My five month old son is teething both top and bottom (ouch!). The problem and only symtoms I am having is that he has a fever of 101 and sometimes higher(for the past day and a half) and he is fussy. Unfortunately for me most dr. dont believe that teething causes fever. I have tried tylenol and now I am using motrin. So far the fever keeping on coming back after the meds wears off. My child has been subjected to a cathider for a urine sample and cbc blood screening to see if he fighting an infection. Forgive me if i am scared to call the dr again after 24 hours for another evaluation. So far my mom says to use rose water and sponge bathe him for the temp to go do. HELP ME MOTHERS, I am running out of of options b4 I have to call his dr. again.
Thanks
G.
Hello Everyone,
I must first say thanks for all the responses and conserns that all have shared. I am happy to report that after a weekend of fevers my son is now doing much better. He had a followup with his Dr. on monday and the report for his urine and blood sample was negative. Therefore he does not have an infection. Just as I thought it was his teeth. They have not seen the light yet but are definately getting there. All the best to mothers who have yet to experience what I will be going through for however long.
Forever Grateful
G.
Hyland's Teething Tablets are the best! All of the Hyland's products are great. WHole Foods, Walgreen's, CVS etc., all carry them. Whole Foods has the bigger selection. Good Luck! At 26, I was still 14 years away from a child!!
Hang in there,
E.
Hi there,
My son suffered the same thing, it's not easy but I use and still buy FerverAll (supositories) and also bought teething tablets that melt in the mouth. The FeverAll takes longer to wear off. Good Luck!
happy mother day.
no one has mentioned that you can alternate the tylenol and motrin so there isn't a lapse in the medicine running out. you give the tylenol and 3 hours later you give the motrin and 3 hours give the tylenol. keep that routine to keep the fever down. my oldest son had bad fevers when teething and he would have feverall seziers. my oldest is 12 now, i have had to alternate with the fever medicines for years with 3 kids. its perfectly safe. all my doctors i've had over the years have said i could do that.
I never understood why a doctor would deny the obvious - I guess because it medically doesn't make sense to them. Not only did all of my kids had fevers until the tooth broke through,they also would get colds or upset tummys too,then the fever went away. Sponge baths help alot, along with orajel & the tylenol/motrin for children. Help the tooth break through by giving him frozen orange slices to gnaw on. Rub his gums at the tooth site to help it come through - you can do this while applying the orajel. I hope it breaks soon!!
What my husband and I do is take cool wet wachcloths and put them on her feet and ankes (This draws the fever down to her feet and not to the brain.) This works great for us, home it helps you.
When you take your child to the doctor with a fever they want to know that he is not fighting an infection. Once that is eliminated they will look at other things. A fever is his bodies normal reason to it fighting an infection. Personally I liked giving them tylenol and motrin. Rotating between the two. Leaving them in their diaper, and wiping them down with their baby wipes. And if he is teething he will love to chew on one. This process only works if the wipes are straight out of the box and not out of a warmer. Teething tablets work better for my kids then a gel. You just really have to find a good combination that works well for the both of you. There are many more teeth about to come. The other thing is that a babies temp will rise slghtly when teething and if he is fussy on top of that and crying alot that will make it go up a little more. Don't worryso much about it unless there are other symptis come up, if you can not get it to go down, or it last more than 5 days. If any of this happens take him back to the doctor.
You need to get him to the emergency ward at the hospital. Fast.
Whenever my kids get a fever i give them a rubbing alchol spong down and it brings the fever down really quick.
as a mother of 3 (a 2 yr old and twin 2 month olds) i know how rough the fever fussiness thing is and i feel for you.
as an ER nurse i will give you some advice. i have found that both as a nurse and a mother all children show signs of fever differently. my son had a low grade fever and fussiness, but i have seen them at work with 102 fever and diarrhea. so each child is different. what can you do? my suggestions: alternate motrin (every 6 hours) and tylenol (every 4 hours). that works best. another option is orajel, i found a little relief with this. one thing that worked well with my son. i bought the mini bagels at the supermarket. i would put them in the freezer, tie a string through it and then attach it to the high chair. my son would gnaw on that and i guess it helped numb his gums. other than that love and console your child and know that this too will pass! good luck and let me know how it all turns out. oh yeah, if your child is not better soon, or fever spikes higher, take him back to you doctor. that is what they are there for and you should not feel bad about calling again, this is your child and you just want what is best! good luck!
Hi Grace- Ann! I have 2 girls and I used to freak out when my first born (now 7 1/2) would get a fever. Honestly, I agree ith the doctor, the teething isn't the cause for the fever, he probably has a virus. How long has he had the fever? 101 is not that high for an infant, and if he is fussy, he is probably fighting something off...the fever alone makes them fussy because it is uncomfortable. I would keep the motrin going, and you can alternate between motrin and tylenol, so that nothing wears off..for example, give him motrin, then 4 hrs later you can give him tylenol, then 4 hrs later motrin again...that always works good for me...lukewarm baths are always good..good luck!
My 9 month old son is also teething and recently had a very high fever. I'm talking 105+! we had to rush him to the ER last week. His fever seemed to start w/o any other symptoms besides the teething like your baby. Long story short, it turned out to be roseola.Which is a fairly common virus known by some other names I'm sure... I am not saying this is what your son has, but I thought I'd write you with a possibility. It's certainly not anything I had ever heard of previous! I think it is common for a baby to have a low grade fever with teething though... by the way with roseola the baby gets a fever, and then as soon as it disapates pfaint red spots appear on their face, chest, belly, etc. Hope he feels better!!
G.,
First off, I would like to say Happy Mother's Day to you.
I'm shocked that doctors don't believe that teething can cause fevers. My son had a fever throughout most of his teething. Continue to use the tylenel and other fever reducers. As far as the fussiness, have you tried using the orajel and similar types of rubbing gels on his gums? This should probably help some. I can understand your intimidation with the doctors. Some do make us feel inferior to them. Keeping him cool will help with reducing the fever a bit too. Is this the first time you have had difficulty or difference of opinion with your doctor(s)? Can you change to another doctor or are you locked in because of HMO?
Don't lose hope from this situation.
Remember, doctors are just doctors (humans too). You are a mother and know your child better than anybody else. My son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (insulin dependent) almost 3 years ago and had I not taken my son to the ER within the hour he would have died. I did not listen to the others. Had I listened to ex and others, my son would no longer be here.
Hope you have a joyous Mother's Day. Just to enjoy the good and tolerate the bad.
I hope I helped a little bit.
B.
G.,
It sounds like you need to find another doctor. What are they suggesting the fever is caused by? If not teething, maybe an ear infection that could require antibiotics? If the fever continues or gets higher and you do not want to go to your dr. again, I would try the ER at your hospital. That would be another set of eyes looking at your child. I hope things get better.
A.
Fevers ARE a symptom of teething ( I was just at my pediatrician for similar reasons yesterday)... BUT you SHOULD call your doctor if the baby tylenol is NOT bringing down your son's fever... Good luck!
You didn't say just how high the fever was and I assume there are no other symptoms but "fussy" yes teething seems to be associated with fevers but not for too long and not very high. Another evaluation from another physician may be a better choice. You would much rather be safe and not overlook something . If it goes this way much longer and there is no improvement I would call the triage nurse and see what they recommend.
Teething DOES cause fevers. Anything that "turns on" the immune system an cause a fever. REPEAT....FEVERS are GOOD! THis means the child/adults immune system is working properly.
We do NOT treat fevers...EVER.....not matter HOW HIGH....not in a healthy child. Unless the child is completely lethargic. We treat OTHER symptoms...pain, etc BUT not the fever directly.
Homeopathic Chamomile works great for us when our chldren are "teething".
Hello G.,
I had the same problem with my daughter when she was 5 months old and teething only her fever was almost 103. I took her to the doctor and they found an ear infection. Well the doctor told me to give her motrin and tylenol at the same time. It won't hurt him because it is two different kinds of meds. I did this and it really helps. Also just keep him in a diaper too many clothes will bring the temp up. I hope this helps
Try giving Tylenol then alternating with Motrin. That seems to work to bring the fever down. As far as the pain goes, try Little Teethers. I think it is a gel, if I remember correctly. My daughter ran a fever for a few days when she was teething. A little extra advice....if you aren't totally happy with your doc's opinion on something, it may be time for a new doc. I had to do that. Trust your gut..most times you will be right.
Best of luck!!!
HI,
My daughter had 3 and 4 teeth coming in at the same time, she did have fevers. Motrin seemed to help her more than the Tylenol. She would have them for 2 or 3 days at a time, I made sure to spread out the doses. In between it was cool baths and semi-frozen wash cloths. Hope this helps,
S.
How high are the fevers? A low grade fever could be excused as teething but a high fever will NEVER be because of teething. Being 5 months old with a high fever with no source (no other symptoms such as cough, runny nose, diarrhea) does require a further work up including blood work, urine culture, etc. I am a physician in a pediatric residency program and we deal with this type of situation all of the time in the ER.
GO TO URGENT CARE FOR A FEVER OVER 101 -- CHANGE DOCTORS IF YOU HAVE THAT "SCARED" FEELING FOR REPETITIVE CALLING
(i had it too because the nurses would snicker and pooh pooh my worries -- the 5th time i was in with my new babies -- and 9 times out of 10 i was correct -- i just caught the infection "too early" -- they couldn't see it yet in the ears).........MOMMY GUT is telling you something -- and YOU NEED to DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE FOR YOUR LITTLE BABY BECAUSE THE BABY CAN't TELL YOU WHAT IS HURTING THEM.
URGENT CARE or AN ER could probably find the problem.
YOU are the smartest person there is when it comes to your child -- NEVER feel afraid or foolish when it comes to your concern about your child's behavior/actions/fever.......Please follow your OWN feelings about this and seek other medical advice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
p.s. doctors usually consider other reasons when it comes to a baby when the mom is persistent
because moms are usually right -- something something is wrong with my baby!
p.s.s.
don't worry that feeling about sex & another child goes away after awhile! you just need some relaxation and fun!
actually teething may cause mild fevers. take him to urgent care or call the doctor and tell him your baby needs attention NOW
