Alcohol as a Teething remedy?

Question

What is your personal experience or opinion about using a small dab of alcohol (like Vodka or Scotch) on a q-tip for a teething baby's gums? I know some people will be adamantly against it and others will swear by it, but what are your reasons? Do you believe it is harmful or is a drop on a q-tip more beneficial for pain relief than it is harmful? Has it worked for your babies?

By the way, I'm not talking about everyday teething relief, I'm referring to when all the Orajel, teething rings, cold wet washclothes, and Motrin just won't even touch the pain!

Answer 1

Here's the secret. Pour a half shot (note people I said HALF) dip your finger in ONCE rub it on the babies gums. Then mom drinks the rest of the shot. Works great. (Ok I don't always do the shot, but really a 1/2 shot isn't going to make you drunk)

The alcohol numbs the gums and your child probably gets as much alcohol from that as they absorb when they get swabbed for their shots.

Also anbesol makes you feel icky, it numbs the tongue and throat more than anything.

You know once upon a time the drew up these lists and decided what was a prescription, what was OTC, what was a "natural remedy", what is recreational (alcohol, cigarettes). Just because someone decided something goes on one list, doesn't make them right.

I can't believe people think rotating acetaminophen and ibuprofin is safer than a drop or two of alcohol. Ibuprofin is very hard on the liver.

However for teething the best safe remedy is clove essential oil diluted in cooking oil (like olive). Check the dilution on your own mouth too strong and it will sting. Clove oil is the main ingredient in most OTC temporary fillings.

Ultimately though you are the mom and you should do what you think is best. Weigh the pros and cons. Personally I am very conservative when it comes to OTC remedies as my whole family has very strange drug reactions. Also be particularly careful of all medications before 4 months which is about when the liver starts working at a more adult level.

Just in case you need the tylenol dosing chart, as I understand it isn't included on US bottles, I will include it. Don't worry I did the math to convert it to the US strength liquid as well.

The Canadian is 80mg tylenol per 1mL
The American is 80mg per .8mL
So for American strength the dosage chart should be:

Lbs . . . . . . . . . .Age. . . . . . . . .Dose
Under 12 . . . . .0-3 mos. As directed by a doctor
12-17 . . . . . . 4-11 mos. . . . . . .8 mL
18-23 . . . . . 12-23 mos. . . . . . 1.2 mL
24-35 . . . . . . .2-3 years . . . . . . 1.6 mL
Use weight if possible.

For relief of fever or pain due to teething, immunizations, earache, colds or flu. Single dose may be repeated every 4 hours, as needed. It is hazardous to exceed 5 doses of acetaminophen per day.


Here is the original chart if you wish to check my math:
Weight (lbs)
Age
Single Oral Dose




Under 12lbs . . 0-3 mos. . . . . . As directed by a doctor
12-17 . . . . . . 4-11 mos. . . . . . . . .1.0 mL
18-23 . . . . . . 12-23 mos. . . . . . . .1.5 mL
24-35 . . . . . . . . 2 -3 years . . . . . . .2.0 ml
http://www.tylenol.ca/english/product_detail.asp?pro=29

Answer 2

Best Teething Remedies

Answer 3

I would not use something as strong as Vodka or Scotch as it may dehydrate the gums. Alcohol works but I have always used a cordial liquor like Jerez or Malaga Something on the sweet side. Tannins in these red liquors aid in the ciatrization process and alcohol does numb the area, at least for a while. Try the homeopathic remedy Chamomilla 6c in drops (there is a commercial brand sold as camilia at the health food stores) it really helps, specially with tummy aches, and inflammation.

Best of luck

Answer 4

There actually is truth to that particular 'old wives remedy'. :)

I'm not sure if vodka or scotch work because it's not what we use in my family, we use spiced rum. My mother used it on me actually, she mixed about a thimbleful of rum to three or four thimbles full of warm water to dilute it a bit, then gently rubbed it on my gums without the q-tip (as I recall she said I kept slapping at her hand when she tried to use a q-tip but didn't seem to mind her finger). A few moments later I quieted down and managed to have what she referred to as the best nap ever. (Which, in retrospect, probably means I wasn't napping well while teething so the fact that I napped peacefully was fantastic.) The funny thing about it was that she actually called the family doctor to ask what to do and he was the one that suggested the rum, she did ask if it would hurt me at all and he assured her it wouldn't.

I know that on at least one occasion she didn't dilute it, she just dunked her finger in the bottle and then rubbed it on my gums (towards the end, when it was the last molar or two coming in) and she always teases me now about how I smiled afterward, so it probably had more than that numbing effect on me, given that I like the flavour of rum nowadays that's probably why. *chuckles*

I have to say though do what feels like the best course of action for you, while it's great to get feedback from all different perspectives on here, go ahead and give your doctor a call for some quick advice and reassurance that's what he's there for after all. Good luck, hope you get through the teething period quickly and trouble free! :)

Answer 5

I think the alcohol is for the parents in the form of a glass of wine!
Don't worry, teething will end. Keep up with what your trying, your doing all of the right things. I found a frozen pacifier, bit of frozen bagel to gnaw on and gum massages helpful to the babies. I don't know of anyone who tried the alcohol route, but it is certainly an old fashioned remedy around since before motrin etc and was probably used with some success in the past.

Answer 6

I don't know if there's any real viable medical benefits to using alcohol. It isn't a numbing agent, and I think more then anything, it's an old-wives remedy before they had things like orajel.
My fiance's family swore by it and kept trying to get us to put some whiskey on my daughter's gums to help her when she was teething, but just like I've been told to give her Karo syrup for constipation, I know that it has no medical benefits, and can even harm a baby by causing botulism (the Karo syrup.) So as far as using the 'old remedies' I personally, am not comfortable trying. We know a lot more now through science then they did when those remedies were the only options they had.

Answer 7

If none of the other remedies have touched the pain, you probably need to take the baby to a doctor. Please don't use alcohol for this, you just never know how much might cause alcohol poisoning in a baby.
Also with that much pain, there could be something going on besides regular teething. Please take your vodka money and use it for a doctor visit.

Answer 8

For the best answers, search on this site https://shorturl.im/awNUB

Teething babies love something cool along their gums. Take a clean washcloth, soak it in apple juice, put a knot in the washcloth. Then stick it in a ziploc bag and place it in the freezer. When it is good and cold, give it to your child to suck on. (The apple juice won't freeze as hard as water). Also, place frozen fruit inside one of those mesh self-feeders you can buy in almost any baby section of any store.

Answer 9

Never See Dentist Again : http://DentalBook.uzaev.com/?oGjJ

Answer 10

It won't do much good.

Try giving Tylenol and Motrin in rotation - give Tylenol, then three hours later give Motrin, then three hours later give Tylenol, etc. That way one is kicking in as the other wears off (be really careful to get the doses right, and only do this when he actually really needs it).

My grandma used to put a thimble on her finger and let us chew on it. You might try that... No vodka though. It really doesn't have any pain relieving properties.