When I first saw these, I was trying to figure out why people were putting necklaces on their babies, both girls and boys. Then I heard rumors of their magical powers. It seems that there is something to these necklaces that soothe cranky teething babies (and cranky aging old people if you want the whole picture).
How do they work? At first I thought they were that and the baby to chew on, but it doesn’t seem that that would be the best idea because it is a strand of amber beads. After further investigation I found out that long ago it was considered one of the leading homeopathic treatments.
Baltic amber is not a stone, but a fossilized tree resin and the skin’s warmth releases trace amounts of oil from the amber that contain succinic acid. It is said to have:
- Immune Boosting Properties
- Reduction In Inflammation Pain
- Reduction of stress
- Anti-inflammatory and therapeutic properties
- Recognized by allopathic medicine as a natural analgesic
The darker colored amber generally contains less succinic acid than lighter colors. The more cloudy or opaque amber is, the more succinic acid it contains (and usually the more cloudy amber is the nearer to the color white it becomes). So if you want to give it a try, it sounds like the honey colors should contain more succinic acid.
I am thinking about trying them out. I know a few people who have tried them, and I haven’t really found any bad reviews on Amazon. I am so curious about them. If you want to try it out too, I listed a few below I found on Amazon. I am trying to justify whether it’s worth the cost to buy two.
So what do you think, do you love or hate amber teething necklaces? Have an experience to share? Please share in the comments below!
*** UPDATE***
After seeing the comments on here, I was strongly considering buying a necklace to try. However, my wise mother found this great article on the internet that made me consider otherwise. I have decided to stick with my gut instinct and HATE the teething necklaces.
Check out this article and see if you feel any differently.
[button link=”http://scepticon.wordpress.com/2011/02/21/amber-teething-beads-a-few-points-to-consider/” newwindow=”yes”] A few points to consider…[/button]
About Jamie
Love love love love! I was skeptical as well, especially with the price tag. But when I was giving K tylenol and ibuprofen around the clock (late, SLOW, miserable teether) I knew something had to change. I bought mine used off of Spots Corner. I’m not sure what brand it is. I went from giving her tylenol in the mornings, ibuprofen at night and then Tylenol or I motrin at night EVERY DAY to giving it to her (one dose) maybe once a week. Much better! She rarely gets diaper rashes now, and I can honestly tell if we forget it after a bath. I have the twist clasp kind and haven’t really feared for her. She wears it 24/7 except when in the bath. I will purchase one for every subsequent child and I’m considering an adult one for myself because I have a friend who swears they help migraines. So this family is complete PRO amber!
My biggest worry about the teething necklaces (either the kind mommy wears or the kind baby wears) is then breaking them of the habit of putting necklaces in their mouth. NR already grabs every necklace I put on, so letting her put one in her mouth seems like a bad idea.
On the other hand, I’m a big fan of how natural they are and they do sound amazing…
I am PRO amber and wanted to clarify that the necklaces are too short to be put in the baby’s mouth. My son has worn an amber necklace since he was about 8 months old (he’s now 15 months old). He’s never pulled at the necklace, put it in his mouth and I’ve never been concerned with his safety while he wears it. Lucas seems far more irritated by the teething process than my eldest. I found we were medicating him almost daily to relieve the pain. I was desperate for sleep and relief so I was willing to try anything. It took months for me to believe the necklace had any effect. Lucas wears the necklace 24/7 with few exceptions and on the 3 or 4 occasions I’ve forgotten to replace it after a bath it DOES NOT FAIL that we have a sleepless night. Really. Coincidence? Perhaps but my feeling is that it’s harmless to try and *might* work so why not give it a shot?
I experience is very similar to April’s. The two nights my daughter didn’t have hers, they were rough, sleepless nights.
We got ours as a gift from my mother-in-law, and we put it on to be polite, thinking it was goofy voodoo and pretty silly. My daughter was about six weeks old at the time. She has worn it since, and she has really been a breezy kid! I definitely swear by them.
As for worrying about your child chewing on them — they are short. She has to seek it out to put it in her mouth, and I’ve probably seen it happen two or three times. No big deal.
She did get it off twice when she was six or seven months old — ours have a twist clasp, and if you yank on it hard, it pulls off rather than choking the munchkin. I just put it back on. Again, no big deal.
Oh, and I would bother buying two. My daughter wore the same one until she was 19 months old, and when it got broken I bought her another one. I literally never take it off. She wears it to bed, to bath, to everything.
(Check out Karli’s store at http://www.karliskreations.storenvy.com )
Which brands do you suggest? My babies aren’t very fussy most of the time @ 4 months, but they have been waking up screaming lately. I know it has to be their teeth.
Joy, I’ve heard of some people putting them on under a sock if you don’t want it around their neck. They have break away clasps on them.
I am going to buy two when I can get the money freed up. I think the fact that I haven’t seen any bad comments or reviews anywhere, other than speculation is a good sign.
Keep leaving your input in the comments!
I am also pro necklace. We didn’t get one for our boy until his molars started coming in, but I wish we would have had it sooner. It really seems to help (if I forget to put it on him, we notice a difference in behavior and he has complained about hurting.) I’ve had a lot of good comments about how nice it looks on him, too.
I’ve only heard great things! Definitely thinking about getting one for Z, and also for myself, as I do get headaches quite a bit. I’ve heard good things about the Inspired by Finn brand.
Jamie, as I have worked in research, when you mentioned whether or not to buy two, the first thing I thought of was “hmm, she could buy one, and use the baby without one as a control, to see if it really does work…” Ha! Nice in theory, but pretty sure that would not be fun in practice!
I read the article. I say, Meh. She didn’t raise any points that made me turn away from teething necklaces. I don’t subscribe to Western medicine very much though (we don’t vaccinate, we see a chiropractor MUCH more frequently than we do a pediatrician, we don’t do well visits, I believe epidurals do more harm than good), so I’m sure I fall under that “aluminum foil wearing hat” genre that she spoke of.
As I stated before, I purchased mine used for around $10. I didn’t think it would work, but I wasn’t comfortable with the amount of drugs (Tylenol and Motrin) I was having to give my child to counteract the teething pain. Within days of putting it on my toddler, I stopped giving pain medicine all together. My child is way, WAY to young for a placebo effect. I strongly believe in homeopathic medicine. I wear hemitite on my ankle to reduce swelling and pain. Would my doctor laugh at me over that? Probably, but it works for me.
I will still purchase an amber teething necklace for my child due in March, and any subsequent children after that. When funds become available, I’m even looking into purchasing one for myself. To me, the danger lies in taking too many drugs, not in a necklace that might or might not work.
For me, it was the same price as two bottles of baby drugs. I took a leap, and have never looked back. The author is speculating just like the supporters of teething necklaces do. For me, the hundreds upon hundreds of positive reviews in FAVOR of them greatly outweigh one persons viewpoint on the matter.
You can try Tilasmi Moti for teething. It is used in India for centuries without any side effect. It works as natural harmonizer for teething and I my self have used the same for my son and the results are great.