Dr Prem Life Improving Logo-R

10 Natural Remedies for teething

Your baby’s first tooth is the first real milestone in her life and is certainly a time of rejoicing – for more reasons than one. Throughout the teething phase, babies are awfully cranky and will shove almost anything that they can find into their mouths. Well, I would be cranky too if I had to endure days or even months of swollen, painful, inflamed gum. Teething symptoms include crankiness, drooling, chewing, reddened gum, a poor appetite, and difficulty sleeping. Some babies may even throw up and have mild diarrhoea. In some cases babies have been known to develop rashes on cheeks, chin, neck, and chest. Sometimes, teething can even cause a mild fever and/or congestion. The simplest solution to teething problems is to invest in a teething ring. However there are some things you can easily find in your home that will help ease your baby’s discomfort at least for a while. One important point to keep in mind when giving your baby something to chew is to ensure, that it will not cause any choking hazard.

1. Iced Towel

Wrap some ice in a soft towel and let the baby suck on the towel. The cold ice helps to reduce the swelling and ease pain. However, do not let the baby suck on just the ice since it can be harmful to the baby’s gum.

Another alternative is to use cold, frozen washcloths. Some mothers find it helpful to dip the washcloth in chamomile tea before freezing.

2. Teething Biscuit

Any hard, unsweetened, cracker-like biscuits are a great treat for your baby to gnaw on during the teething phase.

3. A spoon

The American Dental Association suggests that you place a spoon in the fridge for a few hours, and then give it to baby to chew. The cold metal will help soothe the painful gum

4. Frozen Banana

Just place a banana in the freezer and give it to your cranky baby. This yummy option will not only soothe your baby’s gum, it will also serve as a sweet treat for the little one. Either way the cries will turn to smiles!

5. Iced baby bottle

One simple trick is to put water in a baby bottle and freeze it upside down, such that the water is freezes in the nipple. When your baby gets cranky, let him chew on the frozen nipple for a while and it will soothe those painful gum.

6. Ginger

Wash a piece of tender ginger root and rub it against the gum of the baby. This will help the pain to subside

7. Cloves and Clove oil

Clove oil is known to be an excellent pain reliever. However, be very careful with it as it can cause blistering of the gum if used in excess. It should be diluted in any other edible oil before using one drop clove oil in 2 tablespoons of the other oil. Another alternative is to make a smooth paste of a few cloves and rub lightly onto the baby’s gum.

8. Mint

One of the best herbal remedies to soothe your baby’s gum is mint. Crush some fresh mint leaves and make a dilute paste with water. You can dip your finger in this and rub onto your baby’s gum or you may even let the little one chew on your finger!

9. Popsicles

Popsicles can numb and temporarily relieve your baby’s discomfort. Some parents freeze their baby’s favorite drink or even their formula in popsicle molds and give the baby to suck on.

10. Mommy’s finger… or Daddy’s too

Your finger is a chew toy that always close at hand when your teething baby needs something to chew on and you have no other option. But, be sure not to use this chew toy once you baby already has sprouted the first teeth.

Quick tips

In addition to these, there are several other things that you can do to relieve teething pain. Softly massaging the baby’s gum with a clean finger can help relieve teething pain. Another thing that you can do is to distract the baby from the discomfort by playing together or rocking your baby. It is also important to allow your baby to keep chewing any object, as long as it’s clean, nontoxic, chewable, and too large to swallow. Chewing can help teeth work their way through the gum.

Teething often causes plenty of drooling, and the saliva can cause skin irritation which makes the baby more uncomfortable. Keep a soft towel handy to wipe the drool off the baby’s skin. So also, you can protect baby’s skin by applying shea butter or olive oil or any other moisturizing oil onto the skin.

Lastly, but most importantly, it is important to keep your baby’s mouth clean. Rub your baby’s gum with some gauze or a fresh cloth to clean the area and soothe teething pain. If your baby has already sprouted some teeth, you could try brushing with a soft, child’s toothbrush.

Recent Articles:

Scroll to Top