Patient's question:
My baby is now seven months old and is teething. Since two days ago, he has been running a fever. My mother said that children often get fever when they are teething and suggested I buy some cold medicine for him. The child has been having intermittent fever, and I have been applying fever-reducing patches at home and giving him some children's cold medicine.What kind of help do I need: How to handle fever when a child is teething?
Doctor's answer:
A few days before the eruption of deciduous teeth, children may exhibit some abnormal behaviors, such as crying, excessive drooling, aversion to biting fingers and hard objects, poor sleep, and reduced appetite. Some may also experience low-grade fever, mild nausea and vomiting, and localized redness and swelling of the gums. Generally, these symptoms persist for 3 to 4 days before the deciduous teeth break through the gums and erupt. The normal basal body temperature of children is 36.9℃~37.5℃. When the temperature drops by more than 1℃ below the baseline, it can be considered a fever. Low-grade fever refers to a temperature fluctuating around 38℃, while high fever occurs when the temperature is above 39℃. The principle is to avoid fever-reducing medication or injections if the temperature is below 38.5℃. Instead, the child should be given plenty of fluids.