# Orajel?



## mormontreehugger (Feb 25, 2009)

Safe? Not safe? DS is teething like a madman and I'm using hylands teething tablets but I'm wondering if he needs more to help him sleep better at night. Currently he nurses every 2 hours. All day. All night. Starting to wear me out a bit. I'll deal with it if it's better for him--I can nap with him so sleep deprivation isn't TOO horrible, but if he could just get a 4 or 5 hour chunk of sleep at night that'd be fabulous. He's 5 m/o.

thanks!


----------



## lonegirl (Oct 31, 2008)

Have you tried Camilia? I found that worked wonders for my son when he was teething (his first tooth was in at 3m)

When he was older I used baby Orajel very, very sparingly. I applied it on a cotton swab then on the affected area.


----------



## Llyra (Jan 16, 2005)

I think it's safe. I don't think it's very effective, though. In my experience using it on myself for mouth sores, it mostly works for a few minutes to about a half hour, and then stops working again. And you can only use it so many times a day. My experience has been that I use it very sparingly, whether on myself or on my kids, usually before they eat, when tooth or mouth pain is making it impossible for them to nurse or eat, so that at least they can eat without pain, but that it's not terribly useful otherwise.


----------



## elmh23 (Jul 1, 2004)

We used Tylenol at night for teething pain and the Hylands Teething Tablets during the day. I tried Orajel once and it didn't seem to do anything, but I know it worked for my niece.


----------



## JessicaS (Nov 18, 2001)

Orajel can increase choking because in increases salivation. It can be difficult for a baby to manage something like that. It is pretty easy to use too much.

Also it is saliva soluble so it wouldn't necessarily provide comfort very long.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...862717/?page=1

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/dru...ation/DR602253

We just use Hylands normally, we give Motrin if they are too uncomfortable.


----------



## Eclipsepearl (May 20, 2007)

I would stay away from Hylands. They had a scare a few years back and I'm not thrilled with giving a baby something with belladonna in it. I'm a little skiddish about giving homeopathy to children anyway, wary that it might be a marketing gimick, IMHO. A lot of people think homeopathy means "natural"...

Orajel numbs the area of pain and if I wasn't absolutely sure where the pain was coming from, it can't be used effectively. Often it hurts before the tooth comes in, and my dental skills aren't the top. The rare times I could tell, I'd put only a tiny dab on it. I wasn't going to numb their whole mouth!

I think you should contact a LC or LLL leader about this feeding pattern. It may or may not be related to the teething. The teething could have set things in motion. Frequent feedings sometimes indicate that the child is not getting enough "hind" milk, the rich, fatty milk which satisfies them better. This is why he gets hungry again so soon. You can find yourself quickly in a feeding vortex. It's better to consult someone IRL and have them explain things person-to-person.

It's a problem that both crops up and fixes easily. Just get some support and hopefully, soon, a bit more sleep!

Good luck with both.


----------



## gracemamma (Oct 11, 2009)

I'd like to hear more about the Hylands scare, eclipspearl, as we use this regularly-thanks!


----------



## dogretro (Jun 17, 2008)

Baby Orajel worked pretty well for us. There is a nighttime version that has more numbing power & will keep it numb for a bit longer. We always gave Tylenol, too. Tried Hylands, didn't work. The way Orajel worked for us was that we would give dd Tylenol before bed & then rub the Orajel on. Orajel would numb the pain long enough for her to fall asleep. By the time she was nice and asleep, the Tylenol would have a chance to start working & take over for pain relief. If she woke up during the night & needed more, we would repeat the same routine.


----------



## treehugginhippie (Nov 29, 2004)

I wouldn't use Orajel...it has ingredients in it I wouldn't put on my skin let alone inside my baby's mouth! (look it up online under http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/ if you want to know more)

I'd suggest using Boiron Chamomilla homeopathic remedy or making chamomille tea and also getting an amber teething necklace to wear during the day (they don't chew on it...it has healing properties when worn against the skin).


----------



## littlemizflava (Oct 8, 2006)

i swear by amber necklaces for may things including teething pains and drooling, fever and mood swings. also everyone i know who have used it says it helps alot. that is my standard baby gift









amber is worn next to the skin the oils come out and help to calm teething pains. 100% natural & 100% safe. the baby does NOT teeth on the necklace just wears it next to the skin.


----------



## StoriesInTheSoil (May 8, 2008)

I wouldn't use Orajel or Tylenol.

My favorite teething remedy is Herbs for Kids Gummomile Oil which has clove oil in it and works to naturally soothe and numb the gums without the harmful ingredients or side effects of orajel.

The hyland's "scare" was an internet hoax. Here is a little information from the hyland's site: http://www.hylands.com/news/teethinginfo.php and there are other things out there too but I feel like their responce is very concise. Millions of bottles of baby tylenol were recently involved in a legitmate recall. There was NO actual evidence of ANYTHING actually happening in the teething tablet "incidents" and I really think it would have been in the news or something.

Amber necklaces are great- we swear by them.


----------



## Eclipsepearl (May 20, 2007)

I wasn't a big believer in the amber necklaces but then I thought, "Wait, it's a _necklace_. Can't hurt!" I can't say if it worked or not.

I'm kind of glad that the Hylands incident didn't happen. I hate the thought that a child OD'd on the belladonna in it. I'm still not comfortable giving anything containing belladonna to a child. I don't think the amount is harmful but that begs the question, why do they even put it in? My "fear" would be that a batch would have too much, for some reason. I'm sure they have safeguards in place to prevent this but still, I don't need to give it to my baby...


----------



## lovebug (Nov 2, 2004)




----------



## boheime (Oct 25, 2005)

Hyland's makes a teething gel. The tablets helped with my first two kids but weren't working for number three, who was in so much pain he wouldn't even nurse. We ended up getting the gel and using that a minute or so before nursing each time and it helped so much.

We also use infant Motrin at night time if the pain is keeping them from sleeping.


----------



## St. Margaret (May 19, 2006)

We found the Camillia worked better for DD than the tablets, and her amber necklace really worked.

I'm not anti-homeopathy at all, but I was ticked to see methelparabans in my Hyland's arnica stick.







NOT what I was going for when I bought it. Really reduced my trust in that company.


----------



## mormontreehugger (Feb 25, 2009)

Thanks for all the replies!

I've been using the tablets, but sometimes the plain cammimilia(sp?) tablets instead. Either one seems to calm him down. I've ordered an amber necklace, but it hasn't gotten here yet. I'm glad that incident was a hoax. I'm personally not worried about the amounts of belladonna--many homeopathic treatments would be poisonous if they were using any large amount of the stuff. It's kind of the point. But that's a whole other discussion.

I have decided not to use orajel. The one time I used it I think I numbed his tongue... pointless.


----------



## pumpkinhead (Sep 15, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Eclipsepearl* 
I would stay away from Hylands. They had a scare a few years back and I'm not thrilled with giving a baby something with belladonna in it. I'm a little skiddish about giving homeopathy to children anyway, wary that it might be a marketing gimick, IMHO. A lot of people think homeopathy means "natural"...


Quote:


Originally Posted by *Eclipsepearl* 
I wasn't a big believer in the amber necklaces but then I thought, "Wait, it's a _necklace_. Can't hurt!" I can't say if it worked or not.

I'm kind of glad that the Hylands incident didn't happen. I hate the thought that a child OD'd on the belladonna in it. I'm still not comfortable giving anything containing belladonna to a child. I don't think the amount is harmful but that begs the question, why do they even put it in? My "fear" would be that a batch would have too much, for some reason. I'm sure they have safeguards in place to prevent this but still, I don't need to give it to my baby...

This is why they put it in at all

Quote:

According to homeopathic theory, various materials found in nature contain an energy field that can exert a healing effect on the body. This energy field can be amplified, or "potentiated," by a series of dilutions and vigorous shakings. The more the "mother tincture" is diluted, the stronger the healing effect will be.
Hylands doesn't actually contain any detectable belladonna. It's a homeopathic preparation which mean it's been diluted to the point where it is no longer detectable. This is the case with all homeopathic preparations. So, while they may not help at all, they definitely can't hurt. A child could down serveral bottles of Hylands and the only ill effects they'd suffer would be from the lactose







.

Some basic info on homeopathy here:
http://www.naturalhealthschool.com/15_1.html


----------



## bluebirdiemama (May 2, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *St. Margaret* 
We found the Camillia worked better for DD than the tablets, and her amber necklace really worked.

I'm not anti-homeopathy at all, but I was ticked to see methelparabans in my Hyland's arnica stick.







NOT what I was going for when I bought it. Really reduced my trust in that company.

Interesting!

....we have been using Hyland's tablets.... I would not use oragel.

Have you tried giving your baby water when he/she wakes up in the night?
My dd fell into a similar pattern of waking every 2 hours or so. I started giving her a drink of water and then rocking her for about 20-30 seconds and she was good to be put back in bed.
I think the first, maybe second time, I had to let her cry for a minute.


----------



## *Erin* (Mar 18, 2002)

im glad you are having some luck with the camilia!

we used hylands w/ dd1 and had good results, but it didnt do anything for my ds2. we give him homeopathic camilia and motrin for the really rough nights. also cold stuff to teeth on-frozen washcloth, frozen bagels, frozen bananas, frozen waffles. all were big hits with my little teethers.

i wanted to comment about the nursing-when both of my littles were 6 months old, it was normal for them to nurse every 2 hours, sometimes more (dd1 especially) it's tiring, yes, but not at all abnormal. LLL will tell you the same thing









could be that baby is having a growth spurt and wanting to nurse more often to raise your supply up. could just be that's when babe is hungry. good for you for feeding on demand-it really does get easier when baby gets bigger. especially when they start eating food.


----------



## redvlagrl (Dec 2, 2009)

We have tried Hylands, Amber necklaces, Tylenol, Orajel etc for teething. Honestly, I don't think any of them really work that well apart from the Tylenol, which we rarely give.

Once, when we were desperate we bought the Orajel in the hope that it would soothe the pain long enough for DD to get back to sleep, but it really didn't. We haven't used it again.

That probably wasn't much help, I suppose.


----------



## klk197 (Apr 24, 2009)

At 5 months, DS nursed that often too. I swore he was having teething issues, but didn't get his first sprout until 12 mo and at 18 mo now, still only has 4 teeth. Obviously I don't know your situation, but for me I frequently jumped to the "he must be teething" conclusion. If you think its possible that it could be something other than or in addition to teething, you may find help from an LC. In our case, the LC diagnosed a sucking problem that I was unaware of that caused a decrease in supply and perpetuated the frequent feedings and crabbiness. I put this out there as a 'just in case'--I didn't know this was possible at the time and I wish I was aware much much sooner!


----------



## snowgirl (Aug 2, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mormontreehugger* 
Safe? Not safe? DS is teething like a madman and I'm using hylands teething tablets but I'm wondering if he needs more to help him sleep better at night. Currently he nurses every 2 hours. All day. All night. Starting to wear me out a bit. I'll deal with it if it's better for him--I can nap with him so sleep deprivation isn't TOO horrible, but if he could just get a 4 or 5 hour chunk of sleep at night that'd be fabulous. He's 5 m/o.

thanks!

It is great that you are nursing him and he is probably wanting to nurse so much b/c it is comforting. ALSO, bm has anti-inflammatory properties in it, so it helps with gum inflammation. So keep up with his demand. It will pass soon enough. Make sure latch and position are always good so you do not get sore nipples.

I tried orajel before, but didn't find much success. If you do use it and your child is eating solids, do not apply before they eat, as they could choke on food b/c their gums are numb. I would try it on yourself too. I did and found it only last a short period of time, like 20 minutes.

Hylands and Tylenol has worked for me. I have heard that clove oil works well too.
GL


----------

