Teething troubles in babies

Teething troubles in babies

Babies are god gifts. They are the most innocent and are protected against all strains, pressures and tensions. Neither do they have to worry about studies, nor do they have the work pressure. However, this is a myth. All living beings created by god face challenges in all stages, they all struggle for existence. It is because human beings have succeeded in surviving all challenges, they are considered to be the fittest and only the fittest survives. These worries and challenges for a life begin right from infancy.

Just a few hours after entering the world, the new born has an urge to fulfill his hunger. He cries and yells to demonstrate the need and then he suckles hard utilizing loads and bundles of energy stored in her tiny body. The tests for life begin right from there. As time goes by, the tasks become more and more difficult. Teething is a critical phenomenon associated with infancy. This process can be as easy as drinking water or as difficult as chewing horse gram. Hence proper understanding of the process and awareness to manage the problems is a must for all parents.

When do teeth come in?

Most children have a full set of primary teeth by the time they are around two or three years old.  These teeth usually last until about the age of six, when the teeth that were first to appear become loose and fall out as the second teeth begin to push through the gums.  The primary teeth continue falling out until roughly the age of twelve.

Symptoms of teething

If you had an easy teething process , your baby is more likely to have it easily. However a few symptoms are associated with teething generally. Though the causes of the symptoms can be debated, the most widely accepted reasons of symptoms are mentioned below:

Irritability: As the sharp little tooth rises closer to the surface your baby’s gums may become increasingly more sore and painful, leading to your baby being very fussy.  The pain and discomfort is most often worse during the first teeth coming in and later when the molars come in because of their bigger size.

Coughing: The extra saliva can cause your baby to occasionally cough or gag.

Biting & gnawing: A baby that is teething will gnaw and gum down on anything she or he can get their mouth around.  The counter pressure from biting on something helps relieve the pressure from under the gums.

Cheek rubbing and ear pulling: Pain in the gums may travel to the ears and cheeks particularly when the back molars begin coming in.  This is why you may see your baby rubbing their cheeks or pulling at their ears

Diarrhea: While this is a symptom that is disagreed upon by physicians, researchers and parents, most parents usually notice slightly looser bowel movements when a baby is teething.  It is believed that the most likely cause of this 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 symptom that doctors are sometimes hesitant to directly link with teething.  But there are many parents who will disagree with this and find their baby gets a slight fever while teething.  The best thing to do is be extra safe and notify your doctor if a fever last more than two days.

Not sleeping well: With teething pain happening during the day and night, you may find your child wakes more often at night when the pain gets bad enough. .

Cold like symptoms (runny nose, etc.): Some parents find that their baby will show signs of having a cold.  Runny noses, coughing and general cold symptoms are believed to come from the baby having their hands in their mouth more often.  Play it safe and always notify your doctor if symptoms such as this occur.

Management

The most important concern is to be empathetic towards the child and understand her problems. Some points to be kept in mind to help your baby teeth are:

1. Offer your baby a chilled gel ring as a teether to bite or suck on.
2. Cold yogurt, chilled apple sauce or cold carrot sticks help relieve the pressure of the new teeth and also mitigate the pain associated with it.
3. never force your baby to eat or drink anything because it may make her more uneasy and she may even puke.
4. Your clean finger can be offered to your baby to bite on.
5. Take utmost care of hygiene and cleanliness especially when the baby is teething to avoid infections.
6. use boiled water for her drinking purposes.
7. Massage with honey could help alleviate the symptoms.

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