The American Academy of Pediatrics has “pulled an Al Gore”.
In similar amusing fashion to the former Vice President’s claim that he invented the Internet, researchers in the current issue of the journal Pediatrics have recommended the “novel approach” of letting a fever run its course in otherwise healthy children.
Evidently these doctors are suffering from an extreme case of memory loss or egomania as was the case for Mr. Gore. Either that or they made a practice of napping during their Medical History classes in Med School. More likely, these types of classes weren’t even offered at the request of the pharmaceutical companies donating copious amounts of cash to the particular institution they attended. After all, we wouldn’t want newly minted doctors knowing anything about the history of effective, non-drug based remedies and treatments, would we?
While it may be claimed that this research is somehow “new” and goes against conventional wisdom, this is simply not so.
Au contraire. Prior to the advent of the American obsession with all things pharmaceutically produced which began to gather momentum in the 1970′s, doctors routinely recommended against treating the fevers of healthy children. My own Father, a retired MD who specialized in Family Practice, never brought down fevers in his own children nor did he suggest doing so to his patients even in cases where the fevers were rather high at 105F.
Why? Because doing so would prolong the illness, of course! Simple common sense medicine for normal, healthy children.
A fever is the primary mechanism for the immune system to fight off viruses and bacteria. Bringing down the fever handicaps this natural immune response, prolongs the illness and more than likely induces a secondary infection that may require – you guessed it: a visit to the Doc to get a prescription for antibiotics.
Unfortunately, it seems that common sense is something that Pediatricians need a research study to finally embrace.
How to Keep a 24 Hour Bug From Turning into a 2 Week Ordeal
The wisdom of the “leave the fever alone” strategy was driven home to me once again just last week. One of my kids came home from school on Thursday afternoon with a bad headache. Since he rarely complains of anything like this, I figured he was trying to fight off some sort of virus.
Sure enough, within a couple of hours, he spiked a fever to 102-103F. This fever basically held (with a few brief dips to 99-100F after sipping a cup of homemade broth) for 24 hours. Did I treat it with Tylenol or ibuprofin?
No way! He had a big soccer tournament that very weekend and his best chance to still compete was to do nothing!
The fever and headache were the only symptoms he ended up having. They were both gone within 24 hours and he competed in the weekend tournament as planned. He played hard too and in the 88F heat. The kid bounced back fast because his natural immunity was left to operate as Nature intended with no meddling from vitality zapping over the counter meds.
I have no doubt that if I had panicked and brought that fever down justifying my actions in order “to help him get a good night’s sleep for the soccer tournament” that he would still be sick and probably have some sort of secondary infection in his lungs with a lot of mucous and coughing.
Letting the fever run its course is more important than a good night’s sleep for getting well, in my experience!
I am so glad the value of fevers was impressed upon me at a young age. Don’t wait for your Pediatrician to wake up to common sense strategies before adopting them yourself.
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist.com
Sources: Traditional Remedies for Childhood Illnesses
Treating Fevers in Children, Dr. Tom Cowan MD
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{ 95 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve always done this, much to chagrin of my family. Recently the kids had ear infections, very painful and I did give pain relief for that, but generally I don’t treat fevers. When DD was sick, MIL brought some medicine over for her although I knew she didn’t need it (it passed quickly). I felt a little guilty that I was so happy the bottle was broken and we had to return it (and didn’t get more, lol!). The pharmacist even told MIL that my DD didn’t need any OTC meds but she is a nurse who believes everything needs to be doped up.
I never ever take pain medication for myself. I have a terrible head cold right now and DH keeps trying to get me to take something for it. I know it will pass soon. I don’t like medicating unnecessarily.
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Sarah,
Once again, a fabulous post. I have treated my kids’ ear infections with breastmilk, their pink eye with the same and have almost never taken anything for pain. My oldest, at the age of 10, even road 50 miles in a Right to Life Bike-A-Thon and we only knew after he got home that he had been suffering from a fever then entire time.
I appreciate your willingness to call it like it is regarding Mr. Gore as well. Thanks for being to buck the status quo and the talking heads on a number of levels.
Adrienne @ Whole New Mom.com\’s last post: The Best French Press Coffee Maker
When my kids fevers get really high I sometimes wipe them down with a cold washcloth. It seems to bring the fever down some but doesn’t make it go away. By doing that am I doing the same thing as medicating? Does it lessen the fighting power of the fever? Sometimes my daughters gets so high she gets really shaky and kind of out of it and it scares me. So I cool her off with a wash cloth. Would it be better to let that go too?
Great post, by the way!
Christy, cool cloths are fine and also a traditional approach with no downside. The key is to keep the child comfortable while letting Nature take its course unimpeded.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist\’s last post: Got a Fever Skipping the Meds Has ALWAYS Been the Best Policy
Sitting her with an nursing toddler on my lap with a 103 temp and resisting the urge to give her tylenol. Thank you for the wet wash cloth. I want to be able to DO something!
Great post again! I think the medical profession has degenerated into a sales force for the drug industry. All drugs interfere with the natural processes of the body.. Of course, the sicker folks are, the more drugs get sold.
I got a flu that was going around a few months ago, the first time I had been sick in several years. I had taken no drugs of any kind, not even an over the counter med, for about five years. I was delighted to get a fever, for the first time in decades. I got over the flu quickly, without medication or doctors, and it only lasted a couple days. The other people I know who got it were sick for many weeks, after seeing their doctors and getting their prescriptions. Most of them got secondary infections, just like you described, and would up on antibiotics, which killed the good bacteria in their gut, which harms their digestion and immune systems, which means more sickness, more doctors, more drugs. So goes the profit cycle of medicine and the drug industry
I wish we could clone your dad and have him replace most of the greedy, heartless docs we are cursed with today.
Stanley Fishman\’s last post: Eat Fat- Live Long—the Real Food of Okinawa
Right on, Stanley. Didn’t I read somewhere that historically speaking, the entire reason modern medical schools were initially created was to train people how to sell all the new drugs flooding onto the market, and that the two people responsible for this were Mr. Carnegie and Mr. Rockefeller who footed the bill and who stood to profit heavily due to their involvement with the drug manufacturers? And that before that time all doctors relied on natural remedies, time-tested wisdom and common sense?
I read the same thing, Beth. It is true.
Stanley Fishman\’s last post: Eat Fat- Live Long—the Real Food of Okinawa
Me too, Stanley. They don’t make doctors like my Dad anymore. I feel optimistic that this old style type of MD who is slow to medicate and more holistically minded without getting sucked onto the alternative health hamster wheel is making a comeback and will displace the robot doctors of today within a decade or two.
Never treated a fever, never had one that lasted longer than 24 hours. Ever. The kids bounce back SO fast. And my younger one, that’s often his only, or one of his only symptoms (last time it was fever + lack of appetite, and that was “flu” for him). I posted on this last week because so many parents are confused!
Kate @ Modern Alternative Mama\’s last post: Do Vaccines Cause Autism
Hi Sarah,
So glad you wrote about this! I am working on a blog post on this same topic out of frustration to what I see around me. Every time my children get fever all my friends ask me “what did the doctor say?” As if I need to immediately rush to get them on antibiotics. Many parents also see no big deal to just give their kids some tylenol if they get 99/100F “just in case.” And of course those kids end up on antibiotics because they end up with worse symptoms down the line. I don’t see this changing very soon though – most of us are taught to fear fever in our kids and do everything we can to suppress it (are pediatricians still recommending the tylenol/motrin rotation to keep fevers down?).
Lisa @ Real Food Digest\’s last post: Caesar Salad
Wow, I wonder if you have any idea how ridiculously and needlessly offensive your post today is. Al Gore is a brilliant and engaged man who has spent his life in public service. He does not suffer from “egomania” although a person who had accomplished what he has could be forgiven if he did. Also, he never claimed to have “invented the Internet” and you should know better. He claimed, CORRECTLY, that in the Senate he had sponsored the legislation that provided funding for the research and work that DID create the Internet.
I come to you for advice and information about FOOD and MEDICINE, and don’t appreciate the gratuitous jabs at a man we should all admire and respect. I suggest you stick to what you know – you’re very good at that and deserve the respect you get. Should we accuse you of “egomania”?
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Well written Melinda,thank you.
With respect, Melinda, there’s a lot about Al Gore you do not know. Of course, we can say the same about any public person. I can certainly appreciate your admiration for someone who has spent many years in public service. But, I know fine people of solid character who have been harmed by Mr. Gore. Hard working people who have had their lives and businesses destroyed because of unwarranted attacks by Mr. Gore. And I’m not talking about legislative action which helps some at the cost of hurting others. I’m talking about meeting falsely gaining confidence, and then betraying that confidence so he could put on a show for the cameras.
Choose your heroes with eyes open.
Al Gore did not say he invented the internet. He worked hard for the internet to be available for all citizens to be able to use.
But the real question is what, if anything, did Gore actually do to create the modern Internet? According to Vincent Cerf, a senior vice president with MCI Worldcom who’s been called the Father of the Internet, “The Internet would not be where it is in the United States without the strong support given to it and related research areas by the Vice President in his current role and in his earlier role as Senator
http://www.perkel.com/politics/gore/internet.htm
I do agree with this advise and go to a pediatrician who says the same thing. My mom disagrees and says a high fever runs the risk of causing brain damage. I’m not sure where she got that information. I also have a friend whose child had a febrile seizure from a high fever, so she treats even low fevers aggressively.
Febrile Seizures are a way the body uses to reset it’s systems when a normal fever isn’t getting the job done. By stopping the FS’s, she’s creating more of them. They need to happen, they aren’t dangerous. I read this in an article in Kindred magazine-a team of Dr’s tested some willing children and parents to go thru the seizures to see if they caused any harm to the brain. The opposite happened in every case. Some of the children had neurological impairment and had noticeable and continual improvement in their motor skills, speech and cognitive development after each Febrile Seizure. The results were amazing.
This is what I have always done with my family. But I have been confused ever since I read the GAPS book where Natasha Campell says to bring the fever down (even small ones) with aspirin.
Since then I have been so confused and don’t know what to do anymore.
Why do you think she says fevers are to be brought down?
For myself, when I have had fevers in the past, my bodie goes into anxiety mode and triggers and anxiety attack and make me pass out.
SO for me, if I ever have a fever again, I will definitely try the aspirin because I don’t want to end up passing out alone with my kids at home. BUT for the rest of my family, we don’t do anything still and it always had been very short lived.
Hi Natalia, I don’t recall reading this advice in the GAPS book. However, if it is there (perhaps it’s just not in my edition), perhaps it is because GAPS children have such compromised immune systems through their gut imbalance? Just a guess.
You should never give children aspirin. I have not read Dr. Campell’s book or explanation for doing so but it is widely understood that aspirin can cause Reye’s syndrome in children, which is rare but fatal. I would be interested to learn why she would recommend that. Seems like in the face of conflicting information it would be better to do nothing, and let nature run it’s course than possibly cause harm?
could you please tell me where this is in that book? i have considered getting the GAPS book and following the diet. however, if that advice is there, i absolutely won’t be getting it.
The GAPS advice on asprin for treating fever is found on the very last pages of the book. Reading this with interest as I have been wondering the same thing
The thing about Asprin is that it’s patent ran out. It’s kind of like butter
It gets a bad name and it’s association with Reye’s Syndrome is blown way out of proportion to stop people from buying it and to put them toward more harmful drugs such as ibuprofen because these newer drugs yield profits for the drug companies..
However, this is such a minuscule portion of the GAPS book. In fact, it’s totally optional and has nothing to do with the diet itself. So refusing to buy the book due the inclusion of this reccomendation is sort of like chopping off your nose to spite your face. The diet bring amazing, life-changing results! Don’t skip out on it because you disagree with her stance on Asprin
I completely agree with Clark, don’t skip this life-changing book for 1 small piece which you don’t even have to use!!
I also have been cautious about using meds to reduce fevers. I have used them if there is pain or so much distress that my son can’t sleep well–also important for gettng well. Convulsions are a worry but usually occurred if the fever is reduced far too rapidly, such as using cold baths.
My son hasn’t suffered ear infections but once when I brought him into the nurse because he was complaining of pain in his ear. She told me to use a drop of olive oil as is usual advice here in the UK. And she said she could give me antibiotcs. I asked her what would happen if he didn’t have them and she said he will be fine. So why did
she offer drugs??
I don’t feel comfortable with your gore comments but I suppose we should be used to your rudeness by now.
I actually got a fever this WInter as well, but treated it by taking echinacea tea twice a day until the fever was gone. It was gone within two days. So is it interfering with natural processes to use a natural remedy to bring down a fever?
Its amazing how brainwashed people are by the medical establishment to treat every ill with a drug. Its the same flawed reasoning that believes “only a chemical can cure,” which is absurd. We need to quit living in fear of infectious disease.
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When I see a right-wing meme so gratuitously used like this, I have to speak up. Repeating something often enough does not make it true. Check your facts. Gore never said he invented the Internet but that he was instrumental as a policy maker in ensuring its development. Ironically, your blog would have been impossible without the role he played.
So very true!
For all interested, here is a link that shows Al Gore’s quote:
http://www.snopes.com/quotes/internet.asp
It says that “I took the initiative in creating the internet.” Yes, he clarified that in the next sentence, and yes he did a lot to move it forward. But the guffaw still stands. Sarah did not say that Gore said that he invented the internet. She said that he has a very big ego problem. So let’s not compound the situation by quoting Sarah incorrectly.
Adrienne @ Whole New Mom.com\’s last post: Foster Care by Christians in Dispute in UK
Sarah said exactly this: “In similar amusing fashion to the former Vice President’s claim that he invented the Internet”
I don’t think Sarah is being misquoted.
My 20 month old son has only had one fever. It began when he was sleeping over at his grandparents, my in-laws, house. At midnight I got a frantic call from my mother-in-law because he was “burning up” and she had no baby thermometers or baby medicine. I talked her out of going to the drug store and instead went and picked my child up. As soon as I got there I stripped him down to his diaper to make him more comfortable. Then we drove home where we spent the night alternating between tepid baths and nursing (he was still exclusively nursing). By noon the next day his fever broke. Judging by his diapers the next couple of days I’d say he was reacting to something he ate.
My mother-in-law was shocked that I didn’t give him medicine or call the doctor. I didn’t need to. I remember clearly my pediatrician, a man so healthy he was still at the top of his game in his late 80s and a firm believer in true health, saying not to give medicine for fevers under 104. I remember clearly the baths, broth and running around nearly naked that were my medicine growing up. My mother-in-law was also shocked by how quickly he recovered. As a kindergarten teacher she is surrounded by sick kids and mainstream medicine. A 12 hour bug doesn’t exist in her daily life. Needless to say the one time he had the sniffles, while everyone else was incapacitated with the flu, we didn’t take him to the doctor as she suggested. Two days and the sniffles disappeared without ever bothering the little guy.
If only my pediatrician hadn’t been killed by a drunk driver. He’d probably still be alive and dispensing great advice at the age of 105. They make very few great country doctors these days.
The body is an amazing machine that is built to survive. It’s amazing what it’s capable of when you allow it to do it’s function and not upset it with toxins and chemicals.
I agree with you 100%! I do have a question though…in the past, whenever my children had been ill, I would give acetaminophen if they seemed terribly uncomfortable. Not necessarily to lower the temp. (My reasoning is, that I would take it myself if I felt the way they seemed to feel). Anyway…maybe this is a topic for another post, but what kind of natural remedies could you use alternatively to help them feel more comfortable?
Hi Becky, if you click the first source listed above in this post, it is an article for Wise Traditions Journal on a talk I gave on Traditional Childhood Remedies which covers this pretty well. Hope that helps.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist\’s last post: Got a Fever Skipping the Meds Has ALWAYS Been the Best Policy
Sarah, did you write that excellent article? I don’t believe it credits you. It just lists the webmaster Jill.
Hi Beth, you mean the article on Traditional Remedies for Childhood Illness that I sourced? It is actually a transcript of a talk I gave at the Wise Traditions Conference 2007 so yes, I guess in a way I “wrote” it!
Yes, that article. Perhaps they could be asked to credit it?
That’s probably a good idea. I will email Jill and ask her to add that.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist\’s last post: Got a Fever Skipping the Meds Has ALWAYS Been the Best Policy
I’ve always hated taking medicine. I think when I was little, the doctors told my folks to just strip us down to diapers if we had a fever. I’ve used cool cloths for my kids and tepid baths. I guess I always figured, the body does things for a reason, why inhibit the natural process? I’ve used less and less medicine as the kids get older and I learned more, and they have had fewer and shorter illnesses. Of course I have added in FCLO and raw milk and probiotics. The other thing to consider about those rotten kids’ medicines is that they are full of artificial colors, flavors and sugars, corn syrup or sugar substitutes as the case may be. Those ingredients do much more harm than good to my eldest. I’ve been trying to fill in my natural first aid options in case something comes up that truly needs treating.
hey Sarah…… just curious I note your kids go to school but you do not vaccinate is it not a requirement at their schools or in your area?
Most states have either a religious or philosophical exemption form as a way to opt out of vaccines and still have children attend school. My state is no exception.
wow that seems to put a lot of kids in danger.
Vaccinated children are not put in danger by unvaccinated children. Conversely, unvaccinated children aren’t put in danger by vaccinated children!! Vaccinated children don’t carry diseases, and neither do unvaccinated children!
absolutely they do. herd immunity should be reserved for those kids who can’t get the vaccines do to medical reasons
There is alot to learn about vaccines, before deciding they are so beneficial and risk free.
The truth is not sponsored for dissemination by the major media or your local md.
http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/vaccines.htm
Barb, herd immunity is a myth as used by vaccine manufacturers. It ONLY applies in unvaccinated populations that develop resistance to a virus naturally. I posted a blog about this very topic awhile back:
http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/2010/01/if-you-are-in-support-of-vaccinations/
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist\’s last post: Got a Fever Skipping the Meds Has ALWAYS Been the Best Policy
But if they are vaccinated Barb then why you worried?
What great timing! Just last week my kids dealt with a fever bug. For my 9 month old, I panicked, and gave him the usual rounds of ibuprofen and acetaminophen. For my almost 6 year old, I did nothing. The 9 month old was sick with high fevers for about 4 days, then low fevers for another 2 or 3 days. The 6 year old was fine in 2 days. Originally, I figured the difference was due to the age difference; but, after a visit to the ped., it turns out I should have left the fever alone in my 9 month old, as well…this according to the ped. He said the medicine is good for making people feel better, but not to be afraid of high fevers…they don’t really cause brain damage…that’s a myth. If I had let the bug run its course, my 9 month old would not have suffered so many extra days. Challenge for next time….Do I medicate and make the baby feel better, but cause the sickness to last much longer, or do I resist and watch him suffer, knowing it will pass quickly?
You really need to check your facts, Sarah. If you are not accurate in what you write about political issues, how can your readers trust you with the health advice you provide???? I would suggest you keep your TEA party views to yourself and keep your blog bi-partisan.
Hi Sara, I happen to be an Independent.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist\’s last post: Got a Fever Skipping the Meds Has ALWAYS Been the Best Policy
Thanks for clarifying. I still believe you need to check your facts before posting something as ridiculous as the Gore comment, though. It really makes you lose credibility with a lot of people (me included, and I have been a reader of yours for 9 months). Like I asked above, if we can’t trust you to check your facts on political issues, how can we trust you to provide good, sound advice on health and eating habits?
Wait, wait, wait.
Your telling her to get her facts straight and you distrust her advice because of it. Then you do not get the facts yourself, incorrectly label her a tea party member and sweep it under the rug? Oh. the. irony.
Furthermore, I take advice from people of all different political views. Some think Al Gore is a nut. Some think he is a hero. I don’t let it judge their wisdom on heatlh. As it has nothing to do with it. Just a suggestion.
Also, just because this is obvious & needs to be pointed out….her blog, her house. You don’t have to like it but tossing a fit on the floor telling people how to act in their own house is a bit full of oneself. Ever heard of just applying what you feel is worthy and moving right along?
Michele, I suggest you take your own advice. Who is throwing the fit on the floor here?
We’d all probably be friends if we met at a party or something, right? We can just give each other the benefit of the doubt. We’ve got much bigger fish to fry with GM foods and our friendly FDA breathing down our necks at our every move in the local food movement.
Sarah, I posted this on facebook and had a friend say that her daughter suffered a seizure at a temp of 104. Do you know what actually causes a seizure to happen? Are there other factors at play besides a high temp?
Hi Christy, yes a child who runs low on blood glucose will have a seizure. A high fever revs up metabolism big time which is why this happens. Having the child sip on diluted fruit juice (50/50) every few minutes keeps this problem at bay if the child has a predisposition for this.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist\’s last post: Got a Fever Skipping the Meds Has ALWAYS Been the Best Policy
That sounds like an important detail! I’ve never seen that pointed out before, thanks for this.
Great post! That’s what we do all the time too
I never give her meds, just stuff to strengthen the immune system (vitamin D & C, echinacea, garlic). I feel so bad for the moms and babies who are told otherwise, and the kids are made to suffer for extended periods only to make it worse with infections later!
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Great post Sarah. I learned from my parents and grandparents to let a fever do it’s job. 17 years ago when my son was very young my mother kept telling me how bad it was to give medication for fevers. I let the fever to it’s job, but if the fever is getting dangerously high I may add an essential oil compress/sponge bath.
Jo at Jo’s Health Corner\’s last post: The Paleo Diet- Why Eat Like A Hunter-Gatherer
Definitely agree that modern doctors are glorified pharmacists. It’s an issue of control too. Maybe people think that if they make the body behave like it’s healthy (remove symptoms) then it really is healthy.
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Cassandra, I think you are really on to something there. I have talked to a number of folks who think that once you bring the fever down with meds the child is no longer contagious even! As if removing the symptoms makes the whole thing go away.
We try not to treat fevers, but recently my daughter was fighting something that had her fever rising up and up and up. She was at 103 to 104 for a day and a half and then she hit 105.7. We treated it. Do you have an upper limit? Or would you even leave 105.7 or 106 alone?
I’m asking because I got varying advice at the time. We were trying NOT to treat or at least minimally treat and I got three different answers from three different doctors. And, I got an e-mail from someone with an article that advised against treating fevers, but the highest fever mentioned was 104.
Sarah\’s last post: Too Gorgeous to be in the Kitchen Brian says- “That would be me!”
anything over 104 you run a huge risk of the child seizing. I think risks outweigh any benefits of not treated once a fever has gotten this high. why let your child have that risk or watch him/ her suffer??
Hi Sarah, once you get in the 105F range, it is up to the parent’s level of comfort in dealing with the fever and knowing the status of their child’s health whether or not to treat. I personally would not, but I feel comfortable handling high fevers but others may not feel the same way. The key to prevent a seizure is to keep the child from running out of blood glucose which is the cause of a fever induced seizure. This is because the metabolism in a high fever is racing so fast that the child runs out of fuel to maintain it. If the child is too sleepy to take diluted fruit juice by mouth due to the high fever, you can inject the diluted fruit juice rectally with a bulb nasal aspirator and achieve the same effect as swallowing it.
But for how long? Penelope is still running a temp of 103/104. So we are going on 48 hours at midnight tonight. It broke this morning and was 100 till after nap time and now its back up to 103/104.
She is hardly eating/drinking but getting enough to keep her blood glucose up.
She doesn’t want a wet washcloth coming near her…so tepid bath is my next move??
Thanks so much.
Healthy Mama, Healthy Baby\’s last post: This Moment- Discovering the Beach
As a former nurse who is transitioning to a nourishing/natural lifestyle, I can attest to the fact that besides the fact that docs are courted by the drug reps, they also just want to shut their patients up and do whatever will do that fastest and easiest. Its so rare to find a doctor nowadays who actually LISTENS to their patient.
Great post Sarah!!
Amen! I’m sharing this post!
It is so frustrating to hear my friends say that they “had” to give their kid tylenol for a fever as low as 99 degrees!! And you are so right about cutting the fever off leading to a longer battle with the illness. If my kids get fevers, they only usually last for a few hours, and then the illness is usually over within a day or so.
I try to drop seeds about not stopping the fever, but I think most people think I’m crazy. I love that you point out that this is not a new idea!
Now if everyone could channel that defensive Al Gore energy into telling their doctors to check their facts, well, we might turn Western Medicine on its head!
After all, this is a blog and it is supposed to be opinionated. Keep things in perspective.
Sofia
To add to the Al Gore troll posts above, I read the article to which you refer, and they don’t seem to be proclaiming that their approach is in any way “novel” or special. It’s possible that you read someone’s write-up on the article, and that write facetiously declared how novel the idea is.
I would just say that you may have pulled more readers into the article and brought attention to it more effectively, but it’s a misrepresentation of not only Al Gore, but the medical journal and the article’s authors as well.
Given the information they’re pushing is actually good, healthy information, as opposed to justification to use new chemical x to cure your child’s ailments, I just with it was as easy to interest people in a blog post that didn’t use hyperbole.
I’m glad I got the information by means of my own research, however. Maybe include links to the actual information next time. Which, by the way, is here.
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/127/3/580?maxtoshow=&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=fever&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&volume=127&issue=3&resourcetype=HWCIT
Egads, how many spelling errors do I have to launch out into the internet before I learn to proofread myself.
Some of the replies to this post gave me a chuckle. As long as the person posting agrees with your particular views, all’s right, but…let them express a view different from your’s and the tantrum’s produced are laughable. Learn to be tolerable, take the advice you want, and let other folks have their own opinions! As for the advice of this particular post, I learned in nursing school, 31 years ago, that fevers didn’t need to be “treated”, but that doctors would be prescribing medication to treat them anyway.
Sarah,
I too do not treat fevers. But how did you treat the headache? Got a kid with both here.
Thanks.
Hi Nora, a cold pack on the head and a head massage work wonders!
If the child is very uncomfortable, I will sometimes give a diluted cup of green tea. If a child rarely consumes any caffeine, a very small amount is typically enough to dilate the blood vessels and bring relief.
Another method that really works is to sit on the side of the tub and put the child’s feet in a hot bath (as hot as he can stand). This draws the blood away from the head as the feet heat up and relieves the headache!
Thanks for the interesting post Sarah. I thought I was doing good with homemade and natural remedies with my sick 20 month old, but this is revealing. I’m beginning to think if I just do everything the opposite of what I used to think about a year ago I’ll be making the best decisions : ) I’m so glad to now be part of such a healthy and natural oriented community.
http://realfooddudes.blogspot.com
Regis
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Great post
Very helpful for kiddos AND adults. Since I work with a lot of clients who have compromised immune systems, many times they have a difficult time achieving a fever. To compound the issue many (so many) people have low body temperatures (thyroid issues, damaged metabolism or HPT/PT feedback loop) and a “fever” is actually like 99 degrees. I had this very same issue and as I began to get better and my immune system was repairing and getting stronger, it could rally to fight an infection. However, it wouldn’t ever go very high, surely not high enough to actually kill off the infection. So, one time I was sick and had a teeny fever, I started chewing ionized calcium supplements (one of the benefits of being a nutritional therapist- I have lots of neat stuff lying around to try out, lol) because calcium will feed a fever. (As the body uses up a lot of calcium during a fever episode and by supplying additional calcium you will be able to give the good guys more strength) Sure enough, my fever shot up to a solid 101.5, stayed there ovenight and by the next day the virus that was “supposed” to last a week was gone. Calcium won’t “cause” a fever, of course, but it will help your body get there if it needs to.
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GREAT point, Amy. I remember back when I was eating junk, I rarely ran a fever higher than 99 or so. I now can run a beauty right up to 104F on occasion and it is really a wonderful thing. A nice high fever is a sign of vitality, not weakness and folks should be pleased when they can run a good solid fever. I had a knee infection a couple of years ago (a cyst burst under my kneecap) and I had a terrible infection in the knee for 2 weeks. I ran a fever of 104-105 for DAYS on end. I was not delirious in the slightest. I got through it and my doc couldn’t believe I was lucid with a fever that high as an adult (evidently running a fever that high as an adult is unusual). BUT, I know that this fever saved me from having to go to the hospital for IV antibiotics. I recovered at home with no problem and I know it was this very prolonged, high fever that saved me from an awful few days at the hospital.
Oh, and I should say the doc told me to bring the fever down, and I would not. If I had, I would’ve ended up in the ER, no doubt, the infection was that bad.
Hi, Sarah,
I generally agree with this post with a few notable exceptions:
1. Neonates – fever in a neonate could be indicative of meningitis or sepsis. It should ALWAYS be evaluated less than 6-8wks (and some will say less than 12wks).
2. Recurrent fevers or fevers lasting more than 5-7days. Either one could be a sign of something more severe. . . although there are many examples, one is a UTI. It may not sound like that big a deal, but a UTI can be an indicator of underlying renal and/or bladder anomalies which can cause lots of problems down the line.
I’m with you on the holistic aspects of treatment, but I think there are some things that modern medicine should get involved in.
Sarah, I’m always learning more from you. Sometimes I’m still a bit stuck in my “conventional” ways, and posts like this help me inch further and further away from that. When my kids get a fever again (can’t remember the last time though!), I’ll be sure to remember all the great tips here.
Thanks!
Kelly
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I am so glad you are out there with a voice and not afraid to speak! Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us all. My son just got over a case of rsv. I didn’t treat his fever because it stayed under 103. But I did take him in after the 4th day because he had a fever for so long. The doc asked if I had been giving him ibuprofen or tylenol and I asked him why- it is his body’s natural immune response. He looked at me like I was from Mars and said that “there is no proof that bringing down a fever will change the outcome of the illness”- hmmmm. But to give the doc credit he ran a test and it came back rsv and he said to just let it run its course. But I did wonder what they are teaching in medical school or not teaching!
If my young children get a rather high fever I will sometimes give a homeopathic remedy specific to their symptoms. The Belladonna remedy is the one that usually works for them, and rather quickly brings them back from the “edge” and doesn’t seem to impede their recovery.
totally agree with the fever thing, but not so much on what you think and write on Mr Al Gore. it was not necessarry Mr Al Gore in this discussion.
Sarah, Thanks so much for this post! I can attest to the truth of this as well in many ways. My children are almost never sick, but for a period of time when we were unable to get our raw milk they each had several colds. At one point they had low grade fevers and I did nothing, but my youngest (probably about 13 mo at the time) was absolutely miserable and couldn’t sleep so I gave in and let him have a half dose of motrin. Boy am I sorry I did! He was sick for 2 weeks! the others were over it in 2 days.
Also, when my first was just a few months old and breastfeeding, he got a bad cold (he had been vaccinated–my others are not) and I brought him to the doctor when his chest sounded rattly just to be sure it wasn’t bronchitis (it wasn’t). They gave me a prescription. Being young and ignorant I filled it. A few more weeks went by he still wasn’t well so I took him in just to be sure he was still ok. Another prescription. Few more weeks and he still wasn’t well. The doc said she would give me this other stronger med. I filled it, but when I read the warnings and side effects I was horrified and threw it away. he was better shortly thereafter. Each time i specified that I just wanted to make sure the illness wasn’t escalating. I wish I new then what I know now!!
As a Doctor of Natural Medicine. I wholly applaud your capacity to stand the “heat.” I also appreciate your Dad’s view on the same. The fever function also allows for the integration of the immune function, “code for sense of self” and the babe will often have a growth spurt on the level of fine or gross motor skills after the heat subsides naturally, or with homeopathics. I heard back, just last week, from a Mom with your level of knowledge whose babe began to walk and speak for the first time, a monumental leap in her development, after a good spikey fever. Harris Coulter has linked suppression of fevers to cancer, heart disease, deviant behavior and crime.
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Love this article (on all points
)
I regret it.
I have come a long way in learning about fevers. My oldest got tylenol for every spike in temperature and every toothache or pain
Then a couple of years ago we all came down with the Flu Type A (didn’t know that was it at the time though). My middle child (four years old at the time) has a normal body temperature that runs a little higher than most and she is very hot natured also. Well, her fever spiked up to 107.4 in the middle of the night, and I was treating with Tylenol at that point. I freaked and rushed her to the ER, even though she was sleeping peacefully, not tossing or turning, and no worries of dehydration. By the time we got to the ER her temp had dropped a degree or two, and the nurses told me that it is very normal for a child’s temperature to go that high briefly when fighting the flu or other illnesses, and that as long as she was well hydrated and not having difficulty breathing or acting lethargic..and her pupils were normal that I shouldn’t worry. Then they gave her a dose of Ibuprofen, and a popsicle, kept us there for about five hours while they tested for flu – which came positive. Told me they don’t give Tamiflu once a fever hits because it is useless, and sent us home with a hefty bill to pay. That was it. (we don’t vaccinate either fyi…and the 2010 flu vaccine is actually illegal in many countries, such as Australia)…Anyway, it was a learning experience. I came home read up about fevers, and no longer freak out when my middle child spikes a high temperature because now I know it is her “normal” defense, whereas my other two have highest temps around 104 tops, hers can go up to 107 then it stops and drops back down when it hits that plateau. Apparently her body needs that little boost in temperature to increase the white blood cell efficacy – and she also tends to get well faster than anyone else in our home too (go figure!).
Thank you for the aritcle
I also didn’t mention – you commented about fever being a sign of vitality – I believe that! My middle child (high fever one) is FULL of boundless ENERGY, she wears me out literally. She rarely ever is tired, and she has the strength of a potential olympic gymnast. I am glad that I have learned each child is very different and while my son frets and whines with a temperature of 101, she still wants to run and play with a temperature upwards of 104….it still amazes me, but it just goest to show how truly unique God has created each person to be.
thanks for that. i am here with a 104 temp baby and freaking out!! i wish this would be over soon!
and yes, i read somewhere about the vitality thing on a homeopathic link i read. so very interesting. my daughter is 16 months and is so full of energy.
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Great post. You’re such a good doctor mom. I think too often we want to get rid of the symptoms of illness as fast as possible. It’s so important to remember that we are meant to live in a world with viruses and bacteria. We are meant to get sick. A 24 – 48 hour cold/ flu once or twice a year is normal and necessary to keep us all strong and healthy. It’s hard when your a mom and your kid is sick, but all those symptoms, the fever, the snot, the coughing are the ‘medicine’ themselves. They are cleaning out the body. The most helpful thing we can do is to support these eliminating processes.
Well said, Kristin. Our culture is so “action oriented” and when it comes to illness in our children, this tendency to overreact and want to “do something” can actually harm our children in the long run. Being patient with them and realizing and being confident in the knowledge that they are strong and can handle it is something that we need to learn for their benefit as well as our own. Most of the time, when it comes to fevers. just keeping them comfortable and nourished with broth and possibly some diluted fruit juice (if the fever is quite high) is all that needs to be done.
How ironic. I just now go around to reading this post. It has been sitting in my email inbox until now, because my son has been sick with the flu and I never got around to reading it. I wish I would have read this earlier! We kept his fever down with ibuprophen, but it lasted and entire week! Now he has a terrible cough to go with it and I was afraid we would have to take him in for pneumonia! Next time I’ll know not to give him anything. It’s just scary when their fevers are at 105 and you feel so helpless.
Also, how do you treat sore throats? I have a horrendous one right now that kept me awake last night. Any suggestions??
Hi Sarah, a copule of weeks ago my son who is a 2,5 breastfeed toddler started with fever. He had 103F and we didn’t give him any medicine. We just put some smashed potatoes on his head and then smashed tofu to protect his head. He spend like that 24 hours and de fever continued. I called our pediatrician and he, who always says to me that fever is good, told me that a fever that is 103-104 for that long is no good and it deteriorates a little child. He told me to give ibuprofen. I had to agree with him. My instinct told me that my son was exhausted, he barely talked (and he normally talks a lot) and he didn’t want to play. So I gave him one dosis of ibuprofen and the fever droped and next day he was normal, without any other symptom. We had a bad argument with my husband because he didnt want to gave him medicine. But Sarah, my instict told me that my son was too exhausted.
I worked as an ER nurse for a short time after nursing school (2000), and while we medicated for just about every fever that walked through the door, I was in the let the fever burn out the sickness camp. I always made a point to tell parents that fever was good for getting rid of he illness, and not to medicate unless it got to a certain temp (of which I can’t even remember anymore). Now I’m just a stay at home mom to five.
When I had children of my own. My firstborn had a febrile seizure at the age of 13 months when he spiked from a low grade temp of about 100 to 103. He was exclusively breastfed and was still nursing a lot, but had been fully vaccinate up to that point. It was terrifying, and when my husband handed me the baby I actually started respiratory breaths on him because he was blue. My typical nurse advice to other parents wouldn’t have stopped our experience, because (in my experience) the spike in temp is what causes the fever. My son’s thermostat (if you will) can’t tolerate more than 103, and he doesn’t creap slowly, it spikes up quick. Usually the seizure occurs before we even realize the temp has gone up. As he got older we discovered he had some developmental delays and was later diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum (AS) disorder. Often AS children are more neurologically sensitive. I began controlling his fevers after that. When he was 5 years old I believed he should have “grown” out of febrile seizures, and stopped medicating him for them. Well, at 6 years of age, he had another febile seizure when he hit the 103 mark. So he gets tylenol or motrin (whatever it takes) when he’s ill. He doesn’t get sick too often though.
Our second child, always did just fine with the let the fever do it’s job approach. She developed normally and so I decided that most kids were fine with this approach and some might not be.
When our third child was 2 years old, she spiked a 105 fever while resting, and had a seizure. Again, it was very sudden and it seemed it was the spiking (quick rise) that had caused her to seize, because she had been tolerating the lower grade fever she had earlier without any neurological evens. This child is very smart and witty, but she has some speech issues. So I treat her if she’s starts pushing too high (probably 102 or more).
Later, my mother developed epilepsy in her 50′s, and had a statis epilepticus episode that put her in the ICU on a ventilator (from the drugs they gave her to stop the seizures). Status Epilepticus, a seizure or seires of seizures that will not stop, is very dangerous and can kill you. And it seemed to me that she did have some new deficites after she was discharged.
Basically, I’m no longer sure what’s the best advice anymore. I know that fevers are normal immune response and they have an important role in ridding the body of the illness. However, I no longer believe that seizures are so benign. At least they don’t seem to be so benign in my family.
So with my 4th and 5th children I’m waiting to see. Thankfully, they’ve been really healthy and I’ve not been faced with fever much. But I find I’m in the treat with least strength necessary to prevent temperature spikes. I don’t want to get rid of the fever, but I want to prevent high spikes.
I’d really appreciate more info on febrile seizure prevention! I’ll keep the sugars suggestion in mind next time we’ve got a sick one in the house. I wonder if depleted sugars could have been the issue, it’s hard to know so long in retrospect. I always work hard to keep them hydrated. I just wish I could now for sure the right thing to do.
I think you all have had too high a fever that has completely restricted your brain functioning! 107.4? I’m sure your poor childs brain is not at her max anymore.
I appreciate the advice on food and health, but you’ve got your facts wrong on Al Gore. He never claimed to have invented the Internet, which was of course a group effort, starting with the Darpanet of the U.S. military. He did champion the Internet’s spread with legislation that increased funding for early development. This was all documented years ago. Whether Mr Gore is an honorable person personally, I cannot say, but that issue is probably best left to a political blog that can go in depth on the relevant evidence.
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