The centuries-old technique of using amber for its many health benefits including providing relief for teething babies is valuable knowledge for naturalist mothers. Although amber has a rich history, modern usage on teething babies is done by using an amber teething necklace. This is an innovation that moms can use in 2019 to provide relief from painful symptoms of teething. However, if you have never tried an amber teething necklace before, you need to educate yourself about it. To that effect, this article contains great information on all you need to know about using an amber teething necklace.
What is Amber teething necklace
The first thing you need to know is what amber teething necklace is and the history behind it. As mentioned earlier, the use of amber for its healing properties predates this generation as far back as centuries before us. However, a necklace made from amber to be worn on babies to provide relief from negative symptoms experienced during teething is called ‘Amber Teething Necklace’.
Amber is used for the necklace because of its ability to release succinic acid that will then be absorbed into the bloodstream of the baby through the skin. There are different types available but the most common one used as a teething necklace is Baltic Amber because of the high concentration of succinic acid, hence more potent.
There are several scientific doubts about how the succinic acid is absorbed into the bloodstream of the baby and the amounts needed. Nonetheless, different mothers have testified to how amber teething necklace have been effective to their kids. If you decide to give it a try, you should pay attention to benefits, safety concerns and how to get the original amber teething necklace.
Benefits of the necklace
The benefits of the amber teething necklace are derived from the succinic acid constituent. This acid is known to have great healing properties and improve general immunity. Some of the benefits include:
• It is a natural pain reliever hence beneficial to teething babies since they usually experience discomfort and pain.
• It reduces gum inflammation experienced during teething. The anti-inflammatory properties of amber help reduce discomfort from swollen gums in teething babies.
• It keeps other illnesses away by boosting the immune system. This benefit is why even adults may wear an amber necklace. Its ability to boost the immune system is a welcome benefit as babies can easily fall sick from exposure to germs. By strengthening its immunity, you have a healthier baby.
• It has calming properties that reduce the way the baby fusses.
Is it safe to use Amber teething necklace?
As with several other natural practices out there, there are a lot of concerns on the safety of amber teething necklaces for babies. This concern is valid because babies are fragile and it is paramount that you verify anything that concerns them. safety shall be looked at from two aspects; from the amber and its use as a necklace.
• Safety of amber with babies: As regards the scientific constituents of amber, it can be assessed using its unique constituent – succinic acid. Succinic acid has been reviewed and approved as safe for ingestion by FDA and it is already included in a lot of foods. However, with the necklace, it is difficult to know the amount of this acid that is produced and absorbed into the body. Hence, the FDA is yet to approve a safe amount of succinic acid that should be absorbed by babies.
• Safety of using amber as a necklace for babies: Babies are curious and tend to chew and pull on anything interesting that catches their eyes. This poses a problem with amber teething necklace, hence you can currently see a lot of moms express their concerns about it. To improve safety, it is important to use the right length, i.e. it shouldn’t be too short or tight that it strangles the child, and it shouldn’t be too long that the baby can pull at it or put in its mouth.
If you are not convinced about the safety of putting something around your baby’s neck, you can also use it as a bracelet or as an anklet as some mothers already do. As a bracelet, you eliminate the risk of strangulation but there is a chance that your baby will bite on it except you hide it with gloves. As an anklet, you can hide it in a sock.
It is important that safety rules are adhered to when using the amber teething necklaces especially in 2019 when a lot of mothers are buying to the idea of natural treatments for kids. The rules tackle any risk of choking or strangulation. They include:
• Getting the right length of the necklace
• Only wearing it on your baby while it is awake
• Hiding the necklace from the baby’s sight
• Monitor the baby to prevent the risk of choking
How to test if your amber teething necklace is real
With a rising number of positive feedback on how amber necklaces have been beneficial to the health of children, there is no surprise that there would be fake ones around. This begs the question; how can you tell real amber from fake amber necklaces especially if this is your first time trying it?
Luckily there are a few simple tests that help you determine the authenticity of your amber necklace:
• Authentic amber will float in salt water while fake ones wouldn’t.
• When it comes in close proximity to a source of heat, authentic amber will give off a scent like that of pines.
• Authentic amber does not have a streamlined or uniform shape or colour because those properties occur naturally.
This year 2019, we have a rising number of moms adopting natural health practices because of the amount of harmful chemicals in food and drugs. One of such methods is the use of amber teething necklace, with its wider adoption comes more concerns on safety, benefits and authenticity. However, with the information provided in this article, you can now be a conscious naturalist mom if you decide to purchase an amber teething necklace for your kid.
Read more: Baltic Proud