Fevers

My youngest daughter got a fever last week. It wasn't too bad at first, I was putting doTERRA peppermint oil on her and checking her regularly. Then the fever hit 103 degrees, and the worried mother in me came out. I decided to give my little girl some fever reducer so she would be more comfortable. After I gave her some medicine her fever went over 105 degrees! I started to panic. Luckily my neighbor is a pediatrician and he talked to me for a while about fevers. He told me unless there is an infection you can do nothing for a fever.

After I hung up with him I started looking up fevers from a holistic point of view. (Why I didn't do this first, I still don't know) I found this very helpful information. Fevers are not something to be afraid of. They do make us feel rotten and they're not fun, but they're a big part of a well functioning immune system. When the body comes under attack by viruses or bacteria, many times the body will turn up the heat in order to take care of the problem. The fever will slow us down and force us to rest and will "burn up" the bug.

When we give them fever reducer we're prolonging the problem. The fever may be gone but the bug is still there. In a book by Dr. Robert Mendehlson called How To Raise a Healthy Child In Spite of Your Doctor. He said that unless there has been a head injury the brain has a built in thermostat and will not let the fever ever go higher than 107 degrees.  So there is no need to constantly be taking the sick child's temperature hoping that the fever doesn't get "too high" because it won't. He said that convulsions can happen if the fever rises too quickly, that it is also a safety mechanism in the brain that causes the body to shake so then it will sweat so then the fever will break.  He said that convulsions although very scary to Mom are not dangerous and that you just need to be sure they do not fall and hurt themselves or knock something over on them.

Dr. Christopher from the School of Natural Healing said to make sure to not have a dry fever. To keep the fever moist by drinking plenty of liquids and humidity (showers and baths).

After reading all this I calmed down, I continued to rub peppermint oil on the bottom of her feet. I also included basil (which is an excellent antibiotic!!), just in case she did have an infection. Oregano is a stronger antibiotic but can be a little harsh on little ones bodies, so I use basil on kids instead of oregano. I would put this on her about three times a day. She also liked having a wet rag with peppermint oil on her head. I gave her LOTS of fluids and just let her lie around and rest.

Here is the little cutie on the mend.