The paediatrician said, “Mothers believe that teething will make babies have fever or diarrhoea but this is not true. It is an infection that causes the fever and not teething. Teething should not cause a problem for any baby.
“Teething will not make the child have pain, fever, or diarrhoea. If the child is feeling pain, something must be causing it. Mothers should stop going to buy teething powder because it is never recommended for babies. It is a treatment that is completely unnecessary.”
The United Kingdom’s National Health Service, says baby teeth sometimes emerge with no pain or discomfort at all.
“Some people think that teething causes other symptoms, such as diarrhoea, but there’s no evidence to support this.
“Some babies are born with their first teeth. Others start teething before they are four months old, and some after 12 months. But most babies start teething at around six months”, NHS said.
The paediatrician urged mothers to always take their babies to the hospital whenever they have health issues and not just working on assumptions.
“When the baby has a fever, the baby has an infection and should be taken to the doctor for treatment. The doctor will treat the cause of the fever. Teething will never cause fever. Some mothers don’t know what is wrong with their babies. Teething will not make the baby restless whatsoever.
“What we know is that, as soon as babies can control their hands very well, anything they grab, goes to their mouth. That happens to every baby and we know that it is a natural thing”, he said.
According to him, around the time of growing teeth, it is time that the natural immunity from the mother drops, and the baby starts having an infection to develop his/her own natural antibodies.
He added, “This is around five to six months and when this begins to happen, mothers will wrongly attribute it to teething but it is not.
“If the baby is also in an environment that is dirty and puts a lot of things in the mouth, that can cause the baby to have an infection. Also, if the mother starts introducing complementary feeding and it is not well prepared or stored, that can lead to infection.”
He appealed to mothers to maintain a hygienic environment to avoid exposing their babies to the risk of infection.
An online portal, MedicineNet, in a recent report, says teething is the process by which a baby’s teeth erupt, or breakthrough, the gums.
“Teething generally occurs between six to 24 months of age.
Symptoms of teething include irritability, tender and swollen gums, and the infant wanting to place objects or fingers into the mouth in an attempt to reduce discomfort. Fever, cough, diarrhoea, and cold symptoms are not found when a child is teething,” the online portal added.
MedicineNet is an American medical website that provides information about diseases, conditions, medications and general health.
Source: healthwise
