The wise women community features a diversity of minds, expertise and experiences.
Because I wanted a collaborative feel and experience in our community, not just a one-sided me talking at you type phenomenon, I opened up the conversation to the other women there via a new series of posts called, “Wise Women Weight In”.
This week we started with fevers with fevers!
Fevers send lots of folks to CVS, the medicine cabinet and urgent care.
But a fever is actually GOOD for the body.
Fevers are a natural part of our immune response to various experiences of the body.
Fevers help the body to not only OVERCOME a challenge, but to comeback from said challenge stronger.
Checkout this excerpt from a Dr. Tenpenny article.
“If parents understood the importance of fever and how to appropriately support their child during a fever, parents would acquire a comfort level with caring for an ill child. They would rid themselves of unnecessary stress, unnecessary doctor and emergency room visits and most of all, their child would benefit from infection-fighting fevers. The concern of parents about fever is not justified but is understandable without appropriate information. Health education to counteract “fever phobia” should be a part of routine medical care for children.
However, contrary to the reflex need to give an aspirin to make a fever stop, an elevated temperature can be an expression of the immune system working at its best. The number of white blood cells is increased and cascades of molecules to flood the blood stream, in rapid pursuit of the host’s invaders. Fever impairs the ability of bacteria and viruses to replicate, creating an inhospitable environment for the invading organisms.”
And this from Weston A. Price:
“There are numerous recorded cases of cancers going into remission when the patient contracts an infectious disease, strep being the most likely candidate to cure the patient of cancer. Strep has been used in cancer vaccines, most particularly by the surgeon John Coley, MD who reported an almost 40 percent remission rate in patients with cancer who received his cancer vaccine. In modern oncology, the tuberculosis bacillus is still used in bladder cancer as it is injected into the bladders of those with this form of cancer. In fact, some pediatricians and oncologists have postulated the modern epidemic of cancer in children as the predictable outcome of our mania for preventing fever in our children, by giving them aspirin, tylenol and anti-biotics.” -Tom Cowan, MD Weston A Price. Com
I know fevers can be scary.
My little one used to experience febrile seizures (which are creepy and weird, but not associated with any longterm health problems) which really freaked me out, but I also think this is an area where parents have been misinformed and once again disempowered, so consequently feel scared and ill-equipped.
Believing that they aren’t qualified to care for their child once the number on the thermometer begin to rise, many a parent remove their children from the safety and comfort of their home and bed and bring them somewhere bright, noisy, “germy” and loud to be medicated and inspected.
Suzanne Humphries puts it best when she says,
"Trying to smack down a fever when a child is sick is like shooting your attack dog when someone is breaking into your house." — Suzanne Humphries, MD
For more information on why the fever process is beneficial, head here.
Ok so now lets’ get to the meat and potatoes the Wise Women are weighing in and sharing their strategies for dealing with fever.
See below!
I love this post so much! I totally overused Tylenol on my oldest when he was little and my younger 3 boys have barely had it. I appreciate the wisdom of Dr. Tenpenny and Weston A. Price!
-Nora
Tofu compress on the forehead, ice cold wet socks with dry wool socks over the top at night.
I tried to always follow my daughters’ energy level and interest in activities. Food and water intake as indicators of health more than the number on the thermometer.
I also found that a spoonful of water at a time helped to keep them hydrated.
-Brenna
Check out calcium lactate and how it can help fevers. I found a chiropractor that wrote a blog about it. Pretty. cool to find out that calcium lactate is actually what the body is trying to access from your bones when it produces a fever, which is why you can be so achey.
I used it for the first time when my toddler had a 105 fever for awhile and was beginning to be very uncomfortable. It seemed to help~ Vinegar socks are another strategy and coconut water for hydration.
-Jeanette
I never give fever reducers unless the fever is sustained (longer than 6 hours) over 102 or reaches 104. I don’t call the doctor unless they’ve had a fever long than 2 days and I generally take them to the chiropractor first for almost all things. Neck adjustments for stomach issues, sinuses, ear infections and IR light for lymph nodes and sinuses as well help with no medication at all!
-Adriann
We just ride out fevers. I’ll do a lukewarm bath or cool rag if one of my boys is really uncomfortable. I”m comfortable with handling them this way now, but I still get a ton of pushback from family when I reject Tylenol.
-Rose
Uh oh, I might not shut up, Sarah, LOL! Fevers are friends. They are only a danger if there’s heat exhaustion in question. Fevers offer so many benefits especially to children. When we suppress them, we drive the illness deeper. A fever is not a symptom of illness, but rather a gift from our Abba to heal the body when there is illness present.
Hydrate with bone broth and coconut water like crazy.
Consider other symptoms that are causing discomfort.
Treat those with homeopathy.
Support the body with rest.
We diffuse and apply essential oils as well.
-Marie
There’s an old remedy of putting raw egg in socks to draw down a fever.
I found and shared it with a friend whose intent was to break the fever at the time for his daughter. I can’t speak to the wisdom of the medicine, but it seemed to work!
Not directly about fever but I just learned that cystic fibrosis could be viewed as a selection against cholera. I love seeing the intermingled webs.
-Sam
Let it ride! It isn’t always fun, but it’s one of your body’s cool DIY mechanisms.
A cool cloth to the neck until it gets uncomfortable enough.
Otherwise stay hydrated, drink electrolytes, rest and let it ride!
-Amy
I second a cool rage. I have a 5 year old with a fever recently and I just let her ride it out.
-Kayla
We are just scratching the surface here for helpful ways to manage fever and associated discomfort, but that I LOVE about this article is that it illustrates to you how MANY people are doing just that, MANAGING them and not MEDICATING them.
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