What is TEETHING?
Teething is the process where the baby teeth push/cuts through the gums in essence causing an open wound. Symptoms often start 3-5 days before the teeth push through and end after the teeth have pushed though all the way. Teething will start when the baby teeth begin erupting, around the age of 6 months and continue until about 2.5 – 3 years of age when the last of the baby molars erupt.
What to expect when your baby is teething:
It is not uncommon for a child to have flushed cheeks, drooling, tendency to chew hands, diarrhea, diaper rash, runny nose, mild fever and tendency to be irritable. Flue like symptoms associated with teething is somewhat anecdotal but kind of makes sense when you think about it. Although there is not a full blown out infection, the teeth are pushing/cutting through the gums. The mouth is full of bacteria and the gums are swollen and irritated. The one thing we do not want to do is dismiss flue symptoms as teething so we always recommend that should the baby have any fever or respiratory issues that they get checked out by their medical doctor to ensure there is nothing more ominous transpiring.
What can you do to help your baby with teething pain?
Things that are hard and cold tend to help because they message and numb the gums. Things like a frozen washcloth, unopened Freeze or a teething ring to chew on work will.
The administration of over the counter child analgesics, such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen, also work well.
Holistic medications like Camila has also shown to aid in the relief of teething discomfort. With holistic drugs need to ensure being used as directed.
Topical gels are not recommended as they only provide short term relief. As well, the child will inevitably ingest some of the topical that will cause their throat to feel numb temporarily. Current research also indicates that that the ingestion of topical anesthetics in larger quantities can have some serious consequences in infants.