Is there such thing as a teething fever?

My baby has a fever, but my friends tell me it’s probably just from teething—their kids had fevers too. Is this true?

Some children will develop an elevated temperature with teething. For example, their typical body temperature is 37˚C and it goes up to 37.5˚C.

This slight increase is likely due to inflammation from their teeth coming in. But fever-level temperatures—anything above 38˚C—aren’t caused by teething. This signifies a viral or bacterial infection, and you should see your doctor.

Some parents also speculate that there’s a connection between teething and diarrhea, rashes and other common symptoms, but there is no way to know whether any of these are caused by teething itself.

Most kids spend about two full years teething, so it’s easy to blame all sorts of issues on the process. If your child has any signs of illness for more than 48 hours, or you are concerned about something out of the ordinary, get to the doctor to have it checked out.

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