Teething isn’t responsible for your baby turning into a cranky one, who’s drooling, not eating and not sleeping. A latest analysis published in the journal Pediatrics has confirmed that high-grade fevers may not be the sign of teething only. Instead, it could be an indication of another illness, and parents and doctors must not ignore it.

Dr. Paul Casamassimo, director of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry’s Pediatric Oral Health and Research and Policy Center, said that if a baby has really high fever, or is in major discomfort, or isn’t eating or drinking anything for days, then don’t take it lightly, it is a red flag for concern.

The analysis hasn’t totally dismissed the intuition of a parent. It discovered that the most usual teething symptoms were swollen gums, drooling and crankiness. Casamassimo said that symptoms shouldn’t last for over three to five days however, he did admit that it can take much longer.

Casamassimo added, “By and large, symptoms are not a chronic thing. They come and go, and the job of the parent is to comfort the child, and keep their finger on the pulse of their child. Is the child eating? Staying hydrated?”

The study suggested that teething can cause an increase in body temperature, but still below 101 degrees Fahrenheit. It asserted that teething is also linked to decreased appetite, sleeping issues, vomiting, diarrhea, rash and vomiting.

In the past, parents and practitioners have attributed many maladies to teething. Maybe, it was an easy explanation for the ever-changing behavior of a baby and illnesses during the vulnerable initial year of childhood.

Hippocrates observed in 4th century BC that teething infants experience gum itching, fever, convulsions, diarrhea, mainly when they cut their eye teeth.

For so long, medical professionals have believed that teething was responsible for the deaths of children.