Teething myths among health workers in a tertiary health facility

Abstract

Background: The teething process is part of normal development of the skeletal system; however, different tribes and ethnic groups seem to have a list of symptoms they believe are linked to teething. Could it be that health professionals also hold to these false believes concerning teething? This is important to find out because when systemic problem is misdiagnosed as teething and nothing is done, it may result in death. This study aims to assess the level of knowledge of infants' teething and associated myths among health professionals, to ascertain the attitude of health professionals toward teething in infants, and to identify practices by health professional toward “teething problems.” Materials and Methods: This study was cross-sectional study, conducted from August to September 2016, and multistage sampling method was adopted. Results: Four hundred and fifty health workers participated in the study; however, 427 of them correctly completed the questionnaire giving a response rate of 94.9%. There were 213 (49.9%) males and 214 (50.1%) females with m:f ratio of 1:1. Most respondents (322; 77.8%) believed teething was associated with significant systemic symptoms, 92 (21.5%) did not associate teething with any significant systemic complaint, while only 3 (0.7%) of them were not sure if teething causes systemic illness. Fever and loss of appetite were the most common symptoms associated with teething followed by stooling while skin rash was the least common complaint associated with teething. Conclusion: Teething myths are still prevalent among health-care workers; common illnesses attributed to teething included fever, loss of appetite, excessive salivation, and diarrhea.