If you (or your child) have a fever, you naturally want to bring it down as quickly as possible. In fact, fever has benefits: a higher body temperature is believed to stimulate the immune system and kill infectious agents. So there's good reason to let the fever go on normally, at least for a while. However, you need to control the fever so that you or your child are as comfortable as possible while the immune system does its job. Fortunately, home remedies can help.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Cooling the Body
Step 1. Soak in warm or lukewarm water
Start by preparing warm water. Have the person with a fever get into the tub and relax while the warm water slowly drops. Because the temperature of the water drops slowly, the body temperature of a person with a fever will also drop slowly.
Don't wait for the water to cool down, as you shouldn't lower your temperature too quickly
Step 2. Do the wet sock treatment
This method is best done overnight. Take a pair of cotton socks that are long enough to wrap around your ankles, then wet the entire sock with cold running water. Squeeze out the excess water, and put on the socks. Cover the outside of the sock with a wool sock to insulate the temperature. People wearing wet socks should rest overnight. His body must also be covered.
- Most children usually want to do this treatment because the body will feel cooler in just a few minutes.
- This treatment is a traditional naturopathic approach. The theory is that cold feet will stimulate increased blood circulation and increased immune system response. The result is that the body releases heat and dries the socks off, cooling the body. This treatment can relieve tightness in the chest as well.
Step 3. Use a wet towel treatment
Take one or two hand towels and fold them the same length. Soak a towel either in very cold water or in ice water. Squeeze out excess water and wrap a towel around your head, neck, ankles, or wrists. Don't wrap the towel over more than two parts of your body-thus, wrap the towel around your head and ankles, or, around your neck and wrists. Otherwise, your body temperature may become too cold.
Cold towels will draw heat away from the body and can lower body temperature. Repeat this treatment when the towels are dry, or the temperature is no longer cold enough to relieve your fever. This treatment can be repeated as often as you need
Part 2 of 3: Adjusting Diet to Lower Fever
Step 1. Eat less
The old adage, "feed the sick, starve the sick" has some truth in it, according to recent research. You should not spend your body's energy digesting food, when that energy should be used to control fever-causing infections.
Step 2. Eat healthy fruits
Choose fruits such as various types of berries, watermelon, oranges, and yellow melon. These fruits are rich in vitamin C, which can fight infection and reduce fever. These fruits will also meet your body's fluid needs.
Avoid heavy, greasy and fatty foods such as barbecue or fried foods. Avoid spicy foods, such as spicy chicken wings, pepperoni, or sausage as well
Step 3. Eat soup
While you can drink only chicken stock, you can also eat chicken soup with rice and vegetables. Research shows that chicken soup does have medicinal properties. Soup will also provide the fluids your body needs.
Be sure to include good, easy-to-digest protein sources such as scrambled eggs, or chicken (add a few pieces of chicken to your chicken stock)
Step 4. Drink plenty of water
Fever can lead to dehydration, which causes the sufferer to feel even more lethargic. Avoid dehydration by drinking plenty of water or an oral rehydration solution such as ORS. Call your doctor before using it and ask for advice. Be prepared with a list of symptoms and how much food your child has eaten or drunk, as well as how high the fever is. Also note how often you have to change the baby's diaper, or in older children, how often they urinate.
- If you are breastfeeding your baby, continue to breastfeed him as much as possible. You will give him food, water, and comfort.
- Children (and you) may enjoy frozen chunks of ice as a way to stay hydrated. Just try to avoid adding too much sugar. Opt for natural fruit ice, frozen Italian ice, frozen yogurt, or sherbet. But don't forget to drink water too!
Step 5. Drink a fever-reducing herbal tea
You can buy this tea or make your own. Just add a teaspoon of dried herbs to each cup of water. Steep this herb in boiling water for 5 minutes, and season it to your liking with honey and lemon. Avoid adding milk, because dairy products often make the blockage in the airways worse. For younger children, reduce the added herbs to teaspoon, and make sure the tea has cooled down first. Try herbal teas made from the following herbs:
- Tulasi or holy basil (sweet basil can also be used -- but not as effective as holy basil)
- White willow stem
- Peppermint or mint
- Calendula
- Hyssop
- raspberry leaf
- Ginger
- Oregano
- Thyme
Part 3 of 3: Recognizing When Medical Help Is Needed
Step 1. Know when you need to call a doctor
Body temperature can fluctuate throughout the day, but the body temperature that is considered normal is 37oC. Recommended if the baby is less than 4 months old with a rectal temperature of 38oC or more, for quick contact the doctor for advice. For children of all ages, if the rectal temperature is 40oC or more, quick contact your doctor for advice. Children 6 months of age or older with fever 39.4oC should also be checked. If your child has a fever accompanied by any of these symptoms, call your doctor (or emergency services) as soon as possible:
- Looks sick or has no appetite
- Fussy
- Sluggish
- There are obvious signs of infection (pus, blood, streaky rash)
- Seizure
- Sore throat, rash, headache, stiff neck, or earache
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Signs that are less common, and require immediate medical attention:
- A high pitched cry, or sounds like a seal sound
- Difficulty breathing or a bluish tinge around the mouth, fingers, or toes.
- Swelling on the top of the baby's head (on the crown, or the soft part called the fontanel)
- Paralysis or difficulty moving
Step 2. Watch for signs of mild dehydration
Call your doctor for advice even if you see only mild signs of dehydration, especially in babies. Because this can become serious dehydration quickly. Symptoms of mild dehydration include:
- Dry mouth, sticky, or cracked skin around baby's lips or eyes
- Sleeping longer, fussy, or weak than usual
- Thirst (watch for "lip licking" or pursed lips, which indicate the baby is thirsty)
- Decreased urine output
- Dry diapers (the diaper should be changed because it is wet at least every three hours. If the baby's diaper is still dry after 3 hours, this may indicate dehydration. Continue to give fluids, and check again after an hour. If the diaper is still dry, call the doctor You)
- Dark urine
- Little or no tears when the baby cries
- Dry skin (gently pinch the baby's back, pinch only the skin. A well-hydrated baby's skin will quickly return to its original shape)
- Constipation
- Feeling dizzy or floating
Step 3. Recognize the symptoms of severe dehydration
If you notice any of these symptoms, call emergency services and your doctor right away. Symptoms of severe dehydration include:
- Extreme thirst, fussiness, or weakness in infants and children (in adults, these symptoms may include irritability and confusion)
- Very dry mouth, skin and mucous membranes, or cracked skin around the mouth and eyes
- Don't shed tears when you cry
- Dry skin that doesn't return to its original shape when pinched
- Decreased urine output that is darker in color than normal urine
- Sunken eyes (may appear as dark eye bags under the eyes)
- In infants, check for a sunken crown, the soft part on top of the baby's head
- Fast heart rate, and/or fast breathing
- Fever
Step 4. Watch for febrile seizures in the baby
Febrile seizures are seizures that can occur in babies who have a fever. These symptoms seem scary, but they usually only last very quickly, and don't cause brain damage or other serious damage. Febrile seizures usually occur in children aged 6 months to 5 years. These seizures can come back, but rarely after the age of 5 years. If your child has a febrile seizure:
- Make sure there are no sharp corners, stairs, or anything else that could injure your child nearby.
- Do not hug or try to restrain the baby's movements.
- Place the baby or child on their side or on their stomach.
- If the seizure lasts longer than 10 minutes, call emergency services, and have your child examined (especially if his neck is stiff, vomiting, or seems lethargic).
Tips
- Rectal temperature is considered the most accurate measure of body temperature, but rectal temperature measurements can differ, sometimes quite significantly, from oral temperature, or the temperature measured by placing a scanner on the forehead or ear.
- Rectal temperatures tend to be higher than between 0.3°C and 0.6°C compared to oral temperatures.
- The forehead temperature scanner is usually 0.3°C to 0.6°C lower than the oral temperature, and thus 0.6°C to 1.2°C lower than the rectal temperature.
- Ear (tympanic) temperatures are generally 0.3°C to 0.6°C higher than oral temperatures.
- If your child has a fever for more than 1 day (for children younger than 2 years old) or more than 3 days in an older child, call your doctor.
- Body temperature is normally lower in the morning, and higher in the afternoon.
- Always drink lots of water.
- Don't overheat your child. Wearing clothes that are too thick can increase body temperature by trapping body heat. Wear light cotton pajamas and socks. Keep the room temperature warm and cover your child.
Warning
- If you have a thyroid disorder known as thyroid storm (very high thyroid hormone levels), this is an emergency situation and you should call emergency services immediately. The approach given here does NOT solve the problem of thyroid storm.
- Avoid all caffeinated teas (black, green, and white teas) as these teas have thermogenic properties (raise the temperature).
- If you have a fever, avoid alcoholic and caffeinated drinks such as coffee, tea, or soda.
- never ever give aspirin to infants and children, unless directed by a doctor. Avoid giving aspirin to anyone under the age of 18.
