Paediatricians have warned mothers against giving teething powder to their babies, noting that ingredients in the powder may cause harm to them.

According to the experts, giving babies teething powder or tablets during teething is not necessary and may rather have adverse effects on them.

They noted that teething powder will never be recommended for a baby by a doctor, stressing that teething is a natural phenomenon and, therefore, does not require any medication.

Speaking in an interview, a Consultant Paediatric Haematologist and Oncologist at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Prof. Edamisan Temiye, said teething is a natural thing and does not cause pain, fever or diarrhoea in babies.

Temiye explained, “Teething powder is not recommended. We don’t believe in teething powder or tablets. They have no effect at all and, therefore, not recommended.

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“Teething should not cause a problem for any baby. Mothers believe that teething will make babies have a fever or diarrhoea but this is not true. It is an infection that causes fever and not teething. People just mix anything in the teething powder.

“Teething will not cause the child to have pain, fever or diarrhoea. If the child is feeling pain, something must be causing it. Mothers should stop using teething powder because it is never recommended for babies. The content of the medication can cause harm to them. Most of them contain paracetamol. Some of them may contain things that will harm babies at the end of the day. It is a treatment that is completely unnecessary.”

The paediatrician urged mothers to always take their babies to the hospital whenever they have health issues and not just assume.

“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.

“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,” he said.