How to Deal with Teething and Diarrhea

Babies may manifest different signs of teething. While there are other babies who passed through the teething stage without causing any problem to their parents, your baby might belong with the many that show great discomfort with its occurrence.

In the majority of babies, they are observable a few days before the first tooth erupts from the gum tissue. These signs include drooling, sucking on hands and fingers or other objects constantly, irritability or fuzziness, and inability to sleep at night. Many parents though have also seen fever, diarrhea, and cold symptoms together with their baby’s teething. However, pediatricians and doctors disagree with this association between teething and diarrhea or teething and fever.

Teething and diarrhea may be observed in babies at the same time for many possible reasons. But it does not conclude that diarrhea is a sign of teething. Because the baby tends to put his hands and fingers in his mouth most of the time, he could introduce many kinds of bacteria into his mouth and that may cause his diarrhea and fever. He could also get his infection from the toys and objects he placed in his mouth, such as an unwashed teething ring or dirty toys that he may have reached for near him. That’s why parents should be extra watchful of their child during this stage in order to prevent infection and the choking.

The diarrhea could also be caused by his excessive drooling. He could have swallowed most of his saliva, thereby making his stool soft and liquid like. It could also be from his refusal to eat solid foods and he thrive more on milk and water.

When these symptoms of fever and diarrhea continue and seem alarming to you, it is advisable that you bring your child to his pediatrician for proper evaluation. Your pediatrician could request for a stool exam or a complete blood count in order to rule out the presence of infection. He could then be given medications to fight the infection and prevent further complications of the disease such as dehydration.