Motrin for Teething

Hi M.,
I am a Pedi RN in a doctor's office-

The warning for Motrin on the label is so that people will not treat their undiagnosed child for longer than 10 days w/o a doctor seeing them. As long as you are giving the correct dosage no more than every 6 hours you are fine.
Our office also recommends Benadryl for teething. (give 1 tsp per 25 pounds of body weight, adjust up or down accordingly) IF you rub it her gums it will help to numb them and she can safely swallow the rest. The Orajels have an active ingredient which can actually make babies fussier - sort of like having an extra dose of caffeine for adults.
Frozen mini-bagels or frozen waffles are great teethe rs!

Feel free to e-mail w/ any other questions!

D.

You can alternate it with Tylenoyl in between so as to keep the pain at bay. Motrin no more than 6-8 hours and tylenoyl each 4. say a dose of motrin at 12;00 YOU CAN THEN GIVE TYLENOL AT 4:00 OR 5:00. Motrin again at 8:00 or 9:00 tylenoyl at 12:00-1:00 and so on.

We used the Hylands Teething tablets also and they work great! I loved that fact that it was natural and not so much of a "drug". My son always ended up with ear infections right around the same time he got a tooth, so he was usually taking the alternating Tylenol/Motrin anyway. But the teething tablets helped too. You can get them about anywhere, I'm sure we got ours at Wal-Mart.

We used Benedryl, but only rubbed it on the gums and it worked like a charm! We usually use Hylands Teething Tablets. They are available at Walmart and Albertsons and herbal places. They are all natural. I checked them out with the pediatrician first and he said they were fine. We generally only use these, if it's bad (like the molars were!) we did the Benedryl rub on the gum and sometimes Motrin/Tylenol depending on how much it seem to be hurting. My son always cut 2-3 teeth at a time! UGH! But, it is over quicker that way!!

Good luck
N.

I've always heard to give Motrin only when Tylenol will not work - basically break out the "big gun" for big problems. If his (or her) body gets to used to it, it might be that it will not respond as well at more serious times when Motrin would be a better candidate over Tylenol.