Teething can be painful and frustrating for your newborn, hence try these essential oils for teething babies to relieve the pain.
What is Teething?
Teething is the time when the teeth start coming through a baby’s gums. Both babies and their parents find it quite frustrating to get through this phase. Teething begins when the baby is three months old. You can find the teeth pushing out of your baby’s gums at the age between 4 to 7 months old.
At first, the central incisors will start appearing, which are the two teeth in the front bottom. Following the central incisors, the four teeth in the upper gums start appearing. These are generally known as central and lateral incisors.
The teething experience can bring pain and discomfort to your baby, pushing the child to suck their thumb or toys to relieve the pain. If they continue sucking the thumb or other things, it will build a habit in them and might as well impact the teething process. Below are some of the problems that a baby experiences when the teeth start coming out.
Problems Babies Experience while Teething
Teething can be a painful experience for babies, and it generally ends up making them fall sick. In conditions when your baby starts falling sick, you must seek medical help. But in order to identify your child’s pain while teething, you must know the specific signs and symptoms. There might be cases when the child gets fussy and cries a lot.
A teething baby can develop a fever that can rise up to 101 Fahrenheit. Besides, a teething baby is most likely to chew the fingers or any hard toy to relax the irritation and pain.
Drooling is the most common symptom of teething and excess drooling can even lead to rashes on the face. You can even spot changes in the feeding and sleeping patterns of babies. When the pain gets intense, babies can experience insomnia, which will eventually lead to a lack of energy during the day among other routine changes. Lack of sleep accompanied by teething pain can lead a baby to become cranky and irritated at all times.
Teething can sometimes lead to the buildup of cough and congestion in babies that can eventually cause a problem in breathing. Furthermore, diarrhea and vomiting are the most prominent symptom of teething. If you notice excessive diarrhea and vomiting in your teething baby, immediately seek medical attention to avoid the chances of dehydration and other health concerns.
Essential Oils for Teething Babies
If you use it wisely and judiciously, every essential oil can come out to be a helpful aid in the teething process. Below is a list of some essential oils that can help during the teething phase.
Babies Older Than Four Months
1. Chamomile
It is one of the most common Essential oils that aid the pain of teething in most babies. It is one of the highly recommended products because it has some sedative effects. The oil is highly non-toxic and is suitable to be used on all babies from all age groups.
Heat up a few drops of chamomile essential oil and mix it with a few drops of castor oil. Use this oil mixture to massage the jaw of your baby with light pressure.
2. Lavender
It is one of the most soothing and non-toxic essential oils that people of all age groups can use. The oil is one of the favorite baby teething oil and is a natural antiseptic. It has its future effects, which help in alleviating muscle pain.
Mix two drops each of lavender essential oil and coconut oil and use this mix to massage your teething baby’s jaw. Besides easing the teething pain, the lavender essential oil can also induce sleep and calmness in the child. Apply and massage a drop of lavender essential oil on your baby’s temples to help them relax.
3. Dill
Dill is a herb that grows throughout the year. It belongs to the celery family, named Apiaceae. It is most commonly used in Eurasia as a food flavoring element and a spice. For babies, you can use it as an essential oil to be applied in their teething phase. All you need to do is to apply and massage it all over your baby’s jaws and temples.
For Babies Older Than Six Months
4. Ginger
Ginger essential oil is well-known for its effectiveness in relieving the pain of arthritis, fatigue, and muscle cramps. Dilute the oil with a carrier oil before using it on your baby’s skin as when undiluted, the oil can irritate the sensitive skin.
5. Marjoram
This essential oil is effective in increasing circulation and providing ease to muscle and joint pain. That’s why the oil is infamous for relieving the pain of arthritis, muscular aches, and rheumatism for adults.
Dilute the oil with 4-5 drops of any carrier oil and use it to massage the jaw of your teething baby. You can heat up the oil mix at a comfortable temperature to provide warmth and relief from the pain and irritation of teething.
6. Tea Tree
Tea tree oil is also known as melaleuca oil. It comes from brewing the leaves of the Australian tea tree. To use it on your baby, dilute it by mixing it with a carrier oil such as olive oil, sweet almond, or coconut oils. Massage this oil mix on your baby’s jaws with light pressure.
For Babies Older Than Two Years
7. Clove Bud
It is a powerful oil with antiseptic properties. It is the least effective of all the above-mentioned essential oils because it is manufactured straight from the clove stem. Although it is non-toxic, you must use it with caution. Dilute it with 0.25% of any carrier oil and blend along the baby’s gums.
If you fear using clove essential oil on your child’s gums, you can make a paste of clove and water to apply it to the gums. Cloves are a potent ingredient when it comes to any type of oral discomfort.
8. Mandarin
It has the same calming effects as Lavender. If your child’s skin is sensitive, then mandarin essential oil can be a harsh element. Even if you dilute it with other essential oils, you should be very cautious about its usage. The best part is that it smells sweet and is non-photo toxic in nature.
9. Citrus Limon
Citrus limon is an Essential oil that is used for babies to energize them and lift up their mood. The prominent benefit of using citrus Limon for babies is that it does not cause any kind of irritation on their skin. Citrus will energize your baby by relieving the pain from the teething process.
10. Eucalyptus
The other name of eucalyptus essential oil is eucalyptus radiata. The composition of eucalyptus essential oil is not suitable for babies below two years of age. The oil is effective in easing respiratory problems in babies and relieving them for a sound sleep. It is always advised that one should consult a pediatrician before using Eucalyptus oil for babies.
11. Copaiba
Copaiba essential oils are suitable for babies of all age groups. Its non-toxic nature makes it a suitable product to be used on babies without giving any second thought. If you want to use it, you can add two drops of water to the vaporizer containing Copaiba essential oil. The oil is most commonly used for massaging the jawline of the baby.
Things to Remember About Essential Oils
- While massaging your baby’s jaw and skin, always remember not to impart too much pressure.
- Never use pure/undiluted essential oil on your baby’s skin as it can lead to harmful consequences. The National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy (NAHA) advises parents to dilute the essential oils with .5% water or any carrier oil before applying it to the skin.
- Always keep in mind that your child must not ingest any of the essential oils as it can cause digestive disorders among other complications.
- You can make your baby wear mittens to avoid the chances of them ingesting the oil by way of their fingers or thumb.
- Always do a patch test before applying the oil on your baby’s skin to rule out the possibility of any allergy.
- If your baby develops any severe symptoms like diarrhea, vomiting, cough, and congestion during the teething process, seek medical attention instead of trying home remedies.
- Don’t let your baby chew on hard things or their fingers as it might cause their teeth to come crippled or unaligned.
The Final Takeaway
You can make the most judicious use of essential oils by diluting them before using them for your babies. It is always a good option to consult a pediatrician before using any such product for your baby. He can guide you better with what’s good and what are the areas where you can make changes. This is all that you need to know about the essential oils that you may require when your child is in his teething phase. If you want to read more such articles, then you can stay tuned to our platform.
