“Mommy, I don’t feel well.”
Your little one wakes up in the middle of the night, fretful and hot to the touch. You check her temperature and it is 102 degrees. She’s had a cold for a few days but hasn’t had a fever until now. You feel worried and don’t know what to do. Should you give Tylenol, go to the emergency department? Should you call your doctor’s office hoping to reach someone in the middle of the night? Can you wait until morning? You’ve heard about using herbs for fever and thought it sounded good at the time, but now that your child has one, you’re not so sure.
What should you do?
The answer to the above question for starters is:
- If your child is under 1 month old and has a temperature of over 100.4 degrees yes, call your doctor or go to the emergency room.
- For everyone else, take a deep breath, relax, and read on…
What is a Fever?
Most importantly: Fever is not an illness. It is the body’s healthy, natural response that helps fight infection! So they are actually a good thing! A temperature over 100.4 degrees F is considered a fever. Most fevers are in the range of 101-103.5 degrees. A high fever is over 103.5.
I know that when my own kids’ temps got over 103 my mommy alarm bells started going off! But in truth, the height of the temperature does not necessarily reflect the severity of the illness. Most low-grade fevers are not serious and kids can even run high fevers and not have serious illness – but it is scarier to parents.
Fevers in kids are generally caused by common viral infections, and most of these are not dangerous. Kids will often have symptoms such as a cough, runny nose, earache, or rash – but often the fever comes before the symptoms. Bacterial infections such as strep throat, urinary tract, and ear infections can also cause fever (see below, When to See Your Doctor). A fever in the absence of symptoms of one of these more serious conditions is generally not an indication for an antibiotic.
What Can You Do?
Keep in mind that you do not have to treat the fever itself – the body is trying to mount this fever to fight the infection. Tylenol and ibuprofen only bring the temperature down by about 1 degree, and while they can relieve aches and pains, they also have potentially serious side effects when used for more than a day or two.
When your child has a fever the most important thing is to encourage rest and give plenty of fluids. Fevers may continue for a number of days or go away and come back – especially in the afternoon and evening – for several days. This is usually not a problem if the child is taking plenty of fluids and seems otherwise well.
- Hydration is key: Give your child loads of fluids during the fever. Nursing babies should nurse freely. Older babies can be nursed often and given a little bit of water by teaspoon, sippy cup, or even an eye-dropper every 30 minutes. If your child is sleeping a lot, wake him up periodically for for sips of water or tea. If your child is refusing to drink much, then give herbal or natural fruit juice ice pops. While I’m not a fan of giving sugary fruit drinks, getting fluids in is essential – and an average ice-pop has about 4 oz of fluids and kids love them.! Herbal ice pops are also a terrific, tasty and sneaky way to get natural remedies into your kiddo!
- Let your child rest and sleep as much as she needs to. Create a quiet, comfortable, restful environment and keep your child home from day care or school during a fever.
- It’s normal for kids to have very little appetite when feverish. Keep foods light - soups, broths, toast, small amounts of fruit, steamed vegetables – and don’t force them to eat. But do push fluids!
Herbal Treatments
Herbs can be used to help ease the symptoms associated with a fever – aches, headache, tummy discomforts, and chills. High fevers can be lowered a bit with these herbs. Here are some classic herbs for feverish kids that I used with my own children and that I use in my medical practice. These are also safe for babies.
Herbal Teas
Tea is usually given in a dose of 1-2 eye droppersful to 1/4 cup to children under 1, 1/4-1 cup every few hours to toddlers and older children. For children over 1, teas can be sweetened with honey or maple syrup. Honey is excellent for treating coughs, too! (Do NOT give honey to babies under 1 year old — it can cause infant botulism.)
- Chamomile, Catnip, and Lemon balm tea: To prepare, mix equal parts of the dried herbs and prepare according to the tea instructions below. This is very pleasant tasting and very gentle even for little babies. It soothes a tummy upset, aches, and eases fever symptoms.
- Fresh ginger root tea can quiet indigestion. Grate 1 tsp of fresh ginger root and prepare as with other teas. Ginger tea can help fight upper respiratory infection and helps sweat out a fever.
- Spearmint Leaf and Elder blossom tea: This is a slightly stronger tea. Steep 4 TBS. of each herb together in a covered quart jar of boiling water for 20 minutes. Strain and sweeten lightly. Given warm, this helps to break a sweat.
If you can’t find them locally, these herbs can be ordered from the on-line company Mountain Rose Herbs.
Nursing moms with feverish nursing babies can drink adult doses of these herbal remedies. Some of the benefits of the herbs will pass through the milk to the baby.
Herbal Extracts
My favorite herbal extracts for soothing fever symptoms are Children’s Herbal Compound by Herb Pharm which contains Lemon Balm, Chamomile, Catnip, and Fennel, and Calm Child, a wonderfully soothing and calming blend by Planetary Herbals. Kids Sleep and Relax Herbal Formula from Gaia Herbs is also fantastic for helping them to do exactly that! Dose as directed on the various products. These can be combined or alternated with the teas.
Additionally, a few drops of Lavender essential oil can be added to a warm bath, 5 drops per bath, to soothe fever symptoms.
When to See Your Doctor
- All babies under 1 month old with fever should be seen by a doctor immediately. This can be a medical emergency!
- Babies under 3 months old with a high fever (see above) should be seen by a doctor.
- Any kids who are not taking fluids, not urinating a normal amount compared to usual, or are just not “acting right” should be seen by the doctor.
- Any kids with fever along with stiff neck or neck, persistent vomiting, or severe headache should be seen by the doctor.
- If your child has severe ear pain or severe belly pain.
- If your child is lethargic – that is, he just isn’t really waking up fully, seems weak, or just seems sort of limp, is just lying there, and doesn’t really make eye contact.
- Fevers that stay high for more than 3-5 days.
- If you feel worried that your child has a serious illness, take your child to the doctor: Remember, trust your momma intuition! (and better safe than sorry).
Remember, though, most times a fever is just a helpful way your body has to fight a viral infection. Supportive care with fluids, rest, and light foods, and the comfort of herbal teas and extracts, is generally all that’s needed to help your children recover safely and naturally.
To your family’s good health!
,
Aviva
Liked this and don’t want to miss a thing? No worries! Join my mailing list (it’s FREE) and you’ll immediately receive a fantastic downloadable/printable handout on creating your own natural medicine cabinet, + natural health updates in your inbox every week!
The post Natural Fever Treatments for Kids From a Mommy-MD appeared first on Aviva Romm.
