Mother Shares Urgent Warning About Popular Teething Product after 15-Mo-Old Stops Breathing
It’s the image of peace: a sleeping baby. For parents with teething babies, a peaceful and restful night can be difficult to achieve.
Danielle Kapetanovic found herself in the trenches of teething with her 15-month-old daughter, Chloe. Kapetanovic purchased Baby Orajel hoping it would relieve some of Chloe’s pain.
When infants or toddlers are in pain, bedtime usually becomes an exhausting and drawn-out process. It’s understandably challenging for little ones to stay asleep when they are in pain.
So, bedtime seemed like the perfect time for Kapetanovic to apply the Baby Orajel to her daughter’s gums for the first time. She had specifically purchased the Nighttime Orajel that claims to be “longer lasting” and have “extra strength for nighttime.”
Though the directions called for a “pea-size” amount, Kapetanovic thought she would be conservative and use less. The immediate results did not match the peaceful image of a sleeping baby on the teething product’s packaging.
Rather, it resulted in a terrifying moment of an unresponsive 15-month-old requiring immediate assistance to breathe again. Chloe turned red and then blue.
Within only 10 to 15 seconds after her gums received the Orajel application, Chloe stopped breathing. Her body went limp and didn’t respond even after her mother struck her back in efforts to see Chloe return to consciousness.
Chloe’s dad called 911. She finally woke up after receiving breaths in her mouth by Kapetanovic.
Her first cry after being unconscious for an estimated 15 to 20 seconds was a sound better than anything Chloe’s parents could have heard that evening. Chloe didn’t have a peaceful night, but she was alive and okay.
Kapetanovic issued an urgent warning on Facebook knowing how popular Orajel is as a teething product. The benzocaine in the Baby Orajel might have been responsible for Chloe’s adverse reaction.
“Please, do not give your children Baby Orajel. The potential temporary relief it may provide your baby from teething is simply not worth the risk,” Kapetanovic warned.
This mother wasn’t keen on sharing personal information about her daughter publically, but felt the potential good in warning other parents was worth it. We are happy to hear that Chloe is okay after the scary incident and are thankful Kapetanovic opened up about their story so that parents can educate themselves on the risks of benzocaine gels.
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