I just had to de-lurk to offer my 2 pence worth on this as it's something i've meant to post for over a year (apologies for rambling but i hope it provides the context):
When my son was about 6 months and teething terribly (your own always suffers more than anyone elses!) my wife, in desperation, asked her midwife whether there were any effective alternatives to the standard teething gels on the market which didn't seem to work. The midwife said that some mothers she knew had tried a homeopathic remedy and that had seemed to work for them. My wife subsequently purchased the "homeopathic granules" with a view to trying them out.
She held off using it for as long as possible and then at about 2:30am, after being awake for some not inconsiderable time, she said that she wanted to try the homeopathic "medicine". At that time of the morning and having a son who'd been working opposite shifts through the night with his sister for the last 6 months perhaps my response could have been better.
I replied that if it made her feel better then i had no objection as in my view it certainly wouldn't have any side effects (ingredients listed below). My response, in hindsight, had missed a significant point. We were both desperate for sleep and had been for several months (teething had followed colic which had followed the 2 hourly feeding which had followed a lengthy labour culminating in surgery) and as parents we were fraught trying to help our son in any way to overcome the pain.
When you light the blue touch paper you should "retire to a safe distance" so the firework warning goes. I lit. When you release several months of pent up, desperate emotion you really should be on the end of a telephone or better still do it in writing....
... the "remedy" certainly stopped him crying as he struggled to take a breath with a mouthful of granulated milk product and he eventually did settle down about half an hour later. Was "Teetha (TM)" the answer?
Eventually, several days later, we both agreed that the homeopathic option had made no difference (although they did make him gag) and she went back to using the teething gels that i'd continued to use (effectively so i perceived!).
The lessons I drew from this:
a) desperate mothers are searching for anything that will help their loved ones. Discussing what a 6C potency actually means during the early hours of the morning may result in a quick trip to casualty.
b) homeopathic remedies, or "branded placebos", work more on the emotions of the person administering them than they do the conditions they are alledged to cure.
c) filling a babies mouth with granulated milk products will stop crying for about as long as it takes them to draw a long fresh breath.... then they'll let you know what they think (however, this increased intensity of crying may make them even more tired so they may actually fall asleep quicker - point scored for homeopathic remedy?).
d) teething is horrific for everyone concerned but it does end. Sometimes bouts stop after a few minutes others will leave you with dark bags under your eyes for days.
Enough rambling. I've got that one off my chest. Lunch time is over. Back to the grindstone.
Thanks for reading this far
PS I've always noted that the midwife didn't actually say "this works". I wonder how many other health care professionals will use homeopathy/ placebos in the same way.
Each 300mg sachet contains 6c homeopathic ptency of Chamomilla (also contains lactose, xylitol and starch)
