Infant Teething not Associated with Diarrhoea – Paediatrician

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Becky Malgwi, a paediatrician, says infant teething is not associated with diarrhoea.

She said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.

Ms Malgwi, who spoke against the common belief by mothers that infant teething comes with diarrhoea, said teething was not related to any diarrhoea.

According to her, diarrhoea can be as a result of the dirty things that the baby put in the mouth to try to ease the discomfort in his mouth.

“You know when the teeth are coming out the child will experience discomfort in the area that the teeth is coming out.

“The teething child always tries to take anything they come across to chew and many of those things are not very clean.

“It is the bacteria they put in their mouth that cause the diarrhoea,’’ she said.

According to her, teething in infants can begin from three months of age, even though the first tooth usually does not appear until about six months of age.

She listed some of the symptoms of teething to include mild fever, sore gum, lack of appetite, sleeplessness and a slight rise in temperature.

The paediatrician said teething babies try to chew any object they find to help relieve the pressure on their gums.

She added that the child might refuse to sleep and eat due to the pain.

She advised parents to give pain killers and ensure to keep the teething baby hydrated.

“Breastfeeding can be really soothing for a baby who is unhappy or in pain,’’ she said. (NAN)