teething trouble

[vbloke]

I got this email from what sounds like a concerned father from my Bad Homeopath* blog:

Greetings,
My wife gave our infant daughter Hylands Homeopathic Teething Tablets tonight. I am quite skeptical about this product. I am unsure of the safety of some of the ingredients. Have you discussed this or similar products for infants/children in your blog? Can you direct me to more information? Thank you.
Ted

so I replied back:

I've not covered things like this in my blog directly, only homeopathy as a whole.
Having looked into the product, the ingredients list runs like this:
Calcarea Phosphorica 12X
Chamomilla 6X
Coffea Cruda 6X
Belladonna 6X
In a base of Lactose (the tablet)

Which means that it has Calcium Phosphorus (which partly makes up your bones), Chamomile (herbally, this is used for insomnia), Coffee (which keeps you awake) and belladonna (which is very poisonous).

However, these ingredients are diluted to silly proportions - 12X means 1 ml dissolved in 9ml of water 12 times over, so the amount of active product in these tablets is as close to zero as you can get.

Basically what you're seeing here is a list of ingredients that proport to "cure" teething - the Calcium Phosphorus for the teeth, the chamomile for sleep and rest, the coffee for alertness and the belladonna to allegedly cure redness (although it's highly poisonous - I really can't stress enough about how deadly it is) but really do not really exist in the final product. They're allowed to sell homeopathic remedies as the FDA (or whatever agency oversees medicine where you are) does not consider them to be dangerous (as there's nothing in them), not because they can actually do what they claim to do.

What you're essentially getting is a placebo, but I'll put money on the fact that they appear help your child and I'll also put money on the reason why...

When you give your child these medicines, you pay attention to them and pamper them, that's what calms them down.

It's nice to know I may be making a difference - that's why I do things like this.

*yes, I know it's not been updated for a while - I'm waiting for my exam results and part II of the course to come through.

[tkingdoll]

Rubbing anything on sore gums will provide relief. It's the rubbing that makes the difference, not the goo.

[Mongrel]

Although Bonjela always tasted nice :)

[Admin]

At 6X the active ingredient is still present, although at 1 part in a million.

I think Tracy's right though. Any intervention with teething children will help. I suspect that simply rubbing cold water into the child's gums will have the same effect.

[vbloke]

That's why I said that the reason they seem to have an effect is that they're pampering the child and that is what's having an effect.

If he replies back, I might suggest the plain water idea to him.

[Admin]

That would be interesting to find out. If water is administered in the same way as the homeopathic remedy then it will most likely have the same effect.

Of course, at 6X there's still ingredients in the mixture so it could have some real effect. Obviously not as much as the more powerful 30C remedies though. ???

[vbloke]

True, but Belladonna at 6X can't be remotely poisonous, or else the FDA would fall all over them.

I'll suggest it if I hear back from him.

[median]

Rubbing anything on sore gums will provide relief. It's the rubbing that makes the difference, not the goo.

I think Tracy's right though. Any intervention with teething children will help. I suspect that simply rubbing cold water into the child's gums will have the same effect.

You could try rubbing spam, sometimes that works
Bleach, however, smarts a bit

[wollery]

You could try rubbing spam, sometimes that works

Yeah, but why would you want to make spam feel better? ???

Bleach, however, smarts a bit

Evidence? :D

[median]

You could try rubbing spam, sometimes that works

Yeah, but why would you want to make spam feel better?


Quote

I may inform you that I am on the official spamophile register

Bleach, however, smarts a bit

Evidence?

Purely anecdotal, bloody hell, I've been rumbled :o

[Aardvark]

Tradition amongst the working class northerners of old was to rub the gum with the mothers wedding ring.