on my daughter and they were wonderful. My son won’t take them. We don’t do the amber necklaces, no matter how well they work, due to religious/spiritual issues.
The mesh feeders are a lifesaver, as I put frozen fruit in them, and they chew, chop and gobble them up, making the littles happy.
Thanks Kate…I didn’t see your posts above.
When I was pregnant my doula told me that there had been a problem with the Hyland’s teething tablets, something about some tablets containing too much of certain ingredients and I think some children even died…I think it was the belladonna poisoning. We never used them; we didn’t use anything other than cold, wet washrags.
Yes, clove can work on babies but dilute it (see recipe above). This same cream can work for any oral pain issues, including adults.
Did you know that Hyland’s teething tablets have belladonna in them? It is a sedative. Boiron Camilia Teething Relief does not – and actually works much better than hylands for my little teether! Also – I was late on the baltic amber teething necklace train! SO very glad I got on in time for molars cutting!
We LOVE Boiron Camilia and teething necklaces too!
Hylands’s tablets work great I used them on both of my sons. My sister in law came over with a tooth ache one day at I gave her some and it actually worked on that too.