For the past years, many parents believe that high fever is just a sign of child's teething, even though there's no evidence that they are linked. However, recent findings which were released in the journal of Pediatrics said that high-fever is not a normal teething symptom. If your baby is teething and suffering from fever, chances are your child might be suffering from other illness.
"If a child has a really high fever, or is in significant discomfort, or won't eat or drink anything for days, that's a red flag for concern," Dr. Paul Casamassimo, director of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry's Pediatric Oral Health and Research and Policy Center, said.
Nevertheless, the study didn't totally dismiss the common teething symptoms. Those symptoms include drooling, swollen gums and crankiness of a child. However, Casamassimo said parents shouldn't overlook because symptoms should last for more than three to five days but for other cases, it could last longer.
Thus, he said parents should always monitor their child -- closely checking for other symptoms. "By and large, symptoms are not a chronic thing," he said. "They come and go, and the job of the parent is to comfort the child and keep their finger on the pulse of their child. Is the child eating? Staying hydrated?"
In addition, he said that cold piece of cloth and some teething toys can ease child's discomfort. But if it still didn't work, parents can use infant pain reliever. However, Casamassimo said parents just need to be careful about using pain reliever as it can cause tooth decay. Moreover, he said, "stay away from topical anesthetics that contain benzocaine and lidocaine."
The study said that teething can lead to fever. Nevertheless, if the child has a body temperature of 101 degrees Fahrenheit and is accompanied by other symptoms like diarrhea, rashes and vomiting, then parents should consider calling a doctor.
