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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think amber necklaces are a load of bollocks?

206 replies

PancakeBum · 05/04/2018 15:00

And that if I had severe toothache I'd rather take a fucking painkiller?

Surely even if they ARE releasing these "oils" or whatever they're meant to do to help with teething then you are using an untested substance on your baby? And are they not a choking hazard?!

Or am I just being grumpy because I come from a family of homeopaths who all irritate the life out of me?

OP posts:
TroubledLichen · 05/04/2018 15:26

Womb - by saying they’re a choking hazard, that means that a baby COULD choke on the beads, not that babies are choking on them all the time or that they are a killing babies, just that the design of the necklace carries an albeit very small but a risk nevertheless of choking. Nothing over the top about that...

TheLastSoala · 05/04/2018 15:26

I think they’re great.

If I see anyone using them, I know they’re a moron and I steer well clear, or at least keep to two syllable words at most.

MrsTerryPratchett · 05/04/2018 15:26

You choice is either:

  1. They work are are releasing an unmeasured amount of an untested substance into your baby's bloodstream. And are a strangulation/choking hazard.

OR

  1. It's bolleaux.

However, there is placebo effect by proxy so they probably do actually have an effect of sorts.

HopeClearwater · 05/04/2018 15:29

Yes, what’s ‘crystal therapy’?

rainbowfudgee · 05/04/2018 15:30

It's impossible to test them and they look pretty, plus parents are desperate and will try anything to get a good night's sleep, so they sell.
I never used them as I was really lucky my children hardly noticed when their teeth came through. I could have bought some and used them then be singing their praises... you would never know what effect they had had.

MrsHathaway · 05/04/2018 15:32

Placebo worked for my DC2 - though because choking hazard is obvious we had an anklet thing which was always inaccessible under his clothing. If you ever forgot to put it back on after a bath or whatever, he'd be red raw round the mouth from all the drooling.

Teething granules are at least as much bollocks (homeopathic bollocks at that) and don't attract as much scorn and derision. They're basically sugar with added sweeteners. Brilliant!

YourWanMajella · 05/04/2018 15:32

Then why do so many apparently rational people use them?!

Apparently rational people use homeopathy, and reiki and crystal healing and all kinds of bollocks. People like to do something when they have a problem and this kind of woo makes them feel proactive and a little bit clever (which is ironic).

PurpleDaisies · 05/04/2018 15:36

you would never know what effect they had had.

Of course you know. There is no mechanism by which they give pain relief. If they “work”, it’s through the placebo effect.

DobbyisFREE · 05/04/2018 15:36

Even if they were good for you I'd stay well clear. Amber is not worth the risk to you and your family. Velociraptors are no joke.

diddl · 05/04/2018 15:37

" So any claims that body heat will cause some sort of magical reaction are utter nonsense. "

So suitable for toothache whilst menopausal??Grin

AssassinatedBeauty · 05/04/2018 15:54

Teething granules have a physical action on the gums and give a sugar rush, both of which will have some temporary result in terms of pain relief/distraction. Nothing to do with the homeopathic levels of "active" ingredient, or the tiny amount of herbal ingredients depending on which type you buy.

VileyRose · 05/04/2018 15:54

purpleI use traditional methods and I don't do it for a living! It can be soothing but Amber bracelets won't help at all.

strawberrypenguin · 05/04/2018 15:55

Of course it is. Otherwise we'd all be wearing Amber and we wouldn't need paracetamol ever.

Grandmaswagsbag · 05/04/2018 15:56

They make me very uncomfortable. Why is it suddenly ok to have something round a baby and young child’s neck? Surely they don’t sleep with them on?!

Allthewaves · 05/04/2018 15:58

I used amber anklet underneath baby grow. I was sceptical but it really did help

TimesNewRoman · 05/04/2018 16:02

But surely the placebo effect is only on the parent? Given that the baby doesn't know what the bracelet is for, how would it know to think it might be helping?

PurpleDaisies · 05/04/2018 16:03

times because the parent thinks it is working, they are going to be less stressed which is what affects the baby for the better.

MrsHathaway · 05/04/2018 16:04

Teething granules have a physical action on the gums and give a sugar rush, both of which will have some temporary result in terms of pain relief/distraction. Nothing to do with the homeopathic levels of "active" ingredient, or the tiny amount of herbal ingredients depending on which type you buy.

True.

But maybe the rubbing of the anklet/necklace (they have to be reasonably tight) has a similarly distracting action to reduce discomfort?

JakeBallardswife · 05/04/2018 16:09

Woo bollocks is the new best phrase ever!

AddictiveCereal · 05/04/2018 16:13

How does it have a placebo effect - when the person suffering the pain (the baby) doesn't realise the necklace is meant to help with pain?

PurpleDaisies · 05/04/2018 16:14

Did you miss my answer to that question addictive? It’s a few posts up. Smile

AssassinatedBeauty · 05/04/2018 16:15

Are the amber necklaces/anklets chewed by the baby? I thought that wasn't what was done with them. Not sure how wearing them normally would be distracting enough to stop teething pain. Teething granules are rubbed on the gums with a finger, which has a direct action on the area that is sore.

YourWanMajella · 05/04/2018 16:18

Woo bollocks is the new best phrase ever!

Nothing new about it, we've been saying it for a decade here.

specialsubject · 05/04/2018 16:20

When even the floggers of crystals say it is nonsense, you know it is serious rubbish.

Causation, correlation, coincidence, critical thinking. Plus choking hazard and maybe the odd strangled baby....

MrsHathaway · 05/04/2018 16:20

Yes, they shouldn't be rubbing on the gums, I didn't explain well. They'd be rubbing on the ankle (or neck, eek) which would still be distracting? Like rubbing a comfort blanket in your fingers.

Just speculating, obviously. My main point was that loads of the active ingredients in children's "cures" and "treatments" are scientifically mostly bollocks but don't attract the same ire.