Teething symptoms vary from child to child. Even though each baby has its own teething symptoms, there is still a set of general teething symptoms that will most likely appear when your child starts teething. The following list shows general teething symptoms that a baby may experience. While most parents usually agree that some or all of the symptoms below happened around the time of teething, it is still recommended that if your baby experiences any of these symptoms, you check with your pediatrician to rule out other possible causes.
Irritability: You child will experience soreness and discomfort in the gum as the sharp little tooth erupts closer to the surface of your baby’s gum. During this period, your baby may become increasingly irritated as in getting fussy, cry easily, difficult to sleep, and getting mad for no apparent reason as its gum will be more sore and painful. The pain and discomfort is the worse when the first baby tooth is growing out of the gum. Later on most babies are more accustomed to the soreness and pain of teething and they will learn to live with the teething symptoms.
Biting & chewing: Baby chewing on objects is a common teething symptom. The baby does so by alleviating the pressure from under the gum caused by the eruption of teeth. All you have to do is to make sure that the infant does not chew on dangerous objects around the house. You can help to avoid this by providing your child with a rubber chewing ring.
Coughing: Coughing is another teething symptom associated with drooling as many children will gag and cough because of the extra saliva. The extra saliva due to drooling can cause your baby to occasionally cough or gag. There is usually nothing to worry about as long as your baby seems fine and shows no signs of a cold or flu and does not run a high fever.
Drooling: Starting from three to four months of age, your baby may start drooling more often than normal. Teething stimulates drooling. Some babies may drool more than other babies do. Teething and drooling are closely connected. If you see your baby drooling more than it does normally, it is likely a clear sign that the infant is going to have his or her first tooth.
Chin rash: Serious drooling may lead to the appearance of rashes in the month area as constant contact with saliva can cause the skin around the chin and mouth to become irritated. This particular teething symptom can be cope by gently wiping your baby’s mouth and chin area several times a day. As long as you are keeping your child chin area clean and dry, this teething symptom is not much of an issue.
Cheek rubbing and ear pulling: You may notice your child rubbing cheek and pulling ears as a possible symptoms of teething. Pain in the gums may travel to the ears and cheeks when the molars begin to erupt. You will notice that your child will get back to normal as soon as the molars break through the gums. However, keep in mind that pulling ear can also be a sign of an ear infection.
Diarrhea: While this teething symptom is very rare, most parents usually notice slightly looser bowel movements when a baby is teething. Recent study done by the Children’s Hospital in Australia found this to be the most common teething symptom. It is believed that the most likely cause of this symptoms is the extra saliva swallowed which then loosens the stool. Be sure and report any diarrhea to your doctor that lasts more than two bowel movements.
Low-grade fever: A fever is another teething symptom that is often link with teething. Some parents may find their baby having a slight fever during teething. The best thing to do is be extra safe and notify your doctor if a fever last more than a day.
Not sleeping well: Pain is a very common teething symptoms that happens during the day and night. Because of this, you may find your child wakes up more often at night when the pain gets bad.
Cold like symptoms (runny nose, etc.): Some babies will show symptom of having a cold. Runny noses, coughing and general cold symptoms are some of the common teething symptoms caused by the baby putting hands in its mouth. Play it safe and always notify your doctor if such symptoms persists.
In short, teething symptoms can be easily spotted in your child. If you noticed some of the teething symptoms are not mentioned here, don’t get panic as I mentioned earlier, teething symptoms vary from child to child. Some of the symptoms here may show up in one baby while others might not have it. Therefore, as long as your take note and pay more attention to your baby during teething period, there is nothing to worry about.
