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Wednesday, May 18, 2011

How to know your baby teething? And how to deal with it?

9 month infant with right lower central incisor about to emerge

The process of teething has some symptoms that vary from child to child.Some may be a lot fussier than others while they are teething. The soreness and swelling of the gums before a tooth comes through is the cause for the pain and fussiness a baby experiences during this change.
Teething can begin as early as 3 months and continue until a child's third birthday.

Most babies show common symptoms include :
- drooling (which can lead to a facial rash) or dribbling, mood changes and feelings of irritability or crankiness and swollen gums. Note that the extra saliva may cause your baby to occasionally cough or gag whith is usually nothing to worry about as your baby seems fine and shows no signs of a cold or flu and does not run a high fever.
- Crying, sleeplessness, restless sleep at night, and mild fever are also associated with teething. Sometimes babies might refuse to eat or drink due to the pain.
Pulling on the ears is another sign of pain; the pain in the mouth throbs throughout the baby's head so they pull their ears believing that it will provide relief.

Also it is so important to know that teething has not been shown to cause the following:

* high fever ; diarrhea, runny nose and cough; prolonged fussiness; and rashes on the baby body.

How to deal with teething of baby ?
# Infants chew on objects to aid in the teething process.Teething rings, water filled and chilled rubber teething toys; mom and dads fingers can all provide counter pressure that can sometimes bring relief. Offering your baby cold food and a cold bottle of water can also help. If sucking on the bottle bothers your child, offer a cold cup of water. The water can also help replenish your baby’s fluid if they’re drooling a lot or have loose bowel movements.

# Medicines that are taken by mouth to help reduce the pain: Acetaminophen (Children's Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Children's Advil or Motrin) may also help with pain "but should not be administered to babies under 6 months of age".....Your doctor will tell you if it’s all right and what the proper amount is to give your baby.


How to know your baby teething? And how to deal with it?



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