Necklace c/o sparkofamber.com
Do you use the controversial amber necklaces?
When it comes to teething, every child is different and it seems everyone I know has an opinion about how to help your infant or toddler through it. Being active in the “crunchy” community, we have always tried to go as natural as possible for our family and teething has been no different. The first time I heard of Baltic Amber being used at a pain remedy, I was instantly intrigued.
Does it work?
Is it just a trend?
Are they safe?
Baltic Amber Teething Jewelry has pain relieving properties due to small levels of succinic acid. The oils containing succinic acid warm up when in contact with the skin and absorb into the body. The effect is mild and each jewelry piece should be worn near the pained body part. While Baltic Amber jewelry is used for several ailments like migraines and joint pain, it is REALLY popular among the natural parenting crowd for teething infants and toddlers. It has been used for ages in Europe and is said to help with colic, inflammation, ear pain, and even reflux.
How do you choose the right Baltic Amber Teething Necklace for your child?
- Make certain your jewelry is made from real amber and not plastic. Most sellers have an origin claim. (Usually sourced from Lithuania.)
- Choose the right size for your baby. It is generally best to never use a necklace longer than 13 inches on your baby or toddler. You want the necklace to sit close to the neck. If it is too lose it is more likely to get snagged.
- Make sure your necklace has individually knotted beads. This is in case the necklace breaks. Having knotting between each bead keeps the necklace in one piece so the child won’t swallow any beads.
- Avoid magnet or latch clasps. Magnet clasps can be dangerous if swallowed and latch clasps come undone too easily. The safer option is a screw clasp where a rod screws into a bead.
Children should always be supervised when wearing a teething necklace.
While it is not recommended to let your child sleep or bathe in the teething necklace, some people keep the necklaces on the kids at all times. Reputable amber necklaces made for infants are supposed to break with gentle enough pressure to not cause injury.
Baltic amber comes in a variety of colors and stone shapes. The Autumn color is very cheerful and the rounded beads look a little more feminine than the nugget variety. Lighter colors and raw amber have more succinic acid and are said to be stronger.
So do they work?
Who knows. All the data I have found is anecdotal or could easily be accounted for with the placebo effect or the power of suggestion. Theoretically, the succinic acid can offer pain relief, but the amounts absorbed from amber beads is likely negligible. Perhaps it is enough to offer very mild relief for someone as small as a teething infant.
The likelihood of it offering any significant pain relief for an adult seems dubious. However, in the worst case scenario, as an adult, you are wearing a cute amber necklace that may or may not help with your sinus pain.
How do you feel about the amber jewelry?
You can purchase Baltic Amber teething Necklaces at SparkofAmber.com .
*Necklace c/o sparkofamber.com.
http://skeptoid.com/blog/2012/11/12/the-prettiest-strangulation-device-for-your-baby/
I think people should know that there is No evidence to support the miniscule amount of acid in these necklaces provide anything but the placebo effect to the parent, Teething is a natural process and I never had any issues with my first child, nor do I know anyone who has had any problem with their children teething. I do know a child that was nearly strangled to death while she was napping with an Amber teething necklace. No one should sleep with any kind of necklace or other cord wrapped around their neck, there is a very real risk of Strangulation. I find it to be nothing but rumor and gullibility that some people will tie a noose around their kids neck because a bunch of people claim it works, Any doctor will tell you not to put things around your childs neck, I am not sure how the “Magic amber” presents less of a risk. Think about it would you put any other kind of Necklace around your infant to sleep? Probably not. I am deeply concerned that all of your children are wearing these things to bed my friends daughter almost died and is lucky to not have sustained brain damage from the healing power of Amber.
It is always recommended that children be supervised at all times when wearing the necklace.
my three year old has grabbed his younger sister by the necklace on occasion and this can be a risk with unsupervised kids.
We used an amber teething necklace as an anklet on my daughter at night. I could definitely tell when we forgot to put it on her because she did not sleep as well.
I had two but couldn’t tell you if it worked or not. I was very inconsistent with using them because I would take them off for naps and at nighttime and often forget to put it back on.
As far as being a strangulation risk,I think the first comment is a bit alarmist and dramatic. You need to use common sense and supervise your children. Wrapping it around an ankle is a good solution if your child has nighttime teething pain.
We haven’t used teething necklaces, but I think if you think it’s working, go with it! It can’t hurt, right?
We used a teething necklace on my daughter and even kept it on her during night time, but considering we co-slept for the first year, I wasn’t too concerned. I’ll have to keep in mind that I can put it around an ankle.
Ugh just because u have put your baby to bed for 3 years without her or him Being strangled doesn’t make the risk less real. Just because u having been in a car accident in 3 years would you throw out your car seats. Be cause your mom left u in the car on a warm day would u leave a baby in the car on a hot day and pray for the same results. Would u keep toxic chemicals under your sink accessible to anyone because in 3 YEARS your baby hasn’t consumed poison he won’t now….. we spend a lot of money keeping our children safe teething is natural cutting necklace n baby is esthetic, did u have a pain free birth to do it all natural? Offer baby red peppers cold to chew on (bite sized peices) or a teething ring save yourself the risk of strangling your kid or while we r at it let’s take fences down around pools and put strings back in kids hoodies for them to strangle on the slide. Did u drown or strangle as a child? No u made it through well congrats now your job is to let the next generation do the same thing, and they rely on u to knee them safe
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