Child health experts have dismissed long-held beliefs among many Nigerians that teething causes cough, fever, pain, and diarrhea in babies, warning that such misconceptions may delay proper diagnosis and treatment of serious underlying illnesses.

“Teething will not make the child have pain, fever, or diarrhoea. If the child is feeling pain, something must be causing it. Mothers should stop going to buy teething powder because it is never recommended for babies. It is a treatment that is completely unnecessary,” a pediatrician told hub 247 News.

The paediatricians stressed that a persistent cough in infants is often a symptom of viral or bacterial infections and, in some cases, more serious conditions that require medical attention. They advised parents to seek professional evaluation for babies with an ongoing cough, especially when accompanied by fever, breathing difficulty, poor feeding or weight loss, rather than attributing the symptom to teething.

Professor of Paediatrics at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Ben Onankpa, stressed that there is no connection between teething and coughing in babies. He stated, “There is no direct connection with teething and cough in babies”.

The paediatrician urged mothers to always take their babies to the hospital whenever they have health issues and not just work on assumptions. “When the baby has a fever, the baby has an infection and should be taken to the doctor for treatment. The doctor will treat the cause of the fever. Teething will never cause a fever. Some mothers don’t know what is wrong with their babies. Teething will not make the baby restless whatsoever”.

“What we know is that, as soon as babies can control their hands very well, anything they grab goes to their mouth. That happens to every baby, and we know that it is a natural thing. This is around five to six months, and when this begins to happen, mothers will wrongly attribute it to teething, but it is not”.

“If the baby is also in an environment that is dirty and puts a lot of things in the mouth, that can cause the baby to have an infection. Also, if the mother starts introducing complementary feeding and it is not well prepared or stored, that can lead to infection,” he added.

According to medical sources, actual symptoms of teething include increased drooling, restless or decreased sleeping due to gum discomfort, refusal of food due to the soreness of the gum region, fussiness that comes and goes, bringing hands to the mouth, mild rash around the mouth due to skin irritation secondary to excessive drooling, and rubbing the cheek or ear region.

The experts noted that teething does not cause and is not associated with fever, runny nose, cough, diarrhea, prolonged fussiness or rashes over the body.

The paediatrician appealed to mothers to maintain a hygienic environment to avoid exposing their babies to infection-causing agents.

The warning comes as many Nigerian mothers continue to purchase teething powders and other unnecessary treatments based on the false belief that teething causes various illnesses in infants, potentially putting their children’s health at risk by delaying proper medical care.