does baltic amber wear out?

[WildFlower]

as in stop working after a while? DD has a baltic amber necklace she's worn since she was around 6 months old. She's 16 months now. She was crying fussing and seemed to be in pain because of her canine tooth coming in today. I put a different amber necklace on her, a lighter colored one that's new (i've heard the lighter stones are stronger) and she seemed to sleep well and has been fine since. It makes me wonder if they wear out or stop working after some time. I try to wash hers every now and then in case it gets food/or other stuff on it.

[Mommainrwanda]

I've been curious about that too. It seems like they can't last FOREVER, you know? I just bought the Urchin a new necklace for Christmas since she'd been wearing hers almost continuously for 14 months. I hadn't noticed that the effectiveness of the old one was wearing off though... :shrug3

[Aisling]

I've heard tell of theories about wearing them in the bathtub and the resin wearing of or something similar. I'm curious as well; I haven't researched/asked around about it it much. :popcorn

[pastelsummer]

i wonder what the rate would be for unpolished raw amber vs the rate for polished amber in how fast they wear out.

[benica312]

I was just thinking about this yesterday! Juliana is due for a new one, she has hard her's since she was 6 months and it's getting too short.

[titosmommy]

I'm pumping, but later I'll go lOok at the paperwork that came with ours. I'm pretty sure it says something about longevity.

[mom2afew]

I remember reading somewhere that they are effective for about 6 months time. I only put mine on my kids when they are teething or hurt from something. I have one on my 5yr old right now, and i'm not sure how i'm gonna get it off her so she doesn't wear it out.

[apmom44]

I have never heard of them wearing out, but I remember reading to "recharge" them to put them out in the sunshine for a day. Also wipe them off with a damp rag to remove any residue of lotion, soaps and body oils.

[Blue-EyedLady]

6 months? That's it? I thought it would last longer than that!

[mama_mimi]

I have never heard of them wearing out, but I remember reading to "recharge" them to put them out in the sunshine for a day. Also wipe them off with a damp rag to remove any residue of lotion, soaps and body oils.

I was going to say this. I know you have to "recharge" massage stones because they stop holding heat well after a while. I though amber might be the same an may require some sunlight perhaps? And the damp rag cleaning seems wise too. That being said, I don't own one. I'd be willing to try my theory out on anyone's old one. ;)

[Iarwain]

I was wondering about this too. Since the active ingredient is succinic acid which is absorbed through the skin, wouldn't enough of it eventually get absorbed out of the amber that it would lose effectiveness? I can't see how sunlight would help though unless there's some kind of chemical reaction taking place in the presence of sunlight to cause more succinic acid to be created.

[sprout]

was wondering too and I have no idea. but, yes, it would seem that it should and would have a limited amount of wear.

[Aahrensmom]

I believe the paperwork that came with DD's said 6-10 months was the average and that you would know when it stopped working because pain would return.

[WildFlower]

I think I am going to email inspired by finn and ask. If they really do wear out, then I think it's probably time for a new one for DD. She's been teething hard the past week or so ,despite wearing her amber necklace constantly. It's probably worn out since she's worn it 24/7 since she was 9 months old. :O She seemed to teeth constantly and usually multiple teeth at a time, so it never seemed a good time to take it off. I have one I got on ebay but have never been sure of it's authenticity so I don't know whether it works or not.

[Blue-EyedLady]

Ok, well, since DS1 wore the necklace constantly for over a year, and DS2 has been wearing the necklace for months now, I guess it's time for a new one. :doh I got the last one from a GCM who isn't active anymore. Does anyone around here sell them?

[HealthymamaHappymama]

I have heard the sunshine thing too and wondered how it worked. DD lost hers awhile back so we recently got a new one.