Saturday, July 6, 2013

FYI | Orajel Baby

I thought today I would do a FYI post on a product that has me pretty shocked. I wanted to make all the other parents out there in the blogosphere aware. :)

(Sleeping beauty right before she got her shots.)

We just started using a new pediatrician that is located in Opelika. (Our old doctor was in Montgomery - about an hour away.) There are several doctors in this group at the Pediatric Clinic LLC, on the 4th we saw Dr. Fuller. This would be the third time that we have taken Miri to this pediatrician thinking that she had an ear infection. She was up screaming bloody-murder on Wednesday night. (We were up till about 2 o'clock in the morning.) Nothing would console her, she just cried and cried. Dr. Fuller decided that it was probably (ears were clear) just her mouth giving her pain. She currently has two bottom teeth and several teeth cutting in on the top. For weeks now we have literally been coating Miri's pacifier (popping it in and then spinning it) with the nighttime formula of Baby Orajel. We thought it was a safe way to provide her with some relief, and hey...the nighttime formula was like extra-strength right?


The possibility that this stuff might not be safe for our kids never even crossed our minds. It seemed to significantly help Miri's discomfort, so that was enough for us. Plus - look at that peaceful baby on the box! (#1 teething brand too!) You can find teething gels pretty much everywhere, so we thought nothing of it. Thankfully - when the subject of teething eventually came up Dr. Fuller decided to inform us about the possible danger associated with Orajel. 

He told us about something called methemoglobinemia. (met-HEEM-oh glo-bin-EE-mee-a) It can occur after just one use of benzocaine (Orajel) or several applications. (Just minutes or up to 2 hours after use.) Dr. Fuller had a child actually suffer from this condition because of benzocaine teething gel, she turned blue right in front of him! 

Symptoms includeheadache, tired feeling, confusion, fast heart rate, and feeling light-headed or short of breath, with a pale, blue, or gray appearance of your skin, lips, or fingernails.
(In infants I believe you mainly look for change in color of appearance.) Methemoglobinemia is a life-threatening condition in which the amount of oxygen in your blood stream becomes dangerously low, how terrifying is that folks? I just wanted to put it out there and make everybody aware. :) Dr. Fuller recommends freezing a teething toy to help with the discomfort. Miri really enjoys chewing on her Nuby Teether. (Photo below) They are $4.12 on diapers.com, and they come in three colors.

Thankfully - there is a cure for Methemoglobinemia! The treatment consists of supplemental oxygen and methylene blue administered intravenously slowly over five minutes by IV. 

---------->Today<----------
I took Miri back to the doctor today for her 4 month shots. (We are a little off schedule) She is no Silas-man, so I see lots of rocking in the near future. (Silas has a very high pain tolerance) We are having a big pity party at the Cherry house tonight. She had to get two shots in each leg and she also had an oral vaccine. :( Poor baby!

I had a person comment that my blog appeared to be overlapping when viewed though Internet Explorer, anybody else having this issue?

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