Many parents become understandably alarmed when their child has a fever, so it is important to keep in mind that fevers are commonly a healthy response to an infective agent. Healthy fevers allow the immune system to perform more efficiently. A child with a healthy fever is a child whose immune system is working well.
My Own Experience with My Children's Fevers
I am a practicing Naturopathic physician in Seattle and have worked in the health field for well over thirty-five years. I have two children, now 14 and 25 years old respectively. Both of my children got fevers and flus when they were young. My oldest was a youngster when I was doing my residency at the Bastyr University outpatient clinic. She taught me a lot firsthand about what works well to keep children healthy through colds, fevers, and flus, as she was my original guinea pig and very healthy today because of it.
How I Treated Their Healthy Fevers
When either of my children got a fever, it was often a "healthy fever" due to a common viral infection. After I would determine they had a "healthy fever", I would give them the indicated homeopathic remedies along with natural, immune-supportive botanical medicines and nutrients as treatment for their fever. Then I would hydrate, hydrate, hydrate and watch them quickly get better.
Before I would treat my child's fever, however, I would call the pediatrician and with his/her help, I would evaluate the fever to determine if it was a "healthy fever". A "healthy fever" is one related to a common viral infection for my child’s age group. In the case of a "healthy fever," I let the fever burn at 99.5 to 102.5 while keeping my child comfortable and well hydrated. Keeping a "healthy fever" suppressed can prolong the course of the infection. Allowing it to "burn" while vigilantly managing your child’s condition, can help resolve the infection quicker.
Because the homeopathic and immune supportive treatments were successful, I rarely, if ever, used Tylenol except once or twice when one or another child was too uncomfortable to sleep. I certainly would never use aspirin. Aspirin use in children with an infectious fever has been associated with a potentially fatal disorder called Reye’s Syndrome and should not be used with children under 16 years of age.
Remember that healthy fevers are a healthy response to an infective agent. Parents can keep their children healthy by boosting their immune systems naturally with immune supportive herbal / botanical medicines and nutrients. In my family practice, I recommend that parents keep on hand a homeopathic kit for flus and fevers, as well as some kid-friendly immune system boosters such as VerryBerry, Winterberry, BerryWell, Esberitox, Vitamin C, Betaplex, and Vitamin D. With these tools in your medicine chest, and a consult with your pediatrician or primary care provider, you and your family can bravely face cold and flu season.
*How do you Evaluate Your Child's Fever?
How do you evaluate whether your child has a healthy fever? Consult with your pediatrician or primary health care provider first and then answer the following questions.
- Is my child's fever relatively slow to rise (over a few hours) and /or stable at 99.5 to 102.5 degrees?
- Is my child playing, talking, easily distracted and entertained, and interacting somewhat normally in spite of the fever?
- Is my child urinating, perspiring and drinking fluids regularly without abdominal discomfort or recurrent vomiting while maintaining a somewhat usual appetite?
- Is my child's skin moist, warm, normal appearing and is he/she sweating if too warm?
- Is my child having normal stools without diarrhea?
- Is my child without a stiff neck; severe headache; rash, persistent abdominal pain; productive cough; difficulty breathing; joint pain, particularly in one specific joint (knee or hip especially); a bad sore throat with tender, swollen glands?
- Is my child without an injury or cut that could be infected?
- Is my child's response to this illness/fever pretty much normal for his/her usual fevers?
Have Your Remedies on Hand
Homeopathic Remedies: The homeopathic medicines I used to treat my children’s fevers are the same homeopathic remedies that parents can get in a homeopathic kit. Every parent should have a homeopathic kit in her home. It typically comes with about thirty remedies that are commonly used to combat acute fevers, colds, flus, and even ear infections. My favorite homeopathic pharmacies are Boiron and Hahnemann. With a homeopathic remedy kit you can begin treating a fever quickly while getting in touch with your child’s pediatrician. You can use the instructional handbook that comes with the kit or call an experienced homeopathic doctor and work with him/her over the telephone.
Homeopathy treats the body by stimulating its vital energy to reorganize itself into a higher level of integration and balance to resolve the illness. Substances used as remedies (minerals, plants, animal, etc.) are homeopathically prepared by serial dilution and succussion, a technique specific to homeopathic pharmacy which follows the standards established by the Homeopathic Pharmacopeia of the United States (HPUS) and the regulatory requirements of the FDA. And they are safe! The correct or "indicated" homeopathic remedy normally works to reduce the fever within about 30 minutes. Some of the common homeopathic fever remedies I used with my children include homeopathic belladonna, ferrum phosphoricum, aconite, mercurious vivus, and chamomile.
VerryBerry and WinterBerry: VerryBerry and Winterberry from Dr. Nita's / NewWorld Naturals support your child's immune system (and also tastes delicious). It is a flavonoid and antioxidant supplement that contains organic concentrates of six fruits with notably high antioxidant levels: elderberry, blueberry, blackberry, cranberry, raspberry, and pomegranate. VerryBerry hadn't been invented when my children were growing up so I treated them with tinctures of elderberry.
Esberitox: Esberitox from Integrative Therapeutics is a chewable immune stimulant for kids. Esberitox contains echinacea and other safe, immune stimulating herbs. Echinacea fortifies cells with natural fighting power by stimulating B-cell and antibody production. Over 30 studies support its use. Esberitox has been the top-selling remedy in Europe for over 70 years, and is clinically tested. It doesn't interfere with commonly prescribed medications and can be used by your entire family. You can get these at thedispensaryonline.com.
Hydration: Some of the best fluids for hydration include miso soup; vegetable juices; chicken, meat, fish and vegetable broths. Miso soup is a good source of sodium and electrolytes commonly lost during an infection with fever. Miso is also very high in antioxidants, and very alkaline, which helps fight infection. Diluted vegetable juices and/or meat, chicken and vegetable broths are also high in sodium and electrolytes, in addition to vitamins, minerals and proteins. Over-the-counter Pedialyte can also help in a pinch.
NOTE: Never manage your child’s fever without the consult and advice of your pediatrician or primary health care provider.
Dr. Donovan is a Naturopathic Physician, author, educator, and a professor of clinical medicine at Bastyr University's Natural Health Clinic. In 2010 he was voted by his professional peers as one of Seattle’s Top Doctors in the Seattle Metropolitan Magazine. Dr. Donovan writes and lectures on the transformational process of healing and believes a person’s healing journey is ultimately a quest for his/her identity, purpose and meaning. He has more than 35 years of patient care experience as a Registered Nurse (RN) and a Naturopathic Physician (ND), representing a wide range of clinical settings from hospital-based surgical and intensive care as a registered nurse to outpatient primary care as a physician.
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