In the past, doctors used to say that babies and children do not have pain, but how did they know? Young children are unable to tell their parents they “hurt” other than becoming fussy and crying. One type of pain that affects babies is teething pain. The process of erupting teeth is very uncomfortable. Your child can become irritable, have swollen gums and drool. In the past, parents used to apply paregoric, a product from the seed pod of the poppy, a controlled substance, to their gums. Mothers could go to their pharmacy and merely sign their name to get it. Paregoric was rubbed on the child’s gums to ease their pain but in actuality, it was causing them to become sleepy. How far have we moved away from this type of medication? Today we want to use all-natural products. One such all-natural product is Milkweed Balm. Parents recommend rubbing Milkweed Balm on the outside of your child’s chin, around the entire mandible. Milkweed Balm is never recommended to be used inside the mouth or in the body. This all-natural product has anti-inflammatory properties that helps eliminate your child’s pain from teething.
Another type of pain that children experience is growing pains in their legs in the evening and nighttime hours. Growing pains affect preschool and school age children and can last as long as a year or more. Some children experience growing pains because of overuse of their muscles during the day running, climbing or jumping. It is important to rule out any other cause of pain, such as with an illness, before determining your child is experiencing growing pains.
How can you as a parent ease growing pains? First of all, hold your child and cuddle them. This close skin contact helps to ease your child’s pain and stress. If your child is still exhibiting pain, parents again recommend that you rub and massage your child’s legs and joints with the Milkweed Balm. Other options are a warm bath before bedtime. or a heating pad on the lowest setting (for no longer than ten minutes) to decrease painful joints.