Amber Teething Necklace Review

I heard about amber teething necklaces when my sister-in-law started using them on both my neice and nephew. She swears by them. In fact, every parent I've met who uses them does.

They're supposed to reduce teething symptoms such as red cheeks, dribbling, grouchiness, etc, etc. Thanks to the magic of the internet and the miracles of Google I also found out how they're supposed to work.

For those who don't know what I'm talking about please enjoy this generic image of a 

child enjoying their amber necklace.

From www.teethingsos.com website:

'Amber has been used to relieve the symptoms of teething in babies throughout Europe for generations.  Amber is a pain reliever and anti-inflammatory.  When amber is placed against the skin, the warmth of the skin causes it to release the active element - succinite.  Succinite is a natural constituent of plant and animal tissue and is involved in the bodies’ metabolic process.  The pharmaceutical industry use it today in many products including crop growth, anti-aging, cell renewal and anti-alcohol products and immune system repair products.'

This photo isn't taken from the teethingsos website, it's just an example of what I'm talking about.

That paragraph leaves out the importance of only using Baltic amber which is supposed to contain more succinite acid than other types of amber.

Personally, I'm not one for alternative medicines typically. My mother was a doctor so I grew up with a strong and thriving attitude that if something's bothering you nuke it to death with anything you can fit on a prescription pad. However, that was for me. Medicating away symptoms caused by other medication is fine and dandy for me, not for my precious little pookie. Parents are the birth place of the double standard. So I decided I'd give nature a chance. And then research it.... In hindsight I'll admit I did that arse-ways.

One of the arguments against amber teething beads that I came across was the implication that body heat alone could make solid amber particles soluble. Yes, in retrospect that did seem far fetched. Amber is fossilised tree sap that has survived hundreds of years. Not just that but Baltic amber has survived hundreds of years in literally Baltic conditions but somehow a baby's body heat is its kryptonite. As it turns out succinic acid (the active ingredient of amber's healing properties) has a melting point of 185 °C. I'll go out on a limb here to say that's warmer than your average baby. Oh yes, and succinic acid is both corrosive and combustible. You can read more here: (even if it is wikipedia) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Succinic_acid

Another argument I read was that in the unlikely event of the amber necklace working the way these websites claim they do, you are exposing your baby to an unmonitored dosage of an acid that was used in modern medicine.

However, so many parents swear by them, some of whom I know and trust and I can assure you are as sceptical and analytical as they come. So how do they work? 

One of the suggestions is a possible placebo effect. While I understand the general jist of placebo therapies, I'm still a bit hazy on how a placebo affects infants. I would have thought some verbal understanding would have to be involved. Maybe it's more a placebo for the parents who are imagining some change, like when parents imagine their kids are on a sugar high.  Maybe the child even responds to their parents' new, relaxed attitude. Who knows? Not me, like I said my knowledge of placebos isn't great and I was too busy trying to get Jim to stop trying to eat the amber to research properly.

While these are all very interesting points, I'm ashamed to say none of these factors swayed me personally. I'm not even dismissing the idea that they work, I like an open mind but usually with at least a little scientific backing.  Funnily enough, my issues with the healing qualities of amber required very little research at all. We tried it out for two whole days before ditching our attempt at becoming amber enthusiasts.

My first problem with the amber beads was trying to convince Jim to wear them and leave them alone. It was like trying to put a collar on a feral cat. The length of the necklace is tight enough to not cause a strangling hazard, but loose enough to not cause discomfort. Which in my baby's case meant asphyxiation every time he grabbed them to rip them to eye level for further investigation. For someone with the attention span of gnat, Jim was determined to the point of injury to see what the hell was around his neck. The less said about trying to convince him to keep it on his wrist or ankle the better.

The second problem was explaining to people what 'that funny little necklace' was exactly. I first encountered this problem with my fiancée's uncle, who is a lovely individual who just so happens to never miss an opportunity to rip the piss out of anyone asking for it (such as his nephew's girlfriend explaining some 'hippy crap' to him). It was only halfway through my explanation that I realised how daft I sounded but for whatever reason I kept going, possibly in the hopes that if I kept explaining some scientific merit would just appear out of nowhere. He sat there, patiently, with a dead pan expression, allowing me to finish before responding 'soooo.... it's a magic necklace?'

The amber teething necklace has since been converted into a magic bracelet for me. My teeth don't feel much different.