Teething pains worst at night?

[Anticyclone]

Our 10mo has his four front top teeth coming through. During the day he's a bit grumpy but is generally easily distracted.

But he wakes up about 30 mins after being put to bed, screaming in what seems like agony and is inconsolable. This is now the third night, and all the usual settling methods aren't working. We tried calpol last night which seemed to have a slight effect eventually.

Is this normal? Why doesn't he feel this pain during the day?

[Bippidee]

Sympathies. Teeth are buggers.

I found with DD that ibuprofen worked better than calpol as it reduces swelling.

Lying down also does make the pain worse, so we dose up before bedtime (10-15 mins).

Hope those pegs are through soon!

[boopdoop]

We've always found teething worst at night. My DS is 15 months and we just have 6 teeth left to come through now.

I'd also recommend ibuprofen rather than calpol, though as you can alternate, I tend to start with ibuprofen and then top up with calpol a few hours later if needed.

Also would massively recommend teething granules and Anbesol (this is bought over counter at pharmacies). Teething granules are great for calming them whilst the ibuprofen kicks in, and Anbesol is amazing for giving pretty instant relief - and adults can use it for ulcers too, it's amazing.

Hope that helps.

[Anticyclone]

Oh great, thanks for your replies. We've got ibuprofen so will give that a go.

We got some teething gel, but not really sure how much it's doing. Annoyingly I was looking for anbesol as someone else recommended it, but then ended up not buying it!

It's good to hear it's normal for the pain to be worse at night.

[ipswichwitch]

DS2 had it much worse at night. In fact he's had a dose of brufen just before bed as his cheeks were bright red (he looks like a garden gnome when teething!)

And I definitely recommend anbesol. The gels just slide off his gums and wind up all down his front

[Joneseygirl77]

Another one here recommending nurofen and anbesol. My 14mo dd really struggles with teeth and I highly recommend giving a dose of nurofen before bed. 2 of the gps in my practice (both of whom have 3+ children) say ibrupofen is far better than calpol for teething. It's longer lasting so works well at night.

I hate teething so you have my sympathies

[BlueChampagne]

I think any pain is worse at night when you're on your own - whatever your age!