By Kia McCarthy, NP
Department of Pediatrics
For seemingly forever, a host of symptoms and behaviors have been attributed to infant teething – including fever. However, it’s important for parents to know that teething does not cause a fever in babies.
This myth is probably rooted in the fact that teething can cause a slight rise in a baby’s temperature. However, this slight rise does not meet the definition of a fever, which is 100.4 degrees F or above. A meta-analysis, published in the journal Pediatrics in 2016, which reviewed many different studies on teething, concluded that gum irritation, irritability and drooling were the main indications of infant teething – but not fever.
So parents shouldn’t automatically attribute a temperature of 100.4 or higher to teething. It more than likely means your baby is fighting an infection and may need to be seen by their healthcare provider.
About Kia McCarthy, NP
A graduate of Connecticut College and Simmons College, Kia started her career as a nurse in 2004. “I have nurses in my family and have been very lucky to work with extremely dedicated and talented nurse practitioners during my career,” she explains. “When the opportunity presented itself to expand my knowledge as a nurse practitioner to provide more comprehensive care, I decided to jump right in.”
For Kia, there is no more...
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