Your Baby’s Teething Medicine Can Be Dangerous
If you are a parent, then you were there. Everything in the world of rocking, patting and walking around Old McDonald’s will not stop your child’s suffering. After several weeks of sleepless nights, you think that the child needs to be expelled, but then it turns out that she is just getting new teeth.
There are many over-the-counter remedies that claim to relieve teething pain, but you have to be careful. The FDA warns of the dangers of teething products containing benzocaine, a popular numbing ingredient. The FDA states that various gels and creams containing this drug can cause rare but fatal side effects in children, especially those 2 years of age and younger. The administration is trying to remove them from store shelves, but until then, you should stop using them on your child.
Remember, there is also an FDA warning about homeopathic teething pills and gels containing belladonna – an investigation is underway to determine if these products may have killed 10 children.
Teething sucks. But alas, this is a natural and temporary process. To keep your little ones safe, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that you gently massage your baby’s gums with your finger and give them a cool (non-freezing) teething ring or clean washcloth to chew on.