Does Baby Teething Truly Cause Diarrhoea and Fever?
TEETHING😁….DIARHHEA💩….FEVER🤒
◾️So many mothers believe that their baby has diarrhea as a result of teething. Is this true? The answer is NO and YES!
◾️ Its a NO because teething does NOT cause diarrhea!
◾️And it is a yes, because a baby is at a higher risk of contracting a a germ that can cause diarrhea while teething.
⛔️LET’S BREAK IT DOWN⛔️
💩DIARRHEA💩
➡️Teething is said to occur when a baby tooth breaks through the gums. It usually occurs around the 6th month, but can start as early as 4 months or as late as 10 months.
➡️When a baby starts teething, the gums can be swollen and painful. This could make the baby uncomfortable, want to bite on his/her hands or objects, drool saliva, rub the ears and even refuse solid food.
➡️A baby starts mouthing around the 4th month. That is, they are interested in putting anything and everything in the mouth! Hold that thought…….
➡️A baby starts crawling at about the 6th month too. At that point, he/she starts making effort to explore the environment, moving on what? The hands and the knee! The hands and the belly! Do you see one constant thing? …..Your guess is as good as mine, THE HANDS! Also, as he explores the environment, he picks up any object he meets on his way too, for a playful mouthing, lol.
➡️Now,do you see any common thing in all these processes of a child’s development?
1. The timing of all these 3 events is close together
2. The mouth, the hands and objects are the baby’s best “playmate”
➡️If your baby picks up any germs on the hands or encounters a contaminated toy/object while exploring the environment? Where does it go next? (I hear you loud and clear!) and from the mouth, the germs head to the stomach and intestines and cause diarrhea.
❌So if your baby has diarrhea while teething, it means that your environment is not clean enough, so you have some work to do!❌
🌡FEVER🌡
➡️When do you say a child has fever? A child is said to have fever if the armpit temperature is equal or greater than 37.5 degrees Celsius. Every parent should know how to use a thermometer. Electronic thermometers are available in the market.
➡️Teething can cause a very mild increase in a baby’s temperature, but the armpit temperature should not be more than 37.5 degrees Celsius (use a thermometer, not your hands). Also, the mild increase in temperature usually occurs on the day the tooth comes out and the baby should not refuse fluids (milk, cereals) and should not be weak.
❌So when a baby’s temperature is hitting 37.5 degrees, or the baby is refusing fluids, acting weak or has the mild temperature increase beyond 3 days, QUICKLY MAKE A TRIP TO YOUR PAEDIATRICIAN👩⚕️👨⚕️❌
❎❎Do not use teething powder. Many of them sold in Nigeria contain poisonous substances that can affect your baby’s brain, intestines and kidneys❎❎
Culled from Paediatricians Give Answers by the NIGERIAN HEALTH BLOG to further help educate mothers on teething problems in children.
