Bye bye Baby Orajel?

TBLilyRose · April 2011

https://www.modernmedicine.com/modernmedicine/Clinical+News/FDA-warns-about-a-serious-adverse-effect-associate/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/715831?contextCategoryId=40137

Ugh, is nothing safe for our LOs anymore?

neferhathor · April 2011

i'm so glad the amber teething necklace seems to work for Eli. i know they don't work on every baby though :-(

~Flossie~ · April 2011

I was told not to use any numbing agents like Orajel because not only can the baby accidentally bite their tongue or cheek because they can't feel their mouth, but there has been cases where babies have swallowed/choked their own tongue because of it.

I did not know it was even possible to swallow your own tongue, but a pharmacist told me that last week when I went to buy some. Needless to say, the pharmacist convinced me not to buy it.

Makes me kind of wonder why they are even selling it.

Christie987 · April 2011

There is an orajel naturals- that is free of benzocaine & dyes, etc...

starsmaycollide · April 2011

~Flossie~:
I was told not to use any numbing agents like Orajel because not only can the baby accidentally bite their tongue or cheek because they can't feel their mouth, but there has been cases where babies have swallowed/choked their own tongue because of it.
I did not know it was even possible to swallow your own tongue, but a pharmacist told me that last week when I went to buy some. Needless to say, the pharmacist convinced me not to buy it.
Makes me kind of wonder why they are even selling it.

Really? In regard to seizure safety procedures, I've always heard choking/swallowing the tongue is not possible. I could see kids biting hteir tongue if it was numb though.

To the OP-I just bought orajel yesterday. Ugh. So what is best to use instead?

rg8482 · April 2011

Christie987:

There is an orajel naturals- that is free of benzocaine & dyes, etc...

Yup. This is exactly the one I use because I didn't want her getting any of that stuff.

MrsSeli · April 2011

Right. Because natural=safe. That drives me bonkers. Did you know that eugenol (the active ingredient in Oragel natural, derived from clove oil) can be toxic to the liver and has all sorts of nasty side effects associated with over use? Not saying not to use it, but don't delude yourself into thinking something is safe just because it is natural.

rg8482 · April 2011

MrsSeli:
Right. Because natural=safe. That drives me bonkers. Did you know that eugenol (the active ingredient in Oragel natural, derived from clove oil) can be toxic to the liver and has all sorts of nasty side effects associated with over use? Not saying not to use it, but don't delude yourself into thinking something is safe just because it is natural.

Who said anything about natural = safe?

If you think about it. nothing is "safe" even for us adults.

I just use Naturals for the same reason I chose not to take any sort of meds while pregnant and tried to avoid while giving birth (I was induced so I didn't get to go med-free all the way). I want her to have the least amount of drug content in her system. That being said, anything is a possible danger and doesn't mean I think it's "safe," just a better choice.

And for the record, I give her Humphreys pellets more often than I use Baby Orajel.

MrsSeli · April 2011

rg8482:
MrsSeli:
Right. Because natural=safe. That drives me bonkers. Did you know that eugenol (the active ingredient in Oragel natural, derived from clove oil) can be toxic to the liver and has all sorts of nasty side effects associated with over use? Not saying not to use it, but don't delude yourself into thinking something is safe just because it is natural.
Who said anything about natural = safe?
If you think about it. nothing is "safe" even for us adults.
I just use Naturals for the same reason I chose not to take any sort of meds while pregnant and tried to avoid while giving birth (I was induced so I didn't get to go med-free all the way). I want her to have the least amount of drug content in her system. That being said, anything is a possible danger and doesn't mean I think it's "safe," just a better choice.
And for the record, I give her Humphreys pellets more often than I use Baby Orajel.

Sorry, it just kind of grinds my gears that people assume natural is better only because it's natural, so I maybe read something in to what you said that you didn't mean. People generally don't put the same kind of effort into researching natural products compared to drugs. Add to that the fact that natural remedies are not regulated to the same extent as drugs and you can end up with some pretty scary stuff. I'm not saying you didn't do your research, but you did say that you choose products that are "natural" because you don't want to expose your child to "that stuff". There's "that stuff" in natural products too (i.e. humphrey's pellets have belladonna).

All that being said, everything you just said about not exposing your child to drugs, I completely agree with. I chose not to use any drugs while pregnant and went as med-free during labor as possible because I didn't want her exposed to anything. I had the worst heartburn imaginable and still refused to use Zantac because even class B is not good enough for me.

Peewee01 · April 2011

This is certainly concerning, especially because we just purchased Oragel last week for our teething daughter. We've only used it once and so far have had no adverse effects.

Did anyone else notice, however, that the date on the article is April 15 which is three days into the future? Is this a mistake? Has the FDA not officially released the warning? Any idea why this may be?

TBLilyRose · April 2011

Peewee01:
This is certainly concerning, especially because we just purchased Oragel last week for our teething daughter. We've only used it once and so far have had no adverse effects.
Did anyone else notice, however, that the date on the article is April 15 which is three days into the future? Is this a mistake? Has the FDA not officially released the warning? Any idea why this may be?

Here's the info from the FDA

https://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm250029.htm

Peewee01 · April 2011

Ah! Thank you.

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Bye bye Baby Orajel?

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