Is a high fever normal for a teething baby?

Question

My son is 11 months old and I took him to the Dr this morning because he was running a fever of 104 and they told me that his molars are coming out and he had no ear infection. Is a temp that high normal for a teething baby? His fever went down after I gave him infants Motrin but after a few hours it goes back up between 102-103.5. Its been like this for 2 days now. How long will he be running these high fevers? Did any of you ever go to the Dr and were you told your baby was teething but later it was something else? =/

Answer 1

no i dont think it is normal,they done the same with my son about a month ago,he had a temp and it was very high and they said its probably a viral infection or teething, 4 days later i was back at the emergency doctors at 10 at night he had a rash very shallow breathing and was in alot of pain,i made them check him completely and he had a ear throat and chest infection, the high temp could be the start of something but take him back first thing tomorrow and demand a second oppinion, and dont care what they say,its your baby and you know best.good luck and hope he feels better soon.

Answer 2

No that's not normal at all. I wouldn't expect to see a temp over 100 with teething.  I would take your son in to a different doctor asap to get him checked out a bit better.

Benedryl will only make him sleep and fluoride drops are only ok if you don't have fluoride in your drinking water.  

Answer 3

Teething wouldn't cause a temp that high it would mostly just make your child unsettled. he most likely has a viral infection. If he is drinking(don't worry to much about solids milk is enough) then he will be fine but if he stops feeding I would be inclinned to take him back to the doc.

Answer 4

No a high fever is not normal. I would be getting a second opinion.

Did the doctor seemed rushed when checking over your son? That what one of the doctors at my local hospital does, she doesn't give a d**n and my daughter had a near fatal infection that she missed because she didn't even check her out. It is normal to have some type of fever. But 104 is dangerous.  

Answer 5

A fever that high is indicative of an infection. If he has no obvious symptoms, and his ears are fine, I would assume it is a virus that will clear up on its own within a couple days. If it persists after 3-4 days, gets higher than 105, stops responding to Motrin, or if other concerning symptoms develop, then I would go back to the doctor.

I don't know why a doctor would assume that is teething. There is no evdience whatsoever that shows that babies who are teething run high fevers.

Answer 6

Teething can cause a low grade fever not a high one.

The motrin is to bring the fever down, I suppose the fluoride is for his teeth.  The benadryl is purely to make your son sleepy and of all the children's medications antihistamines are one of the most dangerous and controversial.

I would get a second opinion.  And I am not one that rushes to the doctor or tells others too.  And a fever is not really a problem it is just the immune system working properly BUT I think that you have  gut feeling something is wrong and that I would never, ever ignore.  I almost ignored it recently when my dog was ill and if it had been poison that was causing his seizure he would have been dead (the vet said to wait an hour, but every time I looked at him I felt I would throw up someone online reminded me that that kind of fear is usually not without cause.  As soon as they saw how bad it was they thought it was poison.  The seizures remains undiagnosed, we spent 3 days waiting for him to die and now he's fine.  Very weird)



Fever:

http://www.drgreene.org/body.cfm?id=21&a...

Older children with a fever (6 to 24 months old) who are acting well and have no other symptoms should be seen if the fever lasts 48 hours (or 72 hours if they do have minor cold or flu symptoms).

[...]

A fever does not necessarily need to be treated. If a child is playful and comfortable, drinking plenty of fluids, and able to sleep, fever treatment is not likely to be helpful. Steps should be taken to lower a fever if the child is uncomfortable, vomiting, dehydrated, or having difficulty sleeping. The goal is to bring the temperature between about 100 and 102 degrees F -- not to eliminate the fever.

http://askdrsears.com/html/8/t082100.asp

#  Low-grade fevers are generally not serious, are easily treated, and can wait until the morning to be evaluated by your doctor.

# Fevers of 101 to 103 (38.4 to 39.5 Celcius) are also generally not serious and can wait until morning to be evaluated, except as indicated below.

# High fevers of 104 (40 Celcius) or higher that quickly come down to 100 or 101 (37.8 to 38.3 Celcius) with the treatment measures below are also generally not serious and can wait until morning, except as indicated below.

[...[

If your child of any age has one or more of the following symptoms, you should probably call your doctor right away:

    * High fevers of 104 (40 Celcius) or higher that don't come down to 101 or 102 (38.3 to 38.9 Celcius) with the treatment measures below.

    * Lethargy – this means more than your child just isn't acting right or laying quietly in your arms. Lethargy actually refers to your child being limp, lifeless, unresponsive, or won't make eye contact.

    * Irritability - this means more than just fussiness. A truly irritable child will cry for hours with minimal verbal interaction, and is almost impossible to console.

    * Meningitis – symptoms are high fever, stiff neck or pain in the back of the neck, vomiting, headache, bright light hurts the eyes. Before paging your doctor, you should also look up any other symptoms your child has, such as cough, vomiting, rash, etc and read those guidelines to determine your best course of action.

Teething

http://askdrsears.com/html/8/t083000.asp

FOUR TEETHING SYMPTOMS THAT ARE HARMLESS

There are several symptoms most babies exhibit during teething. DON'T WORRY. These are only temporary.

    * Drool rash – your baby may get a red, raised rash on the face, lips, chin, neck, and chest. Gently wash with warm water and pat dry. A lanolin ointment is a good treatment.

    * Diarrhea – this is generally mild and does not require any special treatment.

    * Cough – the abundance of saliva often drips down baby's throat and can cause coughing or gagging.

    * Fever– baby may experience low-grade fevers less than 101. If your baby has a fever higher than this, click on fever for more info.

http://www.drgreene.org/body.cfm?id=21&a...

I'm glad that teething is no longer the wastebasket diagnosis it used to be, but I strongly believe that it can be an uncomfortable process for some children, and can cause low-grade fevers, increased mucus and saliva, and related symptoms.

Answer 7

My 15 month old son recently had a similar fever and was also getting his molars.  The doctor said a fever that high would NOT be from teething.  We were also prescribed Motrin to treat the fever symptom (there were no other symptoms). He also said that I could alternate between Motrin and Tylenol because sometimes one works better than the other and if one doesn't help, the other should.   I kept my little guy well hydrated and he wore a diaper and shirt through the day to stay cool.  Within 4 days the fever was gone and then a rash appeared.  The rash indicated that it was indeed a virus.  

If your son is playing well, eating well, and otherwise happy, he's probably just got a virus. If he has no energy and is laying on you all day, I'd take him for a second opinion.  Give the Motrin and keep him hydrated either way.

Good luck!

Answer 8

Get a second opinion. Your baby shouldn't run anything higher than about 100 or 101 at the most for teething. Then only for short periods of time. Your baby is battling an infection somewhere and needs immediate attention. My doctor said my daughter was teething and dismissed her fever. 6 hours later we were in the Emergency room and she was totally lethargic; suffering from an unknown infection. They never did find out the cause, but gave her antibiotics which cured her problem. They also gave her a rectal medication to bring down her fever.

Don't hesitate...take your baby to a different Dr. or the emergency room.