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The American Academy of Pediatrics has “pulled an Al Gore”.
In similar amusing fashion to the former Vice President’s claim that he invented the Internet, researchers in the journal Pediatrics have recommended the “novel approach” of letting a fever run its course in otherwise healthy children. (1)
Evidently these doctors are suffering from an extreme case of memory loss or egomania as was the case for Mr. Gore. Either that or they made a practice of napping during their Medical History classes in Med School. More likely, these types of classes weren’t even offered at the request of the pharmaceutical companies donating copious amounts of cash to the particular institution they attended.
After all, we wouldn’t want newly minted doctors knowing anything about the history of effective, non-drug based remedies and treatments, would we?
While it may be claimed that this research is somehow “new” and goes against conventional wisdom, this is simply not so.
Au contraire. Prior to the advent of the American obsession with all things pharmaceutically produced which began to gather momentum in the 1970s, doctors routinely recommended against treating the fevers of healthy children. My own father, a retired MD who specialized in Family Practice, never brought down fevers in his own children nor did he suggest doing so to his patients even in cases where the fevers were rather high at 105F.
Why? Because doing so would prolong the illness, of course! Simple common sense medicine for normal, healthy children.
A fever is the primary mechanism for the immune system to fight off viruses and bacteria. Bringing it down handicaps this natural immune response prolongs the illness and more than likely induces a secondary infection that may require – you guessed it: a visit to the Doc to get a prescription for antibiotics.
Unfortunately, it seems that common sense is something that Pediatricians need a research study to finally embrace.
How to Keep a 24 Hour Bug From Turning into a 2 Week Ordeal
The wisdom of the “leave the fever alone” strategy was driven home to me once again just last week. One of my kids came home from school on Thursday afternoon with a bad headache. Since he rarely complains of anything like this, I figured he was trying to fight off some sort of virus.
Sure enough, within a couple of hours, he spiked a fever to 102-103F. This fever basically held (with a few brief dips to 99-100F after sipping a cup of homemade broth) for 24 hours. Did I treat it with Tylenol or ibuprofen?
No way! He had a big soccer tournament that very weekend and his best chance to still compete was to do nothing!
The fever and headache were the only symptoms he ended up having. They were both gone within 24 hours and he competed in the weekend tournament as planned. He played hard too and in the 88F heat. The kid bounced back fast because his natural immunity was left to operate as Nature intended with no meddling from vitality zapping over the counter meds.
I have no doubt that if I had panicked and brought that fever down justifying my actions in order “to help him get a good night’s sleep for the soccer tournament” that he would still be sick and probably have some sort of secondary infection in his lungs with a lot of mucus and coughing.
Letting the fever run its course is more important than a good night’s sleep for getting well, in my experience! If you absolutely must do something, use homeopathic cell salts or a fever bath to speed the process along.
I am so glad the value of fevers was impressed upon me at a young age. Don’t wait for your Pediatrician to wake up to common sense strategies before adopting them yourself.
References
(1) Fever and Antipyretic Use in Children
(2) Traditional Remedies for Childhood Illnesses
(3) Treating Fevers in Children
I also have been cautious about using meds to reduce fevers. I have used them if there is pain or so much distress that my son can’t sleep well–also important for gettng well. Convulsions are a worry but usually occurred if the fever is reduced far too rapidly, such as using cold baths.
My son hasn’t suffered ear infections but once when I brought him into the nurse because he was complaining of pain in his ear. She told me to use a drop of olive oil as is usual advice here in the UK. And she said she could give me antibiotcs. I asked her what would happen if he didn’t have them and she said he will be fine. So why did
she offer drugs??
I don’t feel comfortable with your gore comments but I suppose we should be used to your rudeness by now.
This is what I have always done with my family. But I have been confused ever since I read the GAPS book where Natasha Campell says to bring the fever down (even small ones) with aspirin.
Since then I have been so confused and don’t know what to do anymore.
Why do you think she says fevers are to be brought down?
For myself, when I have had fevers in the past, my bodie goes into anxiety mode and triggers and anxiety attack and make me pass out.
SO for me, if I ever have a fever again, I will definitely try the aspirin because I don’t want to end up passing out alone with my kids at home. BUT for the rest of my family, we don’t do anything still and it always had been very short lived.
Hi Natalia, I don’t recall reading this advice in the GAPS book. However, if it is there (perhaps it’s just not in my edition), perhaps it is because GAPS children have such compromised immune systems through their gut imbalance? Just a guess.
You should never give children aspirin. I have not read Dr. Campell’s book or explanation for doing so but it is widely understood that aspirin can cause Reye’s syndrome in children, which is rare but fatal. I would be interested to learn why she would recommend that. Seems like in the face of conflicting information it would be better to do nothing, and let nature run it’s course than possibly cause harm?
could you please tell me where this is in that book? i have considered getting the GAPS book and following the diet. however, if that advice is there, i absolutely won’t be getting it.
The GAPS advice on asprin for treating fever is found on the very last pages of the book. Reading this with interest as I have been wondering the same thing
The thing about Asprin is that it’s patent ran out. It’s kind of like butter 🙂 It gets a bad name and it’s association with Reye’s Syndrome is blown way out of proportion to stop people from buying it and to put them toward more harmful drugs such as ibuprofen because these newer drugs yield profits for the drug companies..
However, this is such a minuscule portion of the GAPS book. In fact, it’s totally optional and has nothing to do with the diet itself. So refusing to buy the book due the inclusion of this reccomendation is sort of like chopping off your nose to spite your face. The diet bring amazing, life-changing results! Don’t skip out on it because you disagree with her stance on Asprin
I completely agree with Clark, don’t skip this life-changing book for 1 small piece which you don’t even have to use!!
I’m pretty sure I recall the advice as being to use aspirin instead of paracetamol. She acknowledges the risks with aspirin, but points out that they are much smaller than the risks associated with paracetamol which we routinely give children over 3 months every time they have a vaccination/teethe/get a cold in the uk.
I don’t think she was saying you must reduce a fever, only that aspirin is as effective and better for you than sugar and chemical laden paracetamol syrups designed for kids.
I do agree with this advise and go to a pediatrician who says the same thing. My mom disagrees and says a high fever runs the risk of causing brain damage. I’m not sure where she got that information. I also have a friend whose child had a febrile seizure from a high fever, so she treats even low fevers aggressively.
Febrile Seizures are a way the body uses to reset it’s systems when a normal fever isn’t getting the job done. By stopping the FS’s, she’s creating more of them. They need to happen, they aren’t dangerous. I read this in an article in Kindred magazine-a team of Dr’s tested some willing children and parents to go thru the seizures to see if they caused any harm to the brain. The opposite happened in every case. Some of the children had neurological impairment and had noticeable and continual improvement in their motor skills, speech and cognitive development after each Febrile Seizure. The results were amazing.
Al Gore did not say he invented the internet. He worked hard for the internet to be available for all citizens to be able to use.
But the real question is what, if anything, did Gore actually do to create the modern Internet? According to Vincent Cerf, a senior vice president with MCI Worldcom who’s been called the Father of the Internet, “The Internet would not be where it is in the United States without the strong support given to it and related research areas by the Vice President in his current role and in his earlier role as Senator
http://www.perkel.com/politics/gore/internet.htm
Wow, I wonder if you have any idea how ridiculously and needlessly offensive your post today is. Al Gore is a brilliant and engaged man who has spent his life in public service. He does not suffer from “egomania” although a person who had accomplished what he has could be forgiven if he did. Also, he never claimed to have “invented the Internet” and you should know better. He claimed, CORRECTLY, that in the Senate he had sponsored the legislation that provided funding for the research and work that DID create the Internet.
I come to you for advice and information about FOOD and MEDICINE, and don’t appreciate the gratuitous jabs at a man we should all admire and respect. I suggest you stick to what you know – you’re very good at that and deserve the respect you get. Should we accuse you of “egomania”?
Well written Melinda,thank you.
With respect, Melinda, there’s a lot about Al Gore you do not know. Of course, we can say the same about any public person. I can certainly appreciate your admiration for someone who has spent many years in public service. But, I know fine people of solid character who have been harmed by Mr. Gore. Hard working people who have had their lives and businesses destroyed because of unwarranted attacks by Mr. Gore. And I’m not talking about legislative action which helps some at the cost of hurting others. I’m talking about meeting falsely gaining confidence, and then betraying that confidence so he could put on a show for the cameras.
Choose your heroes with eyes open.
Al Gore and his campaign to get everybody to believe in ‘Global Warming’ is a complete hoax. His ‘facts’ in his film have mostly been proven to be utterly false. I can’t possibly admire anybody who tells others to use less energy and ‘save the earth’, while living in a mansion and owning several cars. He is not only a liar, but a hypocrite to boot.
If you don’t like humorous jabs at people, just ignore that part and take what you do like, which is advice on food and medicine.
This is a blog, meaning that it is Sarah’s personal writings, and she can choose to say anything she wants. Would you really like to muzzle everybody who says things you don’t agree with (even if it is about one of your heroes)? We still do have free speech, let’s allow other to use it, so people won’t try to shut us up, either.
Hi Sarah,
So glad you wrote about this! I am working on a blog post on this same topic out of frustration to what I see around me. Every time my children get fever all my friends ask me “what did the doctor say?” As if I need to immediately rush to get them on antibiotics. Many parents also see no big deal to just give their kids some tylenol if they get 99/100F “just in case.” And of course those kids end up on antibiotics because they end up with worse symptoms down the line. I don’t see this changing very soon though – most of us are taught to fear fever in our kids and do everything we can to suppress it (are pediatricians still recommending the tylenol/motrin rotation to keep fevers down?).
I think the reason for your friends always asking that is because they are brought up this way and they think this is the only way. I honestly have never heard of letting fever run its course until reading this post. I grew up in a household where we were given meds for almost every sniffle. I just recently found out that natural remedies are out there. I never really thought about it. I will try not medicating my children the next time they get a fever. They have been sick a lot so hopefully this will stop the endless cycle! Thanks for getting this information out to moms!
Great post again! I think the medical profession has degenerated into a sales force for the drug industry. All drugs interfere with the natural processes of the body.. Of course, the sicker folks are, the more drugs get sold.
I got a flu that was going around a few months ago, the first time I had been sick in several years. I had taken no drugs of any kind, not even an over the counter med, for about five years. I was delighted to get a fever, for the first time in decades. I got over the flu quickly, without medication or doctors, and it only lasted a couple days. The other people I know who got it were sick for many weeks, after seeing their doctors and getting their prescriptions. Most of them got secondary infections, just like you described, and would up on antibiotics, which killed the good bacteria in their gut, which harms their digestion and immune systems, which means more sickness, more doctors, more drugs. So goes the profit cycle of medicine and the drug industry
I wish we could clone your dad and have him replace most of the greedy, heartless docs we are cursed with today.
Right on, Stanley. Didn’t I read somewhere that historically speaking, the entire reason modern medical schools were initially created was to train people how to sell all the new drugs flooding onto the market, and that the two people responsible for this were Mr. Carnegie and Mr. Rockefeller who footed the bill and who stood to profit heavily due to their involvement with the drug manufacturers? And that before that time all doctors relied on natural remedies, time-tested wisdom and common sense?
I read the same thing, Beth. It is true.
I do agree to a point. Although if it wasn’t for modern medicine my son would not have had brain surgery that saved his life at 6 weeks. Not all medicine practiced is drug based.
Me too, Stanley. They don’t make doctors like my Dad anymore. I feel optimistic that this old style type of MD who is slow to medicate and more holistically minded without getting sucked onto the alternative health hamster wheel is making a comeback and will displace the robot doctors of today within a decade or two.
When my kids fevers get really high I sometimes wipe them down with a cold washcloth. It seems to bring the fever down some but doesn’t make it go away. By doing that am I doing the same thing as medicating? Does it lessen the fighting power of the fever? Sometimes my daughters gets so high she gets really shaky and kind of out of it and it scares me. So I cool her off with a wash cloth. Would it be better to let that go too?
Great post, by the way!
Christy, cool cloths are fine and also a traditional approach with no downside. The key is to keep the child comfortable while letting Nature take its course unimpeded.
Sitting her with an nursing toddler on my lap with a 103 temp and resisting the urge to give her tylenol. Thank you for the wet wash cloth. I want to be able to DO something!
Sarah,
Once again, a fabulous post. I have treated my kids’ ear infections with breastmilk, their pink eye with the same and have almost never taken anything for pain. My oldest, at the age of 10, even road 50 miles in a Right to Life Bike-A-Thon and we only knew after he got home that he had been suffering from a fever then entire time.
I appreciate your willingness to call it like it is regarding Mr. Gore as well. Thanks for being to buck the status quo and the talking heads on a number of levels.
I’ve always done this, much to chagrin of my family. Recently the kids had ear infections, very painful and I did give pain relief for that, but generally I don’t treat fevers. When DD was sick, MIL brought some medicine over for her although I knew she didn’t need it (it passed quickly). I felt a little guilty that I was so happy the bottle was broken and we had to return it (and didn’t get more, lol!). The pharmacist even told MIL that my DD didn’t need any OTC meds but she is a nurse who believes everything needs to be doped up.
I never ever take pain medication for myself. I have a terrible head cold right now and DH keeps trying to get me to take something for it. I know it will pass soon. I don’t like medicating unnecessarily.