Medicines For Teething: Are You Sure They Are Really Needed?

As parents, we want every part of our baby to be perfect! So when those soft gums get ready to sprout those pearly whites, we are at a greater discomfort than the baby probably is!

The result – a flurry of medicines to ease the discomfort without  possibly even checking if the baby needs it! Have we asked ourselves if this is really necessary?

Typically, after the age of 6 months  (irrespective whether the baby has been breastfed or formula fed), an infant gets 1 new tooth each month up to the age of 3 years, till there are 20 milk teeth or baby teeth. This is commonly associated with symptoms like a mild fever, drooling, irritability and a constant desire to chew on a hard object.

Now, this time period from 6 months to 3 years is also marked by numerous other  changes in the baby that are normal to the baby’s growing process. Symptoms like coughing, diarrhea, vomiting, disturbed sleep, fluctuating appetite and congestion are often blamed to be the result of teething.

There is no medically proven direct association between teething and these symptoms except that they tend to occur around the same time in a baby’s life.

Overly careful grandparents and parents try to rub numbing medications on the child’s gums to soothe the pain or give an OTC painkiller. Truth be told, the gum soreness is an absolutely normal part of teething process and doesn’t need any medication. In addition, literally nothing can hasten the process of erupting teeth. The process is genetically timed and each baby will sprout his teeth only and exactly when the body deems appropriate. Medications simply cannot affect this process.

Fear not, for there is no child which will remain toothless forever! A month or so here and there, your baby will slowly but surely fill up his toothless grin with tiny white pearly teeth. Avoid unnecessarily drugging your child and let nature take its course.

Disclaimer: Babychakra does not promote self-diagnosis or self-medication. This article has been authored by a pediatrician for the users of BabyChakra, purely for informational purposes.

_{Also read – Teething 101: What to expect when your baby sprouts those pearly whites, A Mom’s 5 Tips on How She Soothed Her Teething Baby Without Pacifiers}

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