Teething and Fevers

M.,
Both my boys had fevers with ALL the new teeth. I found that infant's motrin works better than tylonol for the fever and gum pain. My boys also got horrible diaper rashes when cutting teeth. (those were the Only times they got rashes). Do not give baby cool baths, ecspecially if fever is over 101 degrees, this can send baby into shock. Just strip her down to a onesie, and keep a light blanket over her. Unless she's showing other signs of illness, a doctor's visit probably isn't nessasary. Good luck, growing teeth is hard work for baby and mommy.

Teething and fevers are related. All 3 of my children ran fevers when they were cutting teeth. I would give my children a teething ring to chew on and some infant tylenol to help. I would still see the doctor though just in case that it is not from her teeth and something else. Yes teething can cause fevers.
D.

I am 31. I have been married going on 12 yrs. this Nov. and my husband and I have 3 boys ages 10,7 and 4.

I have been told that teething and fevers are very common. my 19 month old twin girl got a temp of 105.6 with teething and we spent the night in the hospital until it went away for good. This was recently. (She was getting all her molars at one time). :( Now her twin brother and her 4 year old sister have never had a temp when teething.

My daughter's doctor (30 years ago) said the same thing. Runny nose and fever have nothing to do with teething. Once the tooth came in the runny nose and fever went away. Since sinuses and teeth are in the same general area, how can they say the runny nose and fever have nothing to do with it?

Anyway, I didn't listen to him, I used Orajel for babies and Tylenol and we got through it.

My mother told me that I had such a terrible time with teething that my gums turned black. Someone told her to rub a silver spoon over my gums and the tooth would pop through. She did and it worked or it was just time for it to pop through, don't know which!

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My son always ran a fever with teething. It always stayed below 100.5. He also got diarrhea, BAD. I think every child is different.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Three of my five babies had fever with teething. I even took one to the doctor because along with the fever she had referred ear pain and I thought it was an ear infection. With two I have not had them experience any fever.

I have 2 daughters who got their teeth very late! They were troopers and never indicated pain (probably because they were so much older when the teeth came in)And when they did come in, it was SEVERAL teeth at once! My youngest had I think 7 coming in at the same time! My ONLY indication that teeth were coming was a fever. Both girls and every time. Motrin works better than Tylonal every time for fevers. Doctors told me the same thing they told you but my 2 girls are proof they can be wrong. Always trust your mothers intuition. Every child is different and nobody knows your child better than YOU.

I just took my 5 month old daughter to the doctor yesterday for this reason. She has had a low grade fever, runny nose and loose bowel movements. I figured she was teething (already has two teeth), bur wanted to make sure she didn't have an ear infection. She is fine and the doctor said depending on the child they can have those symptoms when teething. She said I could give her infant Tylenol (.08mL one dropper full). We go to Geist Family Medicine and they are awesome if anyone is looking for a good doctor and or pediatrician.

Sometimes my son ran a fever when he was teething and most times he would have the runny nose and cold like symptoms but then after the teeth came through the symptoms went away! I agree with what everyone else has been saying though as far as orajel and tylenol...those are the things I used.I don't know why some doctors do not agree that teething can cause a fever..makes ya wonder what they thought when their own children were teething,especially if the child ran a fever at the same time.Best of luck to you!

Hi M.-

I did have a candid conversation with my doctor about fevers, rashes and teething and he did agree their seems to be a correlation with some kids but said if my son's fever ever got above 100 degrees it was most likely an infection. If it was over 100 he said to come in.

He told me to treat it at home with Motrin and Tylenol (alternating with Motrin the last dose before bedtime.) It didn't "fix" his teething pain but it made it much more tolerable for our whole family.

Good luck!

I hope that helps.

YES!! I have heard a lot of drs. say they are related. But, I believe they are. When the teeth are pushing through, there is an opening in the gums and bacteria and infection can settle in. The fever is the body's way of fighting off those infections. However, that high of a fever is not dangerous for a child. It's actually helpful for them because you know their body is fighting off the bacteria, etc. I wouldn't worry...you might not even want to take them to the dr...as long as they are comfortable! Give tylenol or motrin and plenty of liquids.

I have three children 8, 7, and 6. It has been a while since we went through teething but I can assure you that those first few teeth kicked but. We had a fever while teething with all of our children. We simply used Tylenol for the fever and some baby Orajel for the gum pain. Good Luck!

I asked my mother when my first son (of seven children) started running a fever with teething, and she laughed... She said that it's very common. She laughed because she said that it's a question that goes down through the generations from daughters to mothers because drs never connect teething and fevers.
My grandmother said that she asked her mother and was told that it's natural but the dr won't say that so just humor him, my mom asked my grandmother and my grandmother said it's commom but not to expect the dr to acknowledge it so just treat it accordingly, and my mom told me that it's a general standard but that she'd be surprised if the drs would connect the two even though the industry has come a long way.
My dr said that it was coincidence, and that my child probably had a cold at the same time. Well, I should have won the lottery by now with all the coincidences while my 7 children have cut teeth!
My kids also drool like Niagra Falls,get looser bowels, and their morning diapers have a very strong concentrated ammonia smell to them when they are teething.
I know it's very possible that they could happen to catch something around the time they are teething, especially this time of year, but really, by now you'd think they'd get a clue and see the generations of patterns, and give a mother a little credit for knowing her child.
I'm sure I'll chuckle when my children are grown and ask me the same thing about their babies!

I really wouldn't worry,because in my experience babies can run fevers while teething.But it would still be a good idea to still get your baby checked out just in case.Good luck!

In my experience, doctors do not relate teething with illness. EXCEPT.... teething may make babies put more things in their mouth, which in turn is an easier way for the baby to catch germs - causing illness.

I swear my first daughter had the same cough, runny nose and fever each time a new tooth came in. I knew when I heard her low, rumble of a cough that she was getting a new tooth and we started the tylenol and benedryl immediately.

Now with my second daughter, I was told to give Infants Motrin and Benedryl. Motrin is better for the gum pain.

YES! And every time the doctor said the fever and teething are not related, but couldn't explain the fever. I'm not sure what medicince the child can have at 6 months (can't remember, mine are two now), but i would suggest the infant tylenol or ib-profin (ask doctor about dose) and put some gummer stuff on the gums. Every time my daughters got teeth, they got an unexplainable fever and cold-like symptoms and we always thought they were getting sick, but it was just teeth.

my first daughter had problems with fevers and teething, about the only thing you can do is to give your 6 month old some tylenol and cool baths and wait it out till you see your doctor.

From the research I've done combined with info from my pediatrician there is no medical reason for a fever caused by teething - they just frequently coincide. Our bodies run a fever to fight off infection - I don't think it's unusual for a Doctor to wait a day for a fever of 100.7 in a 6 month old. A lot of times if you let the fever run its course they'll be fine. She may have a mild infection - most likely viral - that the doctor can't prescribe anything for anyway - that's not to say you shouldn't have her checked out, but I wouldn't worry - you can treat her symptoms to make her comfortable, but a fever isn't something to worry too much about.

Our pediatrician holds the same belief (well, I got the impression that she might agree with fever during teething a little bit - as she's a mom, too - but she wouldn't say that ;0)
However, our daughter held a 103.5 fever for several days, usually just in the evenings, and it didn't go away until that tooth finally poppped through. She showed NO signs of sickness, but was constantly drooling/dripping, and chewing on everything, including her fingers.
I did take her into the Dr., but they had no idea -- I think it was teething, myself.

My son always ran a fever when he was teething. He is eight now and I had a baby girl a few months ago. She has been running a fever and I am pretty sure she is teething because she is drooling and chewing and grumpy etc... I would ask your doctor why he doesn't believe that fever can run with teething. Maybe do some research on your own too. Then take the info you have and make your own decision. Ultimately every child is different so she may run a fever and the next one won't. Good luck.

My doctor told me that there was no correlation between teethg and fevers, yet my daughter always had a fever when she was teething. I have also talked to others Moms who had the same experience. Go ahead and take her to the doctor this time as a precaution, but if there are no other symtoms I wouldn't worry.

Both my kids got fevers just before teeth broke. My son actually went to 102 once. My doc says the same thing that they are not related, but if the only thing that is wrong is a fever & then the next day a tooth breaks thru, how can they not be related? I've been told that it's purely coincidental.
It seems that if that's the case, my kids were sick alot. :)

My 6 month old suffered from fevers while teething also. I simply gave her a dose of tylenol as directed. According to her weight, I give her 0.8 mL every 4 to 6 hours. It really worked well!

M.,

A 100.7 temp is not that high for a baby. Their normal temp is much higher than an adult's. I wouldn't insist on seeing the doctor (you'll just have to pay a lot of money for them to tell you to give her tylenol).

She might very well be teething, if she is, she'll be drooling a lot and chewing on things. Just give her some baby tylenol (0.8 mL for a 6 month old) and let her chew on something cold. If you have one of those teething rings you can put in the freezer, my daughter really likes that. Check her temp again after giving tylenol and it should go down. If her temp goes higher, then call the doctor back. By the way, Ora-gel is only a teporary fix and does not work as well as tylenol for teething.

N.

I agree with the other posters. I have 3 kids and ALL three got fevers when they were teething. Doctors may not agree on this but ask ANY mother about it. Mother's know!!!

-Take care.

Both of my children ran fevers when teething. As a matter of fact my daughters fevers sometimes ran so high (104) that we had her in the ER. My children's dr does correlate fever and teething. Some dr's don't. If they aren't showing any other symptoms of sickness then I would say that is what is going on.
Best of Luck to you.

Did you take the temp rectally? Because anything below 100.4 is not considered a fever when done that way (that's what a nurse told me)... which might be why the Dr. decided to see you the next day. My son always seems to have a higher temperature when teething.

Yes. my son also had a low-grade fever for several days while teething. The two are definitely associated, I don't know why your doc would have said otherwise...

Hi M.!

My son didn't run a fever with teething until molars starting coming in. Sometimes he got cold-like symptoms, sometimes he didn't. But the molars were the worst for him. He would scream most of the night.

I found that Motrin works better than Tylenol. But your child has be 6 months or older. Your doctor can give you the dose, or you can ask your local pharmacist.

Fevers aren't necessarily a bad thing. According to my pediatrician, a fever isn't a cause for concern unless it lasts longer than 3 days and/or the child isn't acting as he or she normally acts. For example, my son has had a temp of 101 and was running around, playing, eating and climbing as usual. Then another time he had a temp of 100 and refused to eat, wanted to lay around all day, and was very cranky. The numbers don't matter as much as we think! It's the behaviors accompanying the fevers that matter the most.

Good luck!

Have you tried baby orajel or get a snow cone machine and when the baby eats the cone the ice will help to numb it.
Hope it helps.
Mamaw 3

My daughter had fevers with her teething but as long as the fever is under 102 it's ok. It just means it's fighting the infection. But most doctors don't believe that fevers and teething go together just like they don't think diahrea(sp?) and teething go together either!

Yes, and all my friends have as well. Fever, runny nose, diarrhea, lack of interest in eating/drinking, problems sleeping, etc. The only explanation for these things sometimes is new teeth.

my daughter ran fever with teething her doctor says it's normal. He also says diaherra can be normal with teething. Good luck

I always found it common for my kids to run a fever while they were teething. I always used tylenol for both !
if you give her tylenol and the fever drops i wouldn't worry about it.

My kids pediatrician said that fevers are very common with teething. All three of my four ran fevers while teething until the teeth finally broke thru! There pediatrician works for cincinnati childrens hospital so I'm sure they know what there talking about. Good luck, teethings as bad as colic!!(UGH).

A Little Bout Me:
SAHM to four kids (twin girls, 6yr old & 3mth old boys).

When my son was teething, he ran a slight fever - he also had diarrhea and lots of drool. Still it's better to play it safe and see the doctor.

Good luck!
P.

The Dr. told me the same thing, that childern don't get fevers when teething. But I have 4 childern, all but the last one,( who is 21 mo.) have had fevers when teething. I just rotated tylenol & motin. My very first experience was when my son was only 9 mo. and we were camping in the mountains hours away from any Dr. his temp was 102!!! But he's okay today 11 yrs. later. :) Good luck, Jen