Friday, June 17, 2011

So You Have a Fever?


So many of those around me seem to be getting a nasty flu bug that includes symptoms such as body aches, runny nose, headache and a high fever. I have heard reports of fevers ranging from 101 to 105. In this post, I will discuss what fever is and methods to bring down fevers using essential oils.

What is a Fever?

Fever is any temperature above our body’s natural resting temperature at 98.6. Fever is your body’s natural reaction to infection in your body. Basically, as your white blood cells start to attack bacteria and viruses they begin to move quickly and this causes your temperature to rise. While a fever is not a comfortable thing, it is a good thing for your body. It means your immune system is working, as it should. To read a great article with more in-depth information about fevers visit: http://md.essortment.com/all/fevercauses_rker.htm. So if members of my family have a fever of 102 or less I monitor it and do my best to make them comfortable but I don’t use any oils or herbs on it because the fever is natural and not typically dangerous. Things I do to make them comfortable include, putting cool wet rags on their head, covering them with warm blankets, or giving them hot tea.

If the Fever is over 102?

If our fever goes above 102, I still do not panic over it. I will start some gentle methods to reduce fever using my essential Oils. Here are some of the methods I have used in the path. I would suggest trying one of them and if you don’t see a reduction in fever within 30 minutes try another one.

Method 1: ThermaCare

Butterfly Xpress (www.butterflyxpress.com) sells an oil blend called Therma Care. Therma Care is made up of coriander, litsea cubeba, peppermint, and yellow yarrow. It was designed to gently reduce high fevers especially associated with the flu bug. To use it you dilute it with carrier oil 50:50 and then apply to the back of your neck, along the spine and to the bottoms of your feet. You can do this every 15 minutes until the fever starts to come down.

Method 2: Peppermint

Peppermint is a wonderful fever reducer. I usually rub it on the temples, forehead and back of neck. I have a friend whose child contracted Pertussis and she used peppermint on the fever and it went down within 15 minutes.

Method 3: Fever Bath

When I do not get results with one of the above in 30 minutes, I will reapply oils every 15-30 minutes and I will add a bath. I will run about 3 inches of warm water in the bottom of the tub. I will have my child sit in the tub and I will scoop the water up over their body. This will help cool the body down without the screaming fit a cold bath would bring on.

Most of all when treating someone for a high fever use your mother’s instinct to determine your course of action. Try the above natural methods and stick with them and wait on your results knowing your immune system is fighting. However listen to your instincts and you will know when it is time to seek outside intervention to aid in treatment and use all your resources.



Subscribe to Our Blog Updates!




Share this article!

No comments:

Post a Comment

Return to top of page
Powered By Blogger | Design by Genesis Awesome | Blogger Template by Lord HTML