Myth Buster

MYTH: Babies get fever when teething   
BUSTED: “Teething doesn’t cause fever. Now when you say fever it’s actually more than about 99.F. Some parents call temperature a bit below that also fever. When babies are teething, they become irritable, which results in them crying all the time. This elevates the temperature a little bit, but not above 99.F. A normal temperature can vary from about 98.4 to 99. But to parents, 98.7 can be fever. So that is probably how the myth came about. The irritability mainly comes from the gums, so that may cause their temperature to increase slightly. When babies are teething, it makes them uncomfortable because they have an itching feeling in the gum. When they cry and gnaw at various things, you have to be careful, because it could cause infection. You can apply a bit of comforting gel on the gum which can be acquired from a pharmacy,” 

explained Dr. Kosala Karunaratne, Consultant Pediatrician, Lady Ridgeway Hospital.