There are a lot of theories surrounding the treatment of teething babies mouths, particularly involving medicating. Parents, grandparents and caregivers often seek to soothe the mouths of teething babies by rubbing medications, typically numbing medications, which can potentially harm the teething baby.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning parents and caregivers that prescription drugs, including viscous lidocaine and benzocaine are not safe for treating teething infants or young children and that they can have harmful effects on children who have used those products.
The FDA has previously recommended that parents and caregivers not use benzocaine products for children younger than 2 years of age, except under the supervision of a health care professional. www.fda.gov/forconsumers/consumerupdates/ucm306062.htm
Benzocaine-which is a local anesthetic, can be found in over the counter products such as Anbesol, Hurricaine, Orajel, Baby Orajel, and Orabase. The use of benzocaine gels and liquids for mouth and gum pain can lead to a rare but serious – and sometimes fatal- condition called methemoglobinemia, a disorder in which the amount of oxygen carried through the blood stream is greatly reduced.
Experts also say to avoid local anesthetics such as viscous lidocaine, which is a prescription medication that doctors often prescribe for chemotherapy patients (adults and children alike) who are unable to eat due to mouth ulcers that can take place with chemotherapy and is also something dentists commonly use to help reduce gag reflexes during x-rays and impressions.
Some parents may have viscous lidocaine on hand if prescribed to treat another family member for various reasons but according to the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (www.ismp.org) they have received reports of teething babies suffering overdoses of viscous lidocaine. “Teething is a normal phenomenon; all babies teethe, the FDA does not recommend any sort of drug, herbal or homeopathic medication or therapy for teething in children” says Ethan Hausman, M.D., a pediatrician and pathologist at FDA.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics occasional symptoms of teething include mild irritability, a low-level fever, drooling and an urge to chew on something hard. Often times teething is blamed for sleep disturbances, decreased appetite, congestion, coughing, vomiting and diarrhea, much of the time this is actually due to a time of much change in a baby’s life.
If your child’s gums are swollen and tender remedies can include gently rubbing or massaging the gums with your finger and giving the child a cool teething ring or a wet, cool washcloth to chew on using close supervision to assure the child doesn’t accidentally choke on the wash cloth. Hari Cheryl Sachs, MD a pediatrician at the FDA says “The cool object acts like a very mild local anesthetic, this is a great relief for children for a short time.”