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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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I just LOVE those homeopathic teething tablets……it has worked wonders on both of my girls! It is an infant staple in our home.
Joy, I didn’t know about amber necklaces when my kids were babies but several of my friends swear by them. Plus they’re super cute 🙂
Joy, I didn’t know about amber necklaces when my kids were babies but several of my friends swear by them. Plus they’re super cute 🙂
I am really glad I selected the notification box on follow up comments! So many great tips! I am going to try the coconut oil on a q-tip with ground clove. We use coconut oil for just about everything! And just to go into a little more detail about the teething necklace – We also got one by “Inspired by Finn” on Amazon. We literally had a different baby after just an hour or so of wearing it. I would highly encourage taking if off their neck for sleep even though that is when parent’s want the relief the most. Ours wraps around her ankle twice and fastens perfectly and we very rarely experience her waking up with teething pain now. It has been such a blessing.
The problem with benzocaine is parent’s overdosing their kids. Same with homeopathic remedies. If you just read and follow the directions for all medical or natural remedies you use, you will be safer than ODing your poor little baby! That goes for herbals, homeopathics, advil, tylenol, benzocaine. Just use common sense, follow the directions, and don’t overdo any remedies! Babies should not need much medicine, natural or synthetic.
@Tricia this is best for older kids though. I prefer the homeopathic teething tablets for the younger ones.
@Tricia when my kids have a sore spot on the inside of their mouth anywhere, I put a bit of coconut oil on the end of a Q-tip and put a bit of ground cloves from the spice cabinet on the coconut oil (so it sticks nicely) and press it on the spot. Cloves relieves pain fast.
Neglected to mention that paregoric was basically opium. Used to be easy to get, then we hd to sign for it, then it got pulled off the market.
I would wet my daughter’s cotton washcloths with filtered water, roll them and fold them to look like a ring, then cover them with something and place them in the freezer. She loved chomping on these.
Old days report: Paregoric was a very common teething remedy. When I was in college (1947) I couldn’t have gotten through wisdom teeth without it. Used it for my kids too. One day my litte Peter was on his back in the playpen and I leaned in to rub paregoric on his gums. I had put the little bottle in my shirt pocket and didn’t realize the cap was loose. As I bent over, a stream of paregoric poured down into his open crying mouth! I thought I’d killed him – one of many times I was sure I’d killed one of my kids.
Paregoric was also an ingredient in a marvelous anti-diarrhea/flu medicine – 1 tablespoon worked in instants. I got really sick one time at one of my husband’s conventions. Took to my bed in the hotel but at about 4 o’clock I talked him into driving me to get some of the whatever-it-was and by 7 pm I was at the banquet and ate a wonderful meal.
Can’t do either of those any more.