Submitted by lrkadk on Thu, 10/13/2005 - 2:34am
I am so confused about teething and fever. I was just reading the posts about it at another parenting site. I had always thought that fever was normal and part of teething. My daughter is getting her first tooth and she felt a little warm today. I did not think anything of it and just gave her a little Tylenol. Then a friend said her Dr. said fevers are not from teething, I have read books that say the two do go together. Tomorrow we are supposed to go see a friend with a 4 week-old baby. I thought it would be fine because teething is not contagious, but now I am not sure what to do. Should we go, or not take the chance? And should I be more concerned about the fever?
I would not worry. My doctor
I would not worry. My doctor does say that along with teething there is usually fever, drool stool (loose strool), runny nose & rashes. I wouldn't worry about the other child. You would know if your child were sick. If your dd is really warm or fussy, give her some tylenol (which you've done). I sometimes dilute camomile tea & put it in the fridge or make a popsicle for mine.
Take care.
a related question
what about a correlation between coughing and teething? my baby girl has had a dry cough for a while now--drs keep telling us not to worry just give her some water. then recently i read somewhere that it could be related to teething. has anyone heard of this or should i still be worried and keep pressing the doc? i am worried it might be something more chronic like athsma or something.
Fevers go with teething - IMHO
DS spikes a major fever EVERY time teeth come through...I mean a 103-104 degree fever that lasts a couple of days and stops as SOON as the teeth break through the surface of the gums. I don't know why peds are so reluctant to admit the correlation between teething and fevers...it makes sense that you'd get a fever when your skin (gums) are being pierced, it's your body's natural way of making sure that infection doesn't set in. But what do I know? I just have a two year old (almost) who's gotten diaper rash, a massive fever and diarrhea EVERY time he's gotten teeth. Maybe it's all a coincidence, though?
That said, let the other mama make the call. I agree that kids who are exposed to germs are likely to be more healthy in the long run but when DS was 4 weeks old EVERYTHING scared me.
Hope your little one's feeling well soon.
Adults ought to skip more often. -Anna Maxted
Remember that you are unique, just like everyone else.
i agree that teethers can be
i agree that teethers can be warm even though my ped says no, too. that's the party line these days. i also agree that a call to other mum is the way to go. if her babe were older i'd think nothing of the visit but newborns don't always cope with simple viruses well (if that were what your daughter has) and mine ended up in the hospital with a raging fever from an otherwise harmless virus. 2 weeks of meningitis treatment because they were unable to prove that WASN'T the problem wasn't worth the visit.
i believe fevers and runny
i believe fevers and runny noses and teefers all go together as well. I also think that it my be th epolite thing to mention it in a pre-visit phone call to new mommy stating exactly what you wrote here and let her have the final word.
I have my own theories on that stuff and there is now evidence that sheltered chilren in sterile environments are the ones that are always sick! Its the kids that eat dirt and play with other kids with colds whos moms don't bleach everything down that are better off, so if it were my newborn, I wouldn't worry.
No biggie
My kids have always had slight fevers when teething, and the whole diaper rash thing, too. But I would still follow the aforementioned advice and let the other mama know. People get a little crazy about their little ones.... as I'm sure you know from experience.
Fever and runny nose do go
Fever and runny nose do go hand in hand with teething. All that extra drool can give them diarhea, too. I don't know why though...maybe something about the whole process lowers their immune system, and they are more suseptible to viruses.
The whole "fever" thing is overrated. Fevers are not to be worried about in my opinion, especially in kids and babies. Fevers are part of our body's way of fighting infection, so to me, medicating to alleviate this symptom is counter productive.
I would inform the other mom, and see what she thinks. I was pretty cautious when mine was 4 weeks old...by like 6 months I felt being exposed to normal colds was an important part of her building her own immune system.