Don’t assume that your baby’s persistent high fever is just down to teething

Hong Kong doctors warn that while red cheeks and cranky moods are common as first teeth emerge, a persistent high temperature should not be ignored and warrants a medical check-up

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Doctors advise parents not to assume a high fever and a baby’s teething are connected.

Published: 5:00pm, 23 Mar 2017Updated: 5:21pm, 27 Mar 2017

Is high, persistent fever a symptom of teething in babies?

The short answer: No

Most parents know when their little one starts teething. Their baby usually drools excessively, a couple of days before a new tooth erupts (typically between seven and 10 months); he may seem fussier, crankier and more restless than normal; he may have trouble sleeping and refuse to feed because of a decreased appetite; and he may be more eager to put his fingers in his mouth and chew on his toys or other objects.

Some babies may also present a slight redness on the cheeks, as a result of frequent rubbing to relieve pain in their gums. If they tug at the ear on the same side as the tooth that is erupting, the redness may extend to their ears as well. Generally, these symptoms are not chronic and shouldn’t last longer than three to five days.

A persistent high temperature should be checked by a doctor.

But is high, persistent fever a common symptom of teething, too? In the 4th century BC, Hippocrates observed that “teething infants suffer from itching of the gums, fever, convulsions, diarrhoea, especially when they cut their eye teeth”. Over the centuries, especially when infant mortality rates were high, the idea that teething was a sickness that caused high fever was never questioned; and eventually it became one that was widely accepted.