You were likely taught to reduce fevers, as I was. However, becoming a homeopath shifted my perspective on fevers dramatically—especially after witnessing my child face a high fever last week.
My son once developed a fever of 42°C overnight. That experience truly brought out the protective mama bear in me! Yet, trusting the body and its wisdom has always proven effective, and I emerged from this situation with even greater confidence in the incredible healing potential of the human body.
Benefits of a Fever
One of our key defenses against infection is our ability to raise our core temperature. This increase enhances enzymatic reactions, encourages immune cell proliferation, and creates a less favorable environment for bacteria and viruses. This is particularly crucial for children, as their immune systems are still developing and may not yet have the antibodies needed for more complex immune responses.
For these reasons, it’s essential to understand and manage fever rather than immediately resorting to paracetamol or acetaminophen at the first sign of a rise in temperature.
By reducing fever with medication, we may inadvertently prolong the illness, as the body’s natural defenses aren’t allowed to respond effectively to the infection. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule, which is why having a healthcare provider who understands the benefits of fever and how to manage it is vital.
Fever also serves as a powerful mechanism for detoxifying the body through an accelerated metabolism and various discharges (like sweating, diarrhea, vomiting, and mucus production) that accompany illness.
This is why I find it concerning when someone claims they never get sick; it raises questions about how they’re managing their waste products if they’re not experiencing illness at least once a year. Interestingly, many people with chronic conditions may not get sick often, making it a goal to encourage occasional illness during treatment.
There’s no one single remedy for fever in homeopathy. Like always with homeopathy, you need to understand the unique way a person has the fever. Did it come on all of a sudden? Was it after the person was exposed to a cold wind? Do they desire cool drinks or warm? All of these little details help select the remedy that best supports the individual experiencing the fever.
Homeopathy works by matching the symptoms set experienced by the sick person with the most similar homeopathic remedy that contains that symptom set in its recorded lsit of symptoms.
It is like tuning an instrument. If you aren’t ready to nerd out on learning homeopathy for your personal use, finding a practitioner to help navigate the intricacies of selecting remedies is the way to go.
Some may have an idea of how homeopathy works, but let’s just remember how little we really understand how medicine is practised (look up the method of action for aspirin. oh wait, you can’t because we don’t know…).
For things like homeopathy, the clinical evidence is more than enough to show how beautifully this medicine can support us in health. Fevers and acute illness are absolutely no exception.
Homeopathic Remedies
Here are some examples of common homeopathic remedies used with fever just so you get an idea of when some remedies are used over others.
Belladonna: Sudden onset of a high fever. The face is hot but the hands are feet are cool. The person is usually flushed with heat and may have night terrors, dilated pupils and are thirst-less.
Arsenicum: The person is cold with burning pains that are better with heat. They pretty much can’t been too warm. They desire small sips of warm liquids often or are thirst-less. They are generally restless and a little (or very) anxious.
Aconite: Sudden onset of high fever with one cheek red, the other pale. This one often comes after exposure to a cold, dry wind and their pupils are more constricted.
Strategies to deal with fever
When dealing with a fever, it’s important to create a strategy that you and your healthcare provider are both at ease with.
The most beneficial fevers typically range from 38.5°C (101°F) to 39°C(102°F). One of my top methods for supporting a productive fever (and reducing fevers that begin to feel a bit too elevated) is through hydrotherapy.
Basic Guidelines
1. Rest as much as possible. Stay home. This will allow the body to focus on fighting the infection, it will also help prevent spreading the illness to others.
2. Fresh Air The body requires over 13% more oxygen for every degree of body temperature elevation (Beers and Berkow 1999). Get fresh air every hour or two while awake via an open window. During the Spanish flu epidemic of 1917-1918 it was common in regular medicine to not open windows and keep patients confined without fresh air, this was counterproductive and would increase the negative outcomes.
3. Diet: See below under “fasting”.
Old-school fever management
Below are listed methods that have proven effective time and time again.
Tepid bath: my son once developed a 42°C fever, but after just a few minutes in a lukewarm bath and with the help of a carefully chosen homeopathic remedy, the temperature fell to 39°C. This was much more manageable and made him feel significantly more at ease while his body continued to battle the infection.
Fasting: Did you know that the digestive system essentially shuts down when we have a fever?
As the core temperature increases, the body prioritises fighting infection and managing inflammation, which often means digestion takes a backseat during times of stress.
This is why the old saying “starve a fever” holds some truth. Keeping the diet simple and easily digestible helps prevent maldigestion and toxicity that can result from food lingering in the digestive tract. However, exceptions exist for pregnant or breastfeeding individuals and other situations where fasting may not be suitable.
So, what are the best foods to consume during a fever?
- Bone broth is at the top of the list.
- Vegetable’s broth, nutritious vegetable soup especially made from courgettes, celery, string beans, and parsley, is easy to digest and packed with minerals—just blend the cooked ingredients for easier assimilation.
- Long-cooked rice, overcooked in the form of congee.
- Herbal teas, Pu-erh and black tea, fresh juices, whole fruit ixe lollies, and plenty of filtered water at a comfortable temperature. Stewed and pureed fruits are also excellent choices.
For breastfeeding infants, breastmilk often becomes their sole source of nourishment and hydration. As taxing as it may feel for the mother, it’s the best possible option, specifically tailored to meet the needs of the illness.
That said, there’s no need to force food during a fever, especially in the initial days. The main focus should be on preventing dehydration by ensuring adequate liquid intake.
Hunger will return when the body is ready to digest and assimilate food again.
When to seek medical help?
The image below provides a detailed information of when to seek medical help.
I always tell anxious parents that they can always get their child checked out by the local GP clinic nurse or doctor.
A daily low-grade fever happening for weeks needs to be checked by the GP or nurse and tests (blood, stool and urine etc) should be conducted to try to ascertain the cause for it.
