Yoga at change

Teething

 

An infant cutting her first teeth may appear to be in the throes of torture.  She’ll drool, cry, squirm and stay awake at night.  Parents of such apparently inconsolable children often wonder if they, the parents, don’t suffer as much during the search for effective ways to sooth the wild one.  Fortunately some of the same natural health remedies and techniques that relieve an adult’s toothache can help soothe a child who is teething.  These steps can also help an adult who is suffering from the teething pain that may occur when wisdom teeth come in..

 

Children teethe at varying rates.  On occasion a child is born with a tooth or two showing, while other children may not cut their first tooth until age two.  Usually infants begin to get their lower front teeth first, around six to seven months.  The back teeth, the first and second molars, are usually cut between the ages of one and two.  These are more likely than the front teeth to cause teething pain.  The rest of the set of twenty infant teeth come in over the next year or so.  Around age six to seven the infant teeth will start falling out and being replaced by the permanent teeth. 

 

Many children grow their infant teeth without much pain or fuss.  Mild symptoms of teething are red and swollen gums, drooling, and cheeks on the affected side that may be tender, hot, or flushed.  Often the child will attempt to relieve the teething pain by biting or chewing on something, whether fingers, toys, or foods.  When the teething pain is more severe, the child may have trouble eating or going to sleep.

 

Teething is sometime used by parents as a catch-all diagnosis.  Observe the child’s symptoms closely to make sure he is teething and not suffering from a fever, ear infections, or other more serious condition that calls for professional evaluations. 

 

Natural First-Aid Remedies for Teething

 

The simplest ways to help relieve a child’s teething pains are to gently rub the gums (many parents first apply a drop or two of alcohol, or any herbal tincture that is alcohol-based) and offer a cool drink from a cup.  Here are some other quick and effective steps that may help.

 

Offer the child cold foods to eat or suck on.  Parents have reported success using raw carrot sticks, yogurt (after the child reaches nine to ten months old), frozen bagels, and the like.  Be careful not to give an infant something like crackers that could break into chunky pieces and present a choking hazard.  Give the baby a chilled teething ring or toy.  Keep one in the refrigerator if your child is in the teething age.  Apply a few drops of a pain-relieving herbal tincture.  Herbalist Christopher Hobbs says, “I prefer using alcoholic tinctures to essential oils for teething because the latter can be a little harsh”

He suggests using a tincture of 1. Catnip (Nepeta cataria) and Echinacea mixed equally 2. Chamomile and 3. Valerian.

 

Apply two to three drops directly to the gums where the teeth are coming up.  The valerian tincture seems not only to relieve the local pain but to have an overall calming, sedative effect, perhaps due to the herb’s essential oil penetrating and getting into the bloodstream.

 

You can also make a sweetened chamomile and catnip tea for the baby to drink, but the tinctures are stronger and work faster, of course.

 

Use diluted preparations of the essential oils of Clove or Tea Tree to reduce pain and swelling and prevent infections.  Mix one drop of Clove or Tea Tree oil for each of three to five drops of olive oil, put a little on a cotton swab or your finger, and lightly massage it into the baby’s gums.  This dilution should reduce Clove’s tendency to sting.  You can also put ten to fifteen drops of Clove oil or tea Tree oil in half a cup of warm water, mix well, saturate a cloth, and apply the solution to the gums with the cloth.

 

Administer a homeopathic remedy to the infant.  According to one homeopathic practitioner, “The treatment of teething children has probably convinced more people of the efficacy of homeopathy than anything else.”  Homeopathic remedies are easy for children to swallow and can be given up to three times daily.  Here are the principal choices.

 

1. Chamomilla.  This is the first homeopathic, remedy to consider.  It is most likely to help when the child is extremely irritable, impatient, and capricious (she asks for something, but when you give it to her, she throws it away).  The pain is worse in the evening and at night, and the baby may have difficulty sleeping.  She is made better by being picked up and carried.  Green stools are common with the Chamomilla child.

 

2. Belladonna.  Try this remedy if the baby is feverish, and irritable thought not quite so much as the Chamomilla baby.  Homeopath Jacobs says, “I usually won’t give Belladonna to a teething baby unless he or she has a high fever with a flushed face.”

 

3. Calcarea phos.  Use this remedy, made from calcium phosphate, if the child is whining and complaining, thought not striking out as the Chamomilla child may.  Calcarea phos is usually best for the child who is late in teething: often he or she is thin and sweaty.

 

Almost all homeopathic manufacturers who make combination remedies have one for teething, usually using two or more of the above remedies.  For instance, Hyland’s Teething tablets, made by Standard Homeopathic Co,. contain a mixture of Calcarea phos 3X, Chamomilla 3X, Coffea 3X, and Belladonna 3X.  Other common teething products include Boericke & Tafel’s Alpha TC for Tething and Colic, Nova’sl Teething and Medicine from Nature’s Teething.

 

Try Walnut, the best flower remedy for teething.  Flower essence practitioners, recommend Walnut whenever a person is going throught a difficult stage in like.  Walnut seems to be able to help such people, including teething infants, adjust to normal activity.  Rub a few drops of Walnut flower essence directly into the gums.