"My husband and I have a 7-month-old son, "Jeremy." Recently, Jeremy's grandmother "Lucinda" came for a visit and did something that has me blind with rage. Jeremy is teething, and Lucinda likes to have brandy every evening. I left her with Jeremy while I took a work call. When I came back, she had her finger in his mouth. When I asked what she was doing, she said she'd dipped her finger in her brandy."
"You're overreacting-but I understand why. Your husband's grandmother didn't "give brandy to an infant," she rubbed a very small amount of it on his gums. This is an old-school teething remedy that goes back generations; admittedly, I rubbed cognac on my own infant's gums. Unsurprisingly, professionals advise against it, and while I did find one tragic story of a baby dying"
An adult rubbed a finger dipped in brandy on an infant's gums as a teething remedy. The infant showed no immediate ill effects. The infant's parent reacted angrily and wants to prohibit further contact. Other household members judged the reaction excessive. The practice of applying small amounts of alcohol to gums is an old-school teething remedy used across generations; some caregivers have used cognac on infants. Medical professionals advise against applying alcohol to infants, and at least one fatality linked to such use has been reported.
Read at Slate Magazine
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