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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:
BustopherJones · 05/04/2018 17:25

Absolute nonsense but some seemingly sensible friends use them. People have recommended them to me with such enthusiasm I’ve nearly run out of smiles and nods...

I used calpol/neurofen and let dd just eat all the crunchy bread etc she wanted, which was all she could be convinced to eat. I don’t understand the aversion to using painkillers as they’re intended. If I wanted a couple of paracetamol and got a necklace instead I’d be bloody disappointed.

Keilninnock · 05/04/2018 17:25

Many scientists are religious

Original poster
PancakeBum · 05/04/2018 17:27

Why are people so weird about giving their kids painkillers anyway? Are these the same people who would rather be martyrs when ill rather than take some fucking paracetamol?

OP posts:
speakout · 05/04/2018 17:30

AssassinatedBeauty I am a scientist.

I don't have a theory for everything.

No one does.

I don't need to rationalise everything in my life.

My science is not a religion.

PoorYorick · 05/04/2018 17:33

Scientists can indeed be religious and many are. This is not about religion.

BertrandRussell · 05/04/2018 17:49

“I'm a scientist.

No scientific evidence for them at all.

But they worked for me.”

I have very rarely seen 15 words that defines “not a scientist” quite as well as those!

Teachtolive · 05/04/2018 17:50

I'm so glad this thread is here. The amount of times I've heard people claiming amber necklaces work for teething, blissfully ignoring both the lack of science and the danger (and weirdness!) of putting necklaces on babies! I've been wondering for ages if I somehow missed a trick somewhere

YourWanMajella · 05/04/2018 17:51

I presume she has made no scientific study either

You don't need to though, do you? You just apply a little logic to realise that there is no possible mechanism of action. I don't need to do a study to prove that apples don't cure cancer, but you and I both understand that they don't.

Tink2007 · 05/04/2018 17:53

I’ve always hated the bloody things!

AsAProfessionalFekko · 05/04/2018 17:54

We used a gritty powder (camomile?) from a herbalist pharmacy when DS was teething. It worked like magic (gels didn't) and we called it 'baby crack'. He also used to gnaw on a jade bangle too.

AssassinatedBeauty · 05/04/2018 17:54

I'm not suggesting you have a theory for everything, @speakout. But, as a scientist, aren't you just even a tiny tiny bit curious about how they work? Especially if you use them with your children, so that you might be aware of any possible side effects or issues that using them might have.

Pinkvoid · 05/04/2018 17:55

When I was at uni I met a girl who believed in healing crystals and all that kind of woo woo BS. She literally carried a big bag of them everywhere she went, had different ones she would get out to hold when she felt different emotions Hmm. To me amber necklaces are no different to that level of craziness. I did try one with my youngest DC because I was absolutely desperate to stop her suffering so seriously would’ve tried anything. Needless to say, it didn’t work.

AsAProfessionalFekko · 05/04/2018 17:56

I assumed the babies chewed them - I didn't know they were actually magic! I love amber though and have a lot (for me).

donquixotedelamancha · 05/04/2018 18:14

My science is not a religion. Again, what does this mean? My Science is not a small Bulgarian rabbit- so what? Understanding how the Scientific method works and applying it to relevant questions is nothing to do with belief.

People are doubting you are a Scientist @speakout because you seem to fundamentally misunderstand what Science is, and you make assertions that a child with basic scientific literacy could pick holes in. What sort of Scientist are you claiming to be?

speakout · 05/04/2018 18:17

I'm not "claiming" anything.

I have a career in scientific research.

I don't apply scientific thought to everything in my life.

Being a scientist does not define who I am..

It's a poor scientist who has a closed mind.

YourWanMajella · 05/04/2018 18:19

It's a poor scientist who has a closed mind

It's a poor scientist that is so anti scientific. I don't believe for one moment you have a career in scientific research, unless you sanitise the petri dishes.

speakout · 05/04/2018 18:20

YourWanMajella I don't need your validation.

LaurieMarlow · 05/04/2018 18:22

I've never used one (thankfully DS was not particularly troubled by teeth) but I'm open to the idea that they are helpful for reasons we don't currently understand.

I don't know of any scientist who claims that our current scientific knowledge is sufficient to explain everything that occurs in our universe. There's lots we don't have a grip on.

YourWanMajella · 05/04/2018 18:24

Why would you get validation here, either way?

You're not a scientist, but hey, on the internet nobody knows you're a dog, right?

YourWanMajella · 05/04/2018 18:25

I don't know of any scientist who claims that our current scientific knowledge is sufficient to explain everything that occurs in our universe. There's lots we don't have a grip on

And there's lots we do, and we know that somethings can't and don't work in the way people claim. That wishy washy "ooh science hasn't explained everything yet so any old bollocks we claim is just as valid" is pure bollocks.

speakout · 05/04/2018 18:25

YourWanMajella you are funny.

speakout · 05/04/2018 18:27

so any old bollocks we claim is just as valid

I'm not "claiming " anything.

I don't get the vitriol.

I have used amber beads on my babies on the suggestion of a friend who is a GP and an experienced mother.

How does that affect you exactly?

donquixotedelamancha · 05/04/2018 18:27

I'm not "claiming" anything. @speakout you literally claim something in the next sentence: I have a career in scientific research.

So, just to be clear, you are a research Scientist? You test hypotheses, by analysing evidence, for a living?

I don't apply scientific thought to everything in my life. Being a scientist does not define who I am..

If you can't apply a very basic understanding of Science to a very simple question of Biology, then it's pretty reasonable that people don't believe your vague claims. This is something that people claiming much less expertise in Science could do.

doleritedinosaur · 05/04/2018 18:29

As a geologist they really grind my gears.

BuntyII · 05/04/2018 18:29

They're total bollocks and a choke hazard. Yet the same people that use them will cheerfully tell you if you formula feed you increase your child's risk of getting all kinds of terrible illnesses Hmm