Homemade Teething Bracelet Causes Lead Poisoning in Baby

Many parents swear by their baby wearing an amber teething bracelet or necklace to relieve teething symptoms.

But the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has found no evidence to support the claims that the beads offer pain relief to teething babies. In fact the TGA has ordered several retailers to stop claiming the jewellery helps with teething, pain relief and inflammation.

Yet many parents swear by them and their calm and less-drooly baby is all the evidence they need to know the beads have some effect on their baby.

But a new warning has come out of the US where a baby has acquired lead poisoning after her parents purchased a ‘homeopathic magnetic hematite healing bracelet’ from a local fair. The bracelet was advertised as a cure for teething pain.

The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention reported on the incident, which said the parents placed the bracelet on the 9-month-old’s wrist to help ease and soothe the tot’s teething pain.

The baby sucked on the bracelet – as babies do when they are able to grab at something – and while the baby was undergoing some standard tests, her doctor found the she had almost eight times the acceptable upper limit of lead in her system.

Lead poisoning in children can cause significant health effects including, developmental delay, learning difficulties, irritability, loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue, abdominal pain, vomiting, constipation hearing loss and seizures.

The parents searched their home on what the possible cause was and they discovered the spacer beads on their daughter’s teething bracelet had 170 times the acceptable lead limit. The bracelet didn’t come with a warning that it couldn’t be placed in the mouth.

At this stage, the Manchester Health Department are unable to find the maker of the bracelets or the beads. And it is disconcerting the bracelet was advertised for babies.

This discovery serves as a warning to all parents to check the legitimacy of baby products they purchase – especially products that claim they can ‘heal’.

Not all remedies are safe and research is really important for the safety of your baby.

If teething pain is causing your baby to be irritable, panandol and cooled teething toys can help.

If your baby’s teething pain is a concern, speak to your GP or healthcare nurse for tips on relief and management.