Many parents panic when their child has a fever. The first time my child spiked a temperature of 102.5 °F/ 39 °C, I was very upset too.
It is a scary thing to hold your child and they are hot, flushed and obviously very uncomfortable.
It is important to learn ways to manage your child’s fever and not lower it artificially with over the counter medications. The journal Pediatrics recommends as much suggesting that parents let fevers run their course in healthy children. (1)
It would be best if you just threw these drugs away and don’t even have them in your medicine cabinet because even infrequent use of an over-the-counter drug like Tylenol has been linked with serious, lifelong illness like asthma.
Instead of panicking, honor your child’s fever and learn to use it constructively to improve your child’s health and vitality over the long term, because, believe it or not, fevers are fabulous and accomplish important things in a child’s developing body.
I am one of seven children, so we had a lot of fevers going around our home during cold/flu season. Despite this, my Father who is a retired Family Physician never succumbed to treating a fever with meds.
Ever.
He taught us that bringing down a fever only prolonged the illness and weakened vitality for the next illness to come. I remember him saying, “No, I can’t bring down your fever because you’ll get sicker quicker and next time it will be worse.”
Repeated forced reduction of childhood fever has been linked to childhood cancer. And eliminating fever will usually cause a secondary infection.
When you bring down a fever you start a domino effect toward antibiotic use.
In other words, if you want to avoid antibiotics, don’t bring down the fever! Fever reduction suppresses the immune system. Your child is trying to get well himself with the fever and when you bring it down you are opening him up to a secondary bacterial infection that will further entrench the virus or bacteria. It cannot be stressed enough that fever has an important role to play in your child’s overall well being.
Why Do We Get Fevers?
Why do our bodies produce fever? One reason is that fevers greatly slow down pathogens. Fevers are a highly beneficial immune response that we suppress to our detriment.
The “germ” – bacteria or virus causing the child’s distress typically replicates every few minutes and the fever slows this process down. Fevers work to slow down the spread and severity of the illness and are your friend in avoiding a secondary infection (usually respiratory illness), a trip to the doctor and a script for antibiotics.
So treating a fever with meds to bring it down gives free license to the virus or bacteria to spread in an unrestrained manner. And don’t panic if your child’s temperature gets to 102-103 °F/ 38-39 °C – this is actually the ideal range for a fever.
I can’t tell you how many times my children have spiked a beautiful fever of about 102-103 °F for a few hours with no other symptoms whatsoever.
When the fever resolved, the illness was over. No cough, no rash, sinus congestion, no nothing. Just a fever and that’s it. I can almost guarantee that if I had forcibly brought the fever down with meds, they would have gotten a secondary illness on top of the fever. Probably a cough or sinus congestion would have quickly appeared morphing from an afternoon of chills and discomfort into a two week ordeal with a trip to the doctor and prescription meds.
Treating a Fever With No Meds
I find that holding your child is the best home remedy for fever. When they are feverish, they want to be with you. Put on a light robe and crash on the couch with your child and hold her for hours if you need to. If you let the fever go and just let the child’s body do what it is trying to do, the fever won’t last very long — just a few hours.
You can take their temperature if you want to, but it is not necessary. Put your lips on your child’s forehead, and if the child seems hot, you know she has a fever. I can tell within a half a degree what the temperature is using this method with no thermometer required. Many children find it distressing to use a thermometer when they are ill anyway. My dad taught me this trick–he never took our temperatures. He knew the temperature.
Sometimes a fever will go for three days. It will go up and down, with peaks and valleys, and it usually peaks about 4-6 in the afternoon. If your child has a fever in the afternoon followed by a good night’s sleep and no fever in the morning, that doesn’t mean he is over it. Don’t send him to school until you know what happens at 4-6 in the afternoon. The fever is likely to come back in a lot of cases. Until you’ve passed a late afternoon with no fever, your child is not yet on the road to recovery.
Should You Feed or Starve a Fever?
My father taught me that food will naturally drop a fever within about 20 minutes. This drop will last for an hour or two. My father always believed that it was fine to feed a child with a fever if the child was willing to eat. But don’t force food if he doesn’t want it. And you don’t have to give your child a lot of food. Just a few bites of scrambled egg or a few sips of homemade broth can bring that fever down a bit. It will not make the fever go away but will manage it hopefully within the ideal 102-103 degree range.
High Fevers
If a child’s fever is very high–over 103.5 degrees F – then you need to take steps to bring it down down. One method for treating a fever naturally to bring it down without any meds is a cool water enema. Enemas have such a bad rap! Nobody likes them but they are a very effective remedy for many things.
You can get an enema bag from any pharmacy for about ten dollars and they’re incredibly easy to administer. If the fever is getting really high, just get a thick beach towel and put it in the tub. Lay your child on his side without taking clothes off. Slide their pajamas down a little. Place 1/2 to 1 quart warm filtered water in the bag and insert the enema nozzle lubricated with a bit of coconut oil. Your child will start to feel pressure and will want to go to the bathroom–the water usually doesn’t run out. Then gently put him on the toilet and let him go. This will bring the fever down by a degree or two.
Are High Fevers Dangerous?
High fevers– those that range between 104 and 105 F – are not dangerous in themselves. But they make the metabolism run very fast and increase the risk of dehydration. Blood sugar often drops with the metabolism running at this high level, which can lead to convulsions. To prevent this, have your child sip fresh fruit juice diluted 50% with filtered water to keep tissues hydrated and blood sugar levels in the normal range. If your child is too lethargic or won’t take anything, you can administer about 4 ounces of diluted fruit juice rectally using a $2 bulb syringe. Again, this is so easy to do! The body will absorb it rectally very quickly. Don’t worry – it won’t run out and make a mess. This may save you a trip to the emergency room.
Fevers rapidly deplete vitamin A so be sure to give your child drops of high vitamin cod liver oil under the tongue while the fever is running its course.
Fever Baths or Infrared Saunas To Hasten Healing
Sometimes a child will run a low-grade fever day after day and not seem to get better. In that case, you can help her generate a higher fever to help resolve the illness more quickly with a fever bath. Put her in the tub. Fill it with water as hot as she can stand. You can get it hotter if you put them in the tub while you are filling it. You want it pretty hot, but still comfortable! No need to fill it all the way as this might be too hot. Just have her sit in the tub and fill it to the navel.
Leave her in the bath for 10-12 minutes, then get her out, dry her quickly and wrap her up snugly. Put her into bed, well covered up. This should help the fever rise to the point where it can be effective in resolving the illness. By morning, she may have a normal temperature.
I have used the fever bath method for treating a fever on myself with great results too! Be sure to be drinking plenty of fluids.
Another option is to use a near infrared sauna to gently raise body temperature by a few degrees to hasten healing by stimulating the immune system. I recently used this method to successfully stave off a serious virus that was going around our community. About 30 minutes in a near-infrared sauna powered by safe incandescent bulbs (I use this one) will successfully achieve this immune system enhancement.
Note that I do NOT recommend far infrared saunas due to the health implications from the EMFs and flicker stress from the LED lights.
References
(1) Fever and Antipyretic Use in Children
(2) The Nourishing Traditions Book of Baby and Childcare, p. 220
(3) Advice on treating fevers from an old-fashioned medical doctor (My Dad!)
“Repeated forced reduction of childhood fever has been linked to childhood cancer”
I would like to see your evidence for this comment. My son was diagnosed with STUPID cancer at just 8 months. He maybe had Tylenol twice in his young life. I have friends whose kids were BORN WITH cancer. Please stop spreading fear to parents
I am sorry for your health situation. However, the article does not claim that forcing fever reduction is the only cause of childhood cancer! Not sure why you would have concluded this.
Not giving medical advice. Best to seek professional medical advice.
Did you take her to the doctor, pediatrician, naturopathic doctor?
That would be what I would based on what you tell.
Voimiting, no BM, headaches, … best to take to doctor or ER. When fever persists, does not get better or other symptoms there may be best to see a medical professional.
I believe Sarah mentioned that.
Fortunately the fevers mine have had did not linger long. And no other signs were there. Except dehydration. Few times also no BM.
I do not like giving OTC stuff or IBUPROFEN for fevers.
I have done what Sarah suggested on here. Including giving a few late night cool water enemas and the cool fruit juice enema she mentioned. The enemas reduced the fever and hydrated too.
Enemas also helped with constipation.
Please post again and let us know what was wrong and you took her to a doctor. Since your post is recent would be nice to hear from you.
Did you give a enema?
Blessings and hope things are better.
so what about prolonged fever of 102.5? my 4 y.o. daughter has had a fever of more than 102.5 and had spikes of 103.5 off and on for the last 3 1/2 days. I have been giving ibuprofen as needed to keep it down a bit but more so for the constant headache she is complaining of. She is taking fluids but not a lot and my other 2 kids had lower fevers and broke after 2 days… she also has had a small amount of vomiting and has not had a bowel movement the whole time…
My brother gave me a digital thermometer a few years ago at Christmas, mainly for meats or casseroles. But when I mentioned I never know when my bread to done, he told me to take its temperature. He suggested 195 to 200 degrees. I’ve not had an over-baked or under-baked loaf or dinner roll since!
Confusing???
What does that have to do with bringing a fever down?
Sarah, your page is one of the best. Super good information. Well written and helpful.
I agree with you, too bad enemas are not given more often.
Enema equipment has been mentioned a few times on here by you and commenters.
If giving or getting an enema with the bulb syringe, cleaning the bulb syringe is very important.
A few years ago I learned the hard way about bulb cleaning. When was going to give an enema some black stuff, mold, came out of the syringe when I was cleaning it before the enema. So good to clean the bulb syringe before the enema and after the enema.
This page may be helpful for cleaning the enema bulb syringe: peak-health-now.com/enema-equipment-care.html
There is also instructions on her page for coffee enemas.
I have started doing as she say for cleaning the enema bulb. I like her idea how to give the bulb a good cleaning:
“”For a really thorough cleaning, add only couple oz soap solution and hold bulb upright. Squeeze most of the air out.
Then, press the sides of the bulb together and scrub the inner walls of the bulb against one another from all different angles. This is the only way I know to scrub the inside well without inserting an instrument that can damage it.””
For airing the enema bulb out, I put it upside down on the towel rack. Between the wall and the towel rack. Let it air dry for a few days. Every so often squeeze it in and out real fast to get any remaining dampness out.
Sarah, great page. Thanks for all your hard work on the page. I have referred many to your page.
You are so right about enemas. They do not hurt. Very helpful home remedy to give.
It is too bad some feel they are hard to give. Hurt. Tramatic. and other reasons not to give an enema.
The bulb you have a link to is the small 3 oz nasal-ear bulb syringe. I was told not to use that one for enemas.
I purchased a child’s enema bulb syringe.
I recently gave the fruit juice enema you mentioned in the article. It worked! Not hard to give. Helped with the fever. Hydrates.
In the past I have given the larger plain water enema you mentioned. Gave it with the enema bag.
Love your blog.
Do not give any home remedies without first getting approval from your medical doctor.
This is not medical advice. Only what I have done. Do not take it as medical advice.
When I get some time I will write more.
Susan George, did you mean me (Divorced Mom) who posted has positive thinking?
Or did you mean Sarah ?
Both have good ideas. I enjoy reading Sarah’s blog and the comments posted on here as well.
Thanks for the comment. Hugs
Thanks for posting, you have really positve thinking .
Thanks for posting this blog Sarah. Love your blogs. You are so right — a enema does reduce a fever!
Common sense rules. Always do check with your provider, doctor, before giving home remedies. Including enemas.
As far as a cool – warm water enemas for fever reduction….I have given many of them. Enemas reduced the fever. Only a few times did I need to repeat the procedure after the first enema was given. About 4 hours later gave a second enema.
I did not give the enema as Sarah told in the tub. I placed a towel on the bed and gave the enema on the bed. Never had a mess. Worked every time! And have given enemas on a table.
Recently one of mine had a fever. Complaints of fever late at night. After taking temp, rectally, I decided to give him an enema. The fever went down. He slept well.
Enemas are not a cure all for everything. But they have been used for years and years. Especially for fever reduction. My mom and aunt gave an enema for fevers, constipation, etc.
I have not given the juice enema Sarah describes. Sounds like a good way to cool and hydrate at same time. Interesting.
I have given many bulb syringe enemas in the home. I do not recommend using the nasal/nose/ear syringe for a enema. Best to buy a child’s enema bulb syringe for enemas.
Again, ask your doctor before giving an enema.
Great blog. I think if someone has a fever should take a lot of rest and drink a lot of water to stay hydrated.