To wonder why perfectly intelligent people keep suggesting amber teething aids to me, am I missing something?

[TinySleepThief]

I have a teething 4 month old. It's crap but there isn't much I can do about it other than dose him up with Calpol, use teething powder/gel and continue in my attempts to get him to use any form of teether.

However in general conversations 3 separate people so far this week have suggested buying a teething necklace, bracelet or anklet all of whom I thought to be quite intelligent. 2 of whom also don't have children but have heard from a friend of a friend that they work miracles.

I just don't understand why they think it would help, there's no science behind it at all and honestly they just look dangerous.

So now I'm genuinely wondering am I missing some new research which isn't just anecdotal? Or am I right to wonder why is it that rationale intelligent people seem to think that bloody amber will help when everything else I've tried so far has failed?

Don't anyone of you who believe amber works think that because you believe it works, you feel calmer, your baby picks up on this and is also calmer, you don't look for signs of teething pain so much, etc?

Also, if amber is so effective for pain relief, why isn't it widely available and promoted in the way paracetamol, ibuprofen etc are? Where are the studies evidencing how it works?

get yourself a Sophie and some Ashton and Dentons powders

@Aussiegirl123456 really? Can you share your links? My findings were all in this vein:

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6612214/
"we have found no evidence to suggest that the purported active ingredient succinic acid could be released from the beads into human skin. Additionally, we found no evidence to suggest that succinic acid has anti-inflammatory properties"

Ds has had amber beads on his ankle since he was born and is now 2, I think hes had one temperature from teething and has only had to have calpol about 3 times due to teething, the rest was absolutely fine and we actually didn't even know half of the teeth were coming up until they broke through, we've never used teething gel or powder or anything like that either

That's so weird! My DD has been the same. She doesn't have any amber jewellery, so I've put it down to her having a Peter Rabbit rattle. I've recommended them to all my friends, because clearly it helped her teething.

Her high pain threshold probably had nothing to do with it.

I've put it down to her having a Peter Rabbit rattle.

Where can I buy one of these amazing items?

so I've put it down to her having a Peter Rabbit rattle.

I think that's a perfect analogy and at least your rattle is not dangerous like an Amber teething aid.

Your only mistake is to believe that these recommendations come from intelligent people.

My DS also had a Peter rabbit rattle and never really suffered with his teeth. Coincidence? I think not.

I have an open mind on this one. There may be a scientific explanation that’s currently beyond our understanding. The psychological effect on the mother may be strong enough to calm the baby.

Enough people have faith in their efficacy to make me curious. Sometimes what works, works - without a clear explanation.

Though mine didn’t have issues with their teeth, thankfully, so I didn’t go there.

I assumed they were for chewing on and somehow soothed the gums

I always thought that too, as did my mother (born 1929) and my grandmother (born 1899).

well educated people Well educated doesnt equal intelligent

Ds has had amber beads on his ankle since he was born and is now 2, I think hes had one temperature from teething and has only had to have calpol about 3 times due to teething,
DD never needed calpol at all for teething, she didnt have any amber jewellery, some children just teeth painlessly, ds on the other hand had his first of many febrile convulsion cutting a tooth

Until my niece out an amber necklace on my great niece I had no idea they were a thing.
I can't understand why anyone buys them.
I think Bumbos are worse though. What is the reasoning for them? Surely babies will sit when they're ready.

I must admit I never really understood those myself.
I get by with the Nuby lolly moulds. I froze breastmilk in them until DS was 6 months and made breastmilk lollies and then filled them with fruit smoothies and froze those instead. Works a treat now DD is teething too.

Well educated doesnt equal intelligent

Whoever implied it did?

I did research, the majority of papers I'd read on Google Scholar came to the conclusion that there isn't enough scientific evidence to dispute amber works or confirm it does. So if they're allowed to come to the conclusion of "who knows", then so can I! :-)

That's an excellent example of poor critical thinking skills. Your assertion was that Australian children don't have teething pains because they all wear amber jewelry.

This has been tested and no evidence has been found to support it. A PP describes the proposed mechanism above and that this has been found not to occur.

Thus (unless the evidence changes) we can discount the idea of amber having magic powers and not put babies at risk by putting beads near them.

To still believe it does work, despite the evidence, and to push the idea to others is very closed minded. You can train yourself to be analytical about things but it won't work if you are closed to reason.

She doesn't have any amber jewellery, so I've put it down to her having a Peter Rabbit rattle.

Great post.

Who knows, I’m inclined to think it’s BS though. Ibuprofen works better for teething pain ime though if she’s old enough to have it.

My dd was a mare with every single tooth that cut so till about 2.5 and her first one popped through around 5 months. Given it’s possible for babies to be born with teeth I don’t think it’s UR to consider teething in young babies. Teeth, farts and pooing have taken up considerable headspace during my dd’s infant years

I think Tim Minchin put it best in his 'Storm' video.

Alternative Medicine has either not been proved to work, or been proved not to work.

Do you know what they call 'alternative medicine' that's been proved to work?

Medicine.

but I didn't even know the poor girl was even teething.
DD cut 4 teeth in one go without me knowing, no amber in sight.

cdtaylormats I don't think Victorians were that actually that hot on early childhood pain relief. They used to give kids laudanum which is 1% morphine. But hey, I'm pretty sure it worked , so maybe it's worth starting a movement to bring it back. After all morphine is derived from a natural product, so it can't be all bad can it.

I'm really embarrassed I'm a dentist, I always assumed they were used as a pacifier and the child gummed down on the beads but hadn't ever looked into it as I didn't like the idea of them as a choking hazard

Clicked too soon, I was just about to write the copy for new laudanum.

" venerated for centuries by the wisdom of the ancients this plant based product is sourced in the remote, pollution free valleys of Afghanistan . Harvested by hand under clear blue skies the opium in our product is guaranteed pure, contains no animal products, is suitable for vegans and those with dietary restrictions . ......."

I remember talking to a dentist when DD was teething (coincidentally) who said that the pain from teething comes from the tooth breaking the skin on the gum and the bacteria getting in and inflaming the gums so the best thing to do for teething was to brush their gums and get rid of the bacteria. You can get things to brush their gums and emerging teeth that slip over your finger (i think we bought Brush Babies from Boots). We never had any issues with DD teething but whether that was down to the brushing, who knows, she wasn't always keen on it so we just tried our best with it.

You can get things to brush their gums and emerging teeth that slip over your finger (i think we bought Brush Babies from Boots). We never had any issues with DD teething but whether that was down to the brushing, who knows, she wasn't always keen on it so we just tried our best with it.

I was told this too, we always cleaned DS’s gums long before his teeth came through. A muslin square dipped in water is just as effective. Not sure how effective it is for teething pain but it’s supposed to be good for their gums and teeth before they come through anyway, you can even rub some toothpaste on the gums too.

This all reminds me of the copper bracelet my nan used to wear for her arthritis. There is no evidence of that working either.

www.nhs.uk/news/older-people/copper-bracelets-and-arthritis/