The body is making the fever for a reason. It is the body's normal and healthy reaction to infection, minor or serious- usually minor. Fevers help the body fight infection. Fever is a symptom, not a disease. The high temperature kills the invading bugs and encourages the immune system. It may be scary when your child's temperature goes up, but it is not often harmful.

The temperature of fever may not indicate how serious the illness is. With a cold, a child may have a temperature of 104 F, whereas a very serious infection may not cause a fever or may cause only a mild fever.

A child has a fever when the temperature is 100.4 F or higher, measured rectally. (Rectal temperatures are the most accurate for checking a fever in a young child. Rectal temperatures read about 1° F higher than oral temperatures.)

Children tend to have higher fevers than adults. A fever in a healthy child is usually not dangerous, if the child has no other serious symptoms and the fever goes away in 3 to 4 days.

The popular belief that fever damages the brain is not correct, according to modern scientific opinion.Except under very unusual circumstances, the body will not cook itself to the point of injury. The body caps a fever from infection from rising above 106 F.

However, a fever can cause damage when it reaches 106° F, and continues.When a fever gets above 104° F, natural practitioners use these methods:

drink lots of water

cold, wet compresses

cool or tepid enemas

sponge bath with water, alcohol or cider vinegar

no eating

Vitamin C - 1 gram every 1-2 hours

Herb teas for fever include yarrow, catnip, borage, and elder flower.

Homeopathic Fever Remedies