That mean tooth, a comparison of teething remedies

According to the child health nurse, Asher's been teething since he was four months old (not cutting teeth, mind you). And I thought, teething isn't too bad.

Now, 1 1/2 months later, with drooling, fussiness, pain, crying, lack of sleep- all the things he hasn't done until now- I am waiting for that mean tooth to come in, already. He wakes up every 2-3 hours at night, looking for comfort and often a feed. (Up until yesterday, when he started sleeping through the night again, shhh,...) Of course, some of this was compounded by strep throat. Poor bub.

So, he doesn't like teething rings, cold wet washcloths, gum massages, and chewing on hard things makes him scream in pain sometimes. So we considered our options.

Humphries teething pellets.
1-3 pellets dissolved in water applied to gums or under tongue. Contains miniscule amount of belladonna, a poison, but widely used in medicine. Tried a few times, worked once, but generally didn't make much of a difference. (I only used 1 tablet, though, each time.) It was hard to use because it was so runny, even when dissolved in a drop of water.


Baby Orajel.
Contains benzocaine, which the FDA says should not be used on children under two unless advised by a doctor, as it carries a risk of methemoglobinemia which results in the amount of oxygen carried through the blood stream being greatly reduced. The doctor said it was fine, however, I used it and was very uncomfortable with it!


Hylands Teething Gel.
Contains belladonna, same as Humphries Pellets. Very runny and hard to apply, but could be applied every 15 minutes as needed. Didn't seem to make much of a difference.



Orajel Naturals.
The active ingredient is clove oil, and can be applied up to four times a day as needed. Thick gel, easy to apply, and seems to work well for Asher. I don't feel worried about what is in it, and it makes him smell all clove-y afterwards. So far, our favorite. The only drawback is we had to order ours online!


His little tooth just needs to come through already! But he has been happier in the last few days than he has in the last week, and I can feel that tooth just very nearly here. (But then, I keep thinking that every day... the tooth is nearly here! nearly!)