Fever is a sign that a strong immune system is actively fighting a pathogen and often does not require treatment. Many parents, especially those opting for non-pharmaceutical approaches, may feel anxious when they see high temperatures, such as 103°F (39.4°C) in young children.
I’ve experienced this myself—one night my first child had a temperature of 41°C, which made me panic as I saw him twitching. I reached for the homeopathic remedy Belladonna and consulted a doctor the next morning, who reassured me that the febrile convulsion was not a concern and found nothing wrong.
To avoid being unprepared in such situations, it’s important to understand fever and some homeopathic remedies that can help. The term “usually” is used here because the fever symptoms may sometimes require different remedies.
Generational wisdom has often been overlooked; my great-grandparents would reassure us by saying, “Good, your body is reacting. Go to bed and rest.” In contrast, modern society often pushes us to take medication and continue with our daily activities, even when our immune systems are doing their work. However this wisdom has been suppressed marketing by pharmaceutical in the last century.
An ability to produce high fevers is a sign that the person has a good defense mechanism, that is, a good immune system. (Hasday, J.D., Fairchild, K.D., Shanholtz, C. 2000 The Role of Fever in the Infected Host. Microbes and Infection. 2:1891-1904.)
Fever is like a fire or oven that our body ignites to destroy the germs that are bothering us. Just make sure the patient is hydrated and comfortable, ie: if the patient wants to put on a jumper or blanket because he/she is feeling cold then let them have a covering. Likewise, if the patient does not want coverings, then let them be.
1. A fever stimulates your immune system into producing more white blood cells, antibodies, and a protein called interferon, all of which work to protect your body against harmful microorganisms.
2. By raising your body’s temperature a few degrees, a fever makes it harder for invading bacteria and viruses to survive and flourish. The higher your core body temperature is, the harder it is for harmful microorganisms to survive in your body.
3. A fever helps to shuttle iron to your liver so that it is not readily available to fuel the growth of invading bacteria.
Long standing belief, and even parental instinct, may compel you to fight your child’s fever to ease the persistent crying and discomfort. But most experts say not to worry so much about treating your child’s fever. In fact, they say, for children older than six months old, having a fever may be a good thing.
“Fever is often a good sign of a robust immune system,” said Dr. Kathi Kemper, professor of paediatrics at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. “A fever in and of itself is not dangerous.”
Symptoms are signals from our bodies that deserve attention. Fever, in particular, plays a crucial role in our immune defense, indicating how effectively our body is responding to infection. Research supports the protective role of fever during infections.
Fever is not only a primordial manifestation of infectious diseases, but the molecular mechanisms involved in its origin have a very broad action in increasing the acute and specific nutritional immune responses necessary to restrict and eradicate the organisms responsible for the infection. (Smith and Thier, Pathophysiology).
A few key temperature points:
– A temperature up to 99.5°F (37.5°C) indicates limited immune response. It is a sub-febrile state. There are only a few humoral (1) defences that are not always sufficient to deal with more serious processes, requiring the organism to develop higher temperatures to complete its defence action.
– A fever up to 38.5°C signifies a stronger cellular response, with white blood cells actively fighting. White blood cells (mast cells) have begun to release chemicals that activate up to 20 times the body’s defence capacity.
– Temperatures between 103.1°F to 104°F (39.5°C to 40°C) indicate heightened immune activity, especially against specific infections. Lymphocytes have come into action to further increase the body’s defence capacity, especially specific immune responses to certain infections and certain types of germs.
– Above 104.9°F (40.5°C), the body’s temperature regulation center may be affected, signaling a serious infection where antipyretics may be needed.
Surprisingly, the body can withstand temperatures up to 104.9°F without damage. Thus, it is often best to let a fever run its course unless accompanied by severe symptoms, such as difficulty breathing, vomiting, stiff neck, persistent cough, unexplained weakness, or unusual behavior.
NHS Fever Awareness Campaign of 2019
While most infections resolve without serious issues, certain symptoms may require medical consultation, including dehydration symptoms, high fever in newborns, difficulty breathing, significant loss of appetite, or pre-existing conditions.
Homeopathic philosophy has long respected fever as a natural defense mechanism. Suppressing fever can lead to chronic health issues, and homeopaths recognize that a robust immune system can produce high fevers.
When treating fever, it’s essential not to interfere with the body’s natural defense. There’s no need for baths or cold compresses; allowing the fever to persist can be more effective in combating infection. Homeopathic remedies should not be expected to lower fever but rather to support the body’s healing process.
For febrile convulsions (2), they occur in predisposed children and are generally benign. If a child does not have a specific brain condition, they are unlikely to experience these seizures.
If the child does not have this predisposition or small “manufacturing defect” they will not develop a febrile seizure. Febrile seizure nowadays is considered a benign and sign affection of this small “defect” that can be easily bypassed by a homeopathic medicine that has similarity to the psychophysical unit that is the human being.
In summary, fever is a critical immune response that signals the body’s fight against infection. Here are six homeopathic remedies for fever:
1. **Aconite 30C**: For sudden onset fever due to fright or chill.
2. **Belladonna 30C**: For high fever with a flushed face and glassy eyes.
3. **Bryonia 30C**: For slow, lingering fevers with dry cough and thirst.
4. **Chamomilla 30C**: For fevers during teething; the child is irritable and capricious.
5. **Pulsatilla 30C**: For variable fever; the child seeks comfort and fresh air.
6. **Phosphorus 30C**: For fevers in active babies who seem less ill than expected.
Dosage: Administer 30C every 2-3 hours or every 4-6 hours.
After choosing the most similar remedy, you have two outcomes.
-Improvement
-No improvement.
Outcome: No improvement:
If there is no improvement at all by three doses of the chosen remedy, choose a different remedy, a second remedy.
Also after your second choice of remedy and the remedy has not worked, the best course of action is to contact a professional homeopath for an acute consultation.
Outcome: Improvement
Stop the remedy as soon as an improvement sets in.
If your child falls asleep, after taking the remedy, , that is a great sign that you have probably selected the most similar remedy. If the fever has returned when he awakens, then continue using that same remedy and only repeat it if symptoms start to return.
If you have selected the remedy correctly, you will witness a process of beauty in nature.
Remember, the homeopathic remedy is not really treating a fever; you are just using the characteristics of the sick child to help us determine the remedy that needs to be used to treat the child as a whole.
Furthermore when you give a homeopathic remedy, sometimes the first dose often won’t do anything at all. That is because Homeopathy is very diluted and very gentle. We cannot, generally speaking, expect a homeopathic remedy to have the impact a drug has, which contains material amounts of chemicals.
Homeopathy is extremely diluted and it is very gentle, so instead you may give that remedy 3 doses over a 24 to 30 hour period. Therefore you would be looking for an improvement on or around the 4th dose. If there’s no improvement then you should consider changing the remedy, but not because you’re expecting the fever to go down!
Homeopathic remedies are not anti-pyretics. A helpful comparison is that of a midwife attending a birth and a homeopathic remedy treating a fever. Similar to how a midwife guides the mother through childbirth without interfering or forcing the process, a homeopathic remedy works together with the fever’s natural defense mechanisms rather than against them in order to optimize the healing process.
So you may be asking yourself what should I expect as signs of “improvement”?
Perhaps the child goes from sleep talking or being fussy, (which is totally normal during a high fever) to sleeping more peacefully. Also, maybe the child starts drinking more water.
Remember fevers are good as they kill cancer cells [2]. But once again, sleep talking or even seeing things during a very high fever is totally normal in childhood. However if you are concerned always get the child checked by your local emergency service.
Modern society and parents are so unfamiliar with fevers today that we no longer know what is normal when a child has fever!
There are many other remedies for fever, but listing them all here would make this article very long.
If under the care of a professional homeopath, consult them before self-prescribing, as some remedies may interact. If a selected remedy doesn’t help after two tries, seek professional advice.
Finally, consult a medical provider for:
– Fever in newborns
– Infants under 6 months with a fever over 100.5°F
– Children with high fevers lasting more than 24 hours
– Fever accompanied by lethargy, confusion, or breathing difficulties
– Adults with a fever over 103°F for six hours or more.
Copyright Article@ Renata Hines 2010
Original articles :
1- https://www.blogger.com/…/503653363…/7361060948983119307
2- https://www.blogger.com/…/503653363…/6101846821911773186
3 – https://www.blogger.com/…/503653363…/5159370324138686487
Read much more at my Blog.
Sources:
[1] – relating to the body fluids, especially with regard to immune responses involving antibodies in body fluids as distinct from cells
[2]- https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/ask-the-doctor/fevers-in-children/
Fever – febrile convulsions – https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/ConditionsAndTreatments/fever-febrile-convulsions
Thier, Samuel O., Smith, Lloyd H. – Treaty of Pathophysiology.
Febrile seizures –https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/febrile-seizures/
The effects of ibuprofen on the physiology and survival of patients with sepsis. The Ibuprofen in Sepsis Study Group –https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9070471
Have we given up on the genetics of febrile seizures? – http://epilepsygenetics.net/2014/07/24/have-we-given-up-on-the-genetics-of-febrile-seizures/
Duffner, 2008 – Febrile seizures: clinical practice guideline for the long-term management of the child with simple febrile seizures. – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18519501/
Sadler, 2007–Febrile seizures – https://www.bmj.com/content/334/7588/307
Saghazadeh, 2014 – Genetic background of febrile seizureshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24399675
Immunity and Fever Findings – https://www.cell.com/immunity/fulltext/S1074-7613(18)30495-3?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS1074761318304953%3Fshowall%3Dtrue&fbclid=IwAR2_zVH5RN-NapB5d8AcpXbZuQjz-opEL42CTKUn05QbiBNGVAeqHhrRbMg
Acetaminophen for Fever in Critically Ill Patients with Suspected Infection –https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26436473
Extreme pyrexia –https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/989861
Working with all ages, Renata has been running her clinic via video call worldwide since 2012.