OK to give Tylenol/Motrin EVERY NIGHT for teething? Any alternatives?

[Anonymous]

My ped said no more thn 7 days in a row.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for asking this question! My daughter is 14 mos and has been teething since about 3 mos and I'm not sure she's gotten more than a few good nights of sleep during that time. Her dad gives her motrin or tylenol on the nights she's with him so she sleeps through. But I worry about dosing her up every night. (a, because of the possible risks, and b, because it sets her up to "need" medication every time she feels a little discomfort.) I would like some sleep, though.

[Anonymous]

You might try Hyland's Teeth tablets - they are sold in CVSs/Walgreens/etc and are a natural (ie non-medical) remedy for teething. We found that they actually worked pretty well and might help on the days you want to break off with tylenol and motrin...

[Anonymous]

Hylands may be natural, but it is also medical. Because it is homeopathic no one had to do studies on kidney and liver function before putting it on the market. The Hylands web site lists belladonna as one of the ingredients. Belladonna is more toxic than acetominophine, so dosage with the Hylands will be as important as dosage with tylenol.

[Anonymous]

PP - I also heard the Hyland's / belladonna / nightshade ingredient worry but yet the reviews of the drug are so high and nobody seems to have had any problems. I haven't used it yet, though, basically because I don't think it's been tested, etc. I worry about everything -- too much tylenol hurting the liver, yet the homeopathic stuff seems sketchy to me too. We are fairly natural-parenting oriented people, but just because it's natural doesn't mean okay -- ie. poison ivy is also natural!

Anyone have anything to quantify the concerns with Hylands?

[Anonymous]

Homeopathics are not dangerous unless you take them every day and at high quantities. Contact a homeopath in your area for help with dosing. Homeopathics are far more safe than any synthetic drug out there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Homeopathics are not dangerous unless you take them every day and at high quantities. Contact a homeopath in your area for help with dosing. Homeopathics are far more safe than any synthetic drug out there.

Please don't believe this general characterization. It's just not true that all (let alone most) homeopathic drugs are not dangerous. It's great that you are concerned about not ODing on Tylenol and Motrin, and you shouldn't, but if you have to give your DC something, keep in mind that those drugs have been tested a heck of a lot more than the non-regulated stuff.

[Anonymous]

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[Anonymous]

We use baby orajel and it helps. Anyone else use it? My mom used it on me 40 years ago!

[Anonymous]

please call poison control (1-800-222-1222) before giving you child ANY medication that is not regulated by the FDA, like that teething remedy listed above - belladonna is dangerous! its a poison. poison control is there all the time and they're great with even the most trivial questions...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We give tylenol for teething pain, but sparingly. Normal dosage will not harm a baby, even if given "around the clock" but long term frequent use of analgesics can cause liver damage. Tylenol for adults, for instance, recently had to revise its warning label on adult versions to acknowledge greater long-term risk. These medicines can also exacerbate reflux or other stomach / digestive issues. Finally, some people choose homeopathic or more natural remedies for themselves and wish to do the same for their children, because they think painkillers and drugs in general are overused.

I personally give painkillers when DS is teething because I know he is in pain. But we also try hard to distract him, give him teething toys, etc first. When that does not work and it's obvious that teething is the culprit, we'll use tylenol. (He's too young for ibuprofin).

Good luck OP!

OP here. I suspected something like this. But my question remains--how much is too much?

I don't think anyone knows because I don't think anyone has tested on infants. But based on the generic advice that long term frequent use can cause liver damage, I try not to give it too often to my daughter. I think every night for 2 weeks is not going to harm. But I would only do that if absolutely necessary. Have you tried Hyland's Teething Tablets? They are homeopathic and supposedly OK to give as often as every 15 minutes. They seem to work well for our daughter.

[Anonymous]

When my DD was teething we gave motrin each night when she was uncomfortable. My thought was why should my child be in pain if I can take it away? I checked with her Ped and the Ped agreed. My DD had 14 teeth by her first birthday. One month she had 6 come it at one time. She is now only 16 months and is only missing her last back molars. Yeah - I gave the tylenol and motrin. The motrin seemed to last longer.

I tried the orajel but my DD didn't like it. I tried some (just a dab to see what it tasted like) and whatever touched it went numb (tongue, etc). Getting the gel on my DD's gum wasn't easy and my guess is her tongue also hit the gel - making it numb too. No wonder she didn't like it.

We also used teether's, etc.

[Anonymous]

Good grief. Natural does not mean good for you. Radon - natural. Willowbark - natural, but not for kids.

Tylenol and advil are not good for your kidneys. Belladona has side effects. Teething hurts. It is all about trade-offs. The warnings aren't just for kids, but for adults.

So, 11:32 has a nice point: why not take away pain if I can? Fine, but if it starts to be every night for long stretches, you are taking away pain while introducing kidney strain. The trade-off is less obvious.

I personally wasn't comfortable feeding my child belladona. I was more comfortable with acetometaphin. Make your own call.

[Anonymous]

I know this has been closed for some time but I had to reply to the previous poster. Teething tablets have worked well for our daughter and I have no problem giving them to her. I don't like someone making me feel like I'm giving my daughter "poison" this is absolutely rediculous. Some info for you:

"First and foremost, homeopathic medicines are regulated as drugs by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as required in the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The production of Hyland’s homeopathic medicines occurs within a validated process, as with any FDA-regulated drug, to ensure an accepted level of consistency in product output.

Hyland’s Teething Tablets contain homeopathically prepared forms of Calcarea Phosphorica, Chamomilla, Coffea Cruda, and Belladonna. These ingredients are all prepared in accordance with the Homeopathic Pharmacopœia of the United States (HPUS). HPUS has been recognized by the FDA since 1938 as the official compendium (or formula book) for homeopathic medicine in the U.S. When homeopathically prepared, active ingredients are diluted to the point that the risk of toxicity is extremely low (see specific details below).

Belladonna is included in the Tablets to ease the redness, inflammation and discomfort of the child’s gum that often occurs during the teething process. Belladonna 3X HPUS is manufactured from the whole plant, of which a small portion is Belladonna alkaloids (the component sometimes associated with side effects). Each Teething Tablet (which weighs about 65 mg) is composed of 0.0003% Belladonna alkaloids as stated on the label. This means that each complete teething tablet contains only approximately 0.0002 mg of Belladonna alkaloids.

The amount of Belladonna alkaloids in teething tablets is minuscule, especially when compared to conventional medicine. Conventional medicines typically use 0.2 to 5 mg of Belladonna alkaloids per tablet as an anti-spasmodic – roughly 1,000 to 25,000 times larger than the quantities used in Hyland’s Teething Tablets. The side effects sometimes caused by conventional medicines delivering more than 0.2 mg of Belladonna alkaloids – such as dry mouth, blurred vision and urinary retention – are not associated with homeopathic medicines because of their minute dosage.

To put homeopathic dosages in perspective, typically a 10-pound child would need to ingest 1,000 Hyland’s Teething Tablets (at least 6 bottles of 125 tablets) to exhibit even the first possible side effect of Belladonna. "

Taken from this site: http://www.hylands.com/news/teethinginfo.php

Do your research before posting.

[Anonymous]

We alternate hyland's teething tablets and tylenol/motrin so that he doesn't get either every night.