The Fever Is Your Friend; Other Ways To Overcome Sickness Naturally

Last week some of us were getting over some sore throats, dripping noses, aching bodies and fevers. First it started with Naomi on Tuesday morning. She woke up with clear, watery dripping nose with a slight fever. I thought maybe her molars were finishing up their work, but kept an eye on her. As the day moved along…she started looking tired and out of it. Her fever climbed and she was not very hungry or thirsty. I knew she was sick. So I started looking through my homeopathy books (Homeopathic Medicine At Home & Everybody’s Guide to Homeopathic Medicines) to find the best remedy that closely matches Naomi’s symptoms. I found that Naomi needed Gelsemium and sent Jon to the homeopathy clinic that was just down the street from us. I started giving her two tabs every hour. She felt better outside in the warm breeze and asked for some sunny-side up eggs. Her fever climbed again to 103 when she went to bed around 6ish. I wasn’t worried because I knew the fever would break sometime through the night and it did! She was over it in less then 24 hours… praise the Lord!

I know most parents panic when their child has a fever. Rule number one: don’t try to lower the fever, and DO NOT use Tylenol or ibuprofen. It would be most wise if you just threw these drugs away. Instead of panicking (then it will cause your child to panic), honor your child’s fever… it is accomplishing important things in the body. Bringing down a fever will only prolong the illness and weakened your child’s vitality for the next illness to come. Repeated forced reduction of childhood fever has been linked to childhood cancer. And eliminating fever will usually cause a secondary infection. When you bring down a fever you start a domino effect toward antibiotic use. If you want to avoid antibiotics, don’t bring down the fever. Fever reduction suppresses the immune system. Your child is trying to get well with the fever and when you bring it down you are opening him/her to a secondary bacterial infection that will further entrench the virus or bacteria. It cannot be stressed enough that fever has an important role to play in your child’s overall wellbeing. (Wise Traditions Vol. 8 Num. 4)

In years past, parents were led to believe that temperatures above 104 degrees would cause brain damage or seizure disorders. This is totally false. Fever is a self-limiting condition. In other words, the body has an internal mechanism which prevents the temperature from going above 106 degrees. The only exceptions to this are in the case of poisoning or encephalitis, which disrupt the body’s thermal control mechanism. In these cases, if the fever goes above 106, the fever itself is not going to do any damage, but it is a signal that there is a serious problem which should be further explored. If the fever is below 106 degrees, the body is simply fighting infection in its normal manner. Even when the fever rises, this does NOT mean that the disease is getting worse. You cannot judge the severity of a disease by the height of the fever.

The parents’ first instinct is to want to relieve their child’s discomfort and reduce the fever. To this end, they will usually administer fever reducers. However, these drugs can disrupt the healing process. Aspirin, acetaminophen and other anti-inflammatory drugs decrease the amount of prostaglandins available to enable the immune system. The same prostaglandins which enable your immune system to fight infection are the ones that cause you to feel pain and discomfort. So in the effort to reduce pain, one also inhibits the immune system from fully functioning. (Fever Is Your Friend)

So, by Thursday the cold passed along to Tabitha, dad and me (thankfully, Jon and my mom didn’t get it). We had a mild case and thankfully we got over it quickly. Tabi was also teething, I felt so bad for her. Her gums were red and swollen, but it helped when I put homeopathy teething gel on the sore gums.

So, what did we do to help the sickness to pass quickly through our bodies?

The number one and most important is our diet. We’ve chosen to stay away from white sugar, white flour, processed foods and junk. If we feed our bodies clean, healthy and whole foods, then our bodies are better equipped to fight off sickness and disease. We also eat lots of lacto-fermented foods, kefir (both naturally loaded with probiotic… will write a post about that next), clean meats and raw salads. Processed food overloads the body with toxics, which makes the body sluggish and unable to function properly… which makes it more vulnerable to germs and difficult to overcome the sickness quickly.

Here’s a list of stuff we took to help our bodies to fight the germs from different angles and aid the fever. We did NOT take anything to suppress the fever or cover up the symptoms. It would be like turning off the “check engine” light off without bothering to look at what’s wrong with the car.

• Probiotics
-70% of your immune system is in your gut. You can get probiotics at your health food store, but we like to simply eat a fork-full of lacto-fermented food (kraut, ginger carrot, etc.) throughout the day.
• Coconut oil
-It has anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-parasite properties. It also boosts the immune system. We like to mix a little raw honey and eat it straight off the spoon.
• Raw honey
-Not pasteurized or filtered and taken directly out of the hive, raw honey has so many benefits and nutritional qualities. I use it because of its anti-bacterial properties, natural source of anitbiotics and ability to boost energy naturally. But there is much more you can do with raw honey.
• Raw garlic
-Great source of anti-viral properties. Crush the garlic, put a little honey on it (helps with the burn) and swallow it with water. Also, you can crush garlic, put a little oil on the soles of your feet and wrap the garlic on, great for wet coughs. You will get garlic breath in a few minutes.
• Echinacea tea w/ ginger
-You can take the pill form, but I enjoy the tea because it is soothing for my throat. I had a special immune system tea blend (Yoga brand) and made an extra strong brew with ginger and honey. Naomi loved it.
• Cod Liver Oil
-Natural source of Vitamin A and D. Fever depletes Vitamin A and Vitamin D has been proven to boost the immune system. We love the Garden of Life Cod Liver Oil (Lemon Mint flavored) in liquid form (less expensive). The lemon is to cover the taste and mint to help prevent that “fishy burp”.
• Vitamin C
-We all know the benefits of Vitamin C. I really like New Chapter’s Vitamin C because it is naturally fermented and made with whole food ingredients.
• Daily Multivitamin
-We like the Rainbow Light brand. Made from whole food ingredients and cost less then New Chapter brand (our other favorite kind).
• Ginger and Cinnamon
-They both have immune-boosting power.
• Colloidal Silver
-A daily dose should kill any pathogenic microorganisms. A teaspoon under the tongue and/or drops into ears few times a day will be sufficient.
•Homeopathy
-We found a remedy that closely matches the symptoms for each person. Every person’s body reacts differently to the same sickness. Naomi took Gelsemium, I took Belladonna and Tabi took a special infant combination for colds.
• Sunlight
-Excellent source of Vitamin D. It is good to get your “sun time” everyday for at least 30 minutes, especially when you are sick. If you don’t have sun, then taking cod liver oil will supply your need for Vitamin D (especially during the winters or raining season when you don’t get out much).

There are many other alternative products that we have used over the years with great success… essential oils, herbal remedies and acupressure. Every bout of sickness is different. Here’s a great book that I highly recommend, Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child (there’s also an adult version too). It covers everything from conventional to alternative medicine and diet. This book is a MUST HAVE for every family who wants to stay away from the doctor’s office and the expensive costs. Of course, there are some things I don’t agree with and do some things differently, but all in all… it is a great book to have in your bookcase.

Overall, you CAN overcome sickness naturally and stay away from the doctor. We’ve been doing that for almost 3 years. No antibiotics and no drugs.

Your body will thank you.

Books I use and recommend:
How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor
Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child
Smart Medicine for Healthier Living
Homeopathic Medicine At Home
Everybody’s Guide to Homeopathic Medicines