Amber teething necklace

[jennyh]

Hi

I want to get one of these for my 7 month old. I know that some websites don't recommend them for such a young age but I know many who have tried them so i am keen to give it a shot. Just wondering if anyone has bought one for a younger baby and can recommend the website to me?

Thanks

Jenny

[Toad1973]

Hi I got one for my daughter at around 6m. It was from a website called 'Amber and Art'. I initially had ordered the wrong one and they were v friendly and helpful when I phoned to arrange a swap. The necklace was only 8quid tho so not sure exactly how much amber it contains?!

[MichelleT]

I got ours from amazon.

[Saffron]

Myriad toys has them.

http://www.myriadonline.co.uk/products.php?id=1371

I know another website that's better too, but I can't rem what it is, argh! Search the old teething / amber threads. It's on there somewhere. It had a choice of all different colour, sizes, finishes etc.

I think you can put an amber necklace on babies as young as 4 weeks. You could probably put one on a newborn, but companies just don't want the liability in case something goes wrong and they get [unnecessarily] blamed.

(Will post the other website if I find it.) xx

[jennyh]

Thanks everyone, I have just received one ordered from Amber Pumkin or something like that. i went for Honey colour in the end and round beads, quite cute actually not that that is the point! Does anyone leave it on for sleeptime or perhaps put on the ankle? What would you all suggest? She wakes chomping on her fingers frequently so anything that might help!

Will report back on effectiveness!

[The Nappy Lady]

Jenny,

My youngest wore hers from about 8 weeks old to now (3 next month) - I'm so used to her wearing it she looks odd without it!

I used to take it off at first for naps but then forgot a few times so from around 3 months onwards she wore it 24/7.

If you know where she is cutting teeth (probably not now but you will later with molars etc) I'd recommend Anbesol liquid too - it is a non systemic, topical anaesthetic, you just get a dab on your finger & rub it on the gum & it gives instant relief. When things get really bad you can use it with Calprofen etc safely too. I once had a chemist refuse to sell it to me for use on a baby, but the ins ructions actually refer to how to use on infants & a doctor confirmed to me it's fine, so don't be afraid to use it.

I think the Amber helps, especially with the ongoing ? Are they teething or not times? Which seem to go on & on as I recall..... but cutting teeth is PAINFUL, so I wholeheartedly believe in using the medication that is available to us when they really need it.

Molly

X

[jennyh]

Thanks! I hadnt really thought about medication too much as I wasnt sure what there was out there. At the moment she is very much in the prolongued teething category without much clear progress. Feel so sorry for her! She has nelsons teething powders and bonjela and calpol if really bad but that doesnt seem to make a vast difference really.

I have already noticed a reduction in the dribbling and ear pulling but she is still obviously sore and chewing on everything so fingers crossed it helps!

Thanks

Jennyx

[mima08]

Hiya - sorry to hijack, but do people really think these work? I am just a click away from ordering one, however, a recent review of bank statements makes me think of curbing my baby-related spending. Therefore I'd love to hear some success stories before I buy....

[snowboarder]

Who knows, really?!? My 2.5 yr old has had his on since he was 9m old (never taken off - he now likes the surf boy look!) and he has had no problems with teething at all. First teeth at 10m and his last molars are coming through now I discovered tonight and I didn't even notice. But who knows whether teething for him just wasn't a big deal? My 7m old has just got one from the Amber Shop in Southwold in Suffolk - am hoping for a similar effect!!

[taper]

They have no medicinal benefit. Pure woo.

[jennyh]

My daughter has so far seemed happier and is chewing her hands less and dribbling less. It's not solved all her teething problems but I have noticed a reduction in the symptoms.

[hellosailor]

taper Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> They have no medicinal benefit. Pure woo.

Goodness, would love to know what makes you qualified to say so, and in such a condescending tone too, assume you're the forum's resident trained gemologist? what an interesting line of work! :)

[taper]

"what makes you qualified to say so"

A strong sense of scepticism.

I start by asking myself "what would make this work; what's the mechanism". I thought initially the idea was that a baby chews on the amber. But it seems the claims are based on the amber relasing something or other.

Here's a good pro amber explanation

http://www.mamapukeko.co.nz/howamberworks.html

Well written though this is, it sets the alarm bells ringing ("If you are sceptical that it won't work then we don't have concrete proof to convince you otherwise").

So I use Google to check out the science. 5 minutes of doing this shows there is no evidence that amber works at all, other than I guess as a placebo or as something that gives parents a sense of empowerment. The most compelling theory is that body heat releases succinic acid, which is meant to be a natural anti-inflammatory. But this seems bogus to me and indeed it transpires Amber needs to be heated to 200 degrees to release SA.

There's a good balanced and sceptical discussion here

http://scepticon.wordpress.com/2011/02/21/amber-teething-beads-a-few-points-to-consider/

Key quote: "Based on the complete lack of plausibility on any level of efficacy any potential for harm, however small, must tip the balance of this equation away from the use of this product"

I agree. It seems bogus to me.

[hellosailor]

I have no idea if it works or not but there are lots of people who swear by them, one of our local GPs suggested that I buy a necklace in fact!

'Amber?s anti-inflammatory and therapeutic properties are additionally recognized by allopathic medicine. In Austria, Switzerland and Germany, one can find amber teething necklaces sold in local pharmacies. Pharmacists and medical doctors have long known concerning the therapeutic properties of amber which embrace calmative, analgesic, antispasmodic, expectorant, and febrifuge (anti-fever) functions.

A pure analgesic, amber will assist calm a child without resorting to drugs. Amber is a resin, not a stone. It is therefore heat to the contact, in addition to very comfy and lightweight to wear. Scientific investigation into the therapeutic effects of amber is ongoing. Currently, there are different theories that attempt to clarify how sporting amber on the pores and skin can have a soothing and calming effect on teething infants and toddlers. One concept means that when amber is worn on the pores and skin, the pores and skin?s warmth releases miniscule quantities of therapeutic oils from the amber which are then absorbed via the pores and skin into the bloodstream.'

[snowboarder]

Ha hs - I have no idea either but, frankly, they are not expensive, they look pretty cute and they might, just might help. Anything's worth a go when a crying baby is at stake, right?

[jennyh]

Absolutely!! Literally anything! On another note I have resorted to doing the self-named 'puree dance' when I'm making food because the blender noise is just too much and leads to many tears! Don't think that is scientifically proven but it dries up the tears!!!

[taper]

HelloSailor

I've provided a reference for your cut and paste, here:

http://www.amberpumpkin.com/amber-teething-necklaces-do-they-work.html

I would have been very surprised had an organisation flogging amber necklaces said they were a load of old phooey.

[The Nappy Lady]

Hmmm, I think there are some things in life that are beyond logic or scientific explanation & given these necklaces cost so little I'm very happy to 'go with it'. Plenty to gain & nothing to loose - at worse as snowboarder says - you end up with a nice necklace.

My first didn't wear one & cutting her molars was agony, my 2nd cut almost all her teeth without any real problems at all.

[hellosailor]

I understand that Taper....the site claims that in other countries doctors advocate the use of amber necklaces, and as I mentioned, my GP here in East Dulwich suggested that I get one (I did not bring it up, they did..) just saying, it's not just the sites that sell them that believe they have analgesic qualities!

[taper]

Your choice. But be safe. Don't leave the things on your child overnight.

[hellosailor]

Tee hee! Thanks for your warning Taper, try not to worry, I don't think that just because some parents use these necklaces in the hopes that they just might make teething even a slightly less painful process for their babies that it necessarily follows on that they have no common sense or parental instincts and will leave the dastardly things on overnight. Being open to different kinds of 'treatment' or whatever heading amber necklaces might come under, does not necessarily mean the people who buy them are hippy dippy space cadets who need to be given unsolicited basic safety advice ;-)

[taper]

"Being open to different kinds of 'treatment' or whatever heading amber necklaces might come under, does not necessarily mean the people who buy them are hippy dippy space cadets who need to be given unsolicited basic safety advice".

Someone higher up the thread suggests it's ok to wear them 24/7. And another forumite asks "'does anyone leave it on for sleeptime". So not unsolicited

My opinion would be you should not. Indeed even the Amber Pumpkin people, who also NB claim amber has some efficacy against Bubonic Plague, suggest you should not. See here

http://www.amberpumpkin.com/amber-teething-necklace-faqs.html

[The Nappy Lady]

Of course they (companies like amber pumpkin) recommend not to leave them on overnight, because they have to cover themselves.

It is up to every parent what they choose to do. After lots of consideration, and seeing my daughter wear the necklace for several weeks, AND knowing others left theirs on all the time, AND looking for any reference on line for a child ever having had a problem wearing one overnight, AND knowing that I myself wear a much finer type of chain every single night and have never, ever woken up to find it tight/twisted around my neck, I chose to leave it on all the time.

Im this day and age of media hype you can bet your bottom dollar there would be plenty of press coverage of these necklaces being dangerous if a child had worn one at night with adverse effects. The necklace is quite short, and made in such a way that it does not easy get twisted. The screw thread clasp breaks easily if pressure is put upon it as a safety measure (my older child wore one that was pulled off and broken by another child whilst they were playing), and each bead is individually knotted, so if the actual thread broke only one tiny bead would be loose.

So, my decision, not made lightly, or because I'm intrinsically a bad parent (or hippy dippy/whatever). Quite honestly I think there are plenty of things around that are potentially way more dangerous to a baby or toddler, that we expose them to all the time - hot drinks, door hinges (google statistics for finger amputations on children caused by doors every year in the UK), chemicals in the home, smoke from cigarette, traffic.... we all deal with these dangers in our own way as best we can, what we can't do is wrap our children in cotton wool (though I sometimes wish I could).

[hellosailor]

by the way I didn't in any way mean to imply that those that chose to leave the necklaces on overnight were hippy dippy space cadets, lots of people of course leave them on at night, I meant more that rather than leaving them on because they haven't thought about it, they are likely to have made a conscious decision to do so after weighing up the safety (and as molly says, the beads are individually knotted in a way that they break under pressure. ) I know plenty of people who leave them on and plenty of people who take them off, or use an anklet at night so the baby can't get to it under their sleepsuit.

I think everyone is more than capable of making their own decision on whether to use / not use an amber necklace, and if they do, whether to leave it on or not at night!

[taper]

'I think everyone is more than capable of making their own decision on whether to use / not use an amber necklace, and if they do, whether to leave it on or not at night!'

They certainly are; enlightened now by a diversity of views, including the right one!