Parents should be wary that fever during teething may hide underlying health problems for their babies. A new study has found that teething is not accountable for a baby’s fever in all cases. Oftentimes a teething baby with fever may be also sick.

Teething is often associated with fever because the baby contacts a lot of bacteria and viruses when their teeth come through. Kids get their first teeth around the age of six months, but it is not unusual to start teething around the age or three months or a much later, i.e. about a year later.

Teething often causes fever so before antibiotics were developed parents were afraid that teething could even lead to death. But mortality was not caused by teething but by underlying health issues.

A recent study published in the journal Pediatrics has found that teething is often associated with a rise in temperature but not fever. So, study authors recommend that parents seek professional help if their babies have a fever above 100.5 F or display other symptoms than gum irritation, crankiness, and drooling, which are common symptoms tied to teething.

You should also call a doctor if the baby has diarrhea, a running nose or the fever lasts more than a day. Parents should be aware that these symptoms are not normally associated with teething or primary teeth eruption, so they may herald serious health issues.

What’s more persistent fever is often a sign of illness or infection. So, experts recommend not giving your baby drugs to get rid of fever unless it is above 101.5 F. If the fever is high, fever reduction medication is necessary but those drugs do not solve the underlying problems such as a bacterial infection.

Be wary that ibuprofen is toxic to infants under the age of 6 months. Additionally, if the high fever doesn’t drop with medication, get your baby to a doctor as soon as possible. A doctor can also tell you which medication is safe to give to a toddler based on their age and weight.

If the toddler has an ear infection, doctors may or may not prescribe antibiotics depending on what caused the condition. If it is a bacterial infection antibiotics are good, but if it is a viral infection antibiotics have no effect. Usually, bacterial ear infections are associated with fever. But don’t give your kid the medicines you heard they are good from online advice. A doctor should know best what is the optimal course of action in each case.

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