Feeling under the weather? Don’t reduce your fever with pills.
Our superstar editor, Stephanie, had a fever from the flu the other night while outside her window sat 18 inches of Maryland snow. Her remedy? Baths and sleep.
The simplicity of her approach and my realization that I haven’t had a fever in a long, long time got me wondering and researching what causes fevers and how to naturally respond to them. I always want to be prepared in case one should arise.
Fevers are a symptom of an underlying condition. Far from being dangerous, they can actually be beneficial. From Wellnessmama.com:
Fever is a natural response to infection or illness. Many illnesses thrive at normal body temperature, and a fever (even a high one) is a good indication that the immune system is functioning to ward off the infection. In fact, a fever is a good sign as it means that the body is responding to fight the infection, and in most cases it is part of a natural bodily response that should be allowed to continue.
If we get sick due to a bacterial or viral infection, we want our body to produce a fever. Knocking it out too early with medications could prolong the illness.
In fact, new studies suggest that there’s another concern with taking medication to reduce fevers. From USA Today:
…those who take anti-fever medications release more influenza virus into the environment than people who forgo drugs. The impact isn’t negligible. Use of anti-fever drugs, technically known as anti-pyretics, raises the number of flu cases by roughly 5% a year, translating to more than 1,000 additional deaths in the USA annually for a garden-variety flu strain
That being said, a fever combined with the other symptoms of an infection can be uncomfortable and unpleasant. I’m constantly looking for natural remedies to replace over the counter medicine. I’ve posted about anti-inflammatory foods in lieu of Advil, for example. There are some options to help promote faster recovery.
The first one is fairly obvious.
“Let’s get the liquids in because if we are running a fever, typically we are dehydrating our body,” says Dr. Jeanne Galloway, N.D.
Stephanie had been downing fluids in the form of mostly water and the occasional tea and was STILL dehydrated! I asked her about her experience with this and her food intake.
“Consuming a bunch of water didn’t do much for the fever itself, but it helped minimize some of the misery it carried with it,” she told me. “I didn’t have much of an appetite. Since I wasn’t eating much, I wanted to make sure that whatever I did eat had plenty of nutrition. My go-to is homemade chicken broth with salt and garlic.”
She was certainly on the right track.
From various sources, I found the following suggestions.
- Probiotics – foods like yogurt, kefir, fermented cabbage and kombucha tea.
- Lots of bone broth and homemade soups to nourish and provide nutrients that aid in healing.
- Coconut oil mixed in to food for its antibacterial and antiviral properties.
It turns out Stephanie was right on with the baths, but Dr. Galloway suggests a tepid bath rather than a hot or cold one. Adding a little lavender essential oil adds a cooling effect.
“Sometimes being sick is about tradeoffs,” Stephanie mentioned. “For me, a hot bath helped with the muscle aches, even if a tepid one might have worked better to bring the fever down.”
Even though our fevers serve a purpose, and the likelihood of it needing to run its course is high, I’m a fan of action. We should at least make an attempt to feel better and do so naturally. Applying effort and acquiring the experience of the attempt builds confidence, after all.
Everyone’s threshold for a febrile seizure is different, and I have seen many patients our age in the ICU (and 1 die) from the flu this year. Limits on how high is TOO high might be beneficial to share to those who do not have the background knowledge to understand the consequences of a fever that is out of control, or flu symptoms that are not abating. The flu this year gets very serious VERY fast.
Thank you, Diane. I’m under the assumption that folks who read my blog are digesting it with the understanding that if they are experiencing anything close to a medical emergency, that they should dial 911. I’m quoting information from sources that I’ve taken the time, or my editor, Stephanie, has taken the time to read. That said, I provide advice based on my own life experience and research. I stand behind my opinions, but they are just that. They are not 100% fact. Human beings are responsible for making their own decisions and while I agree that everyone’s threshold is different (not just in this instance but in almost every post I’ve written) the generalization that fever reduction can be counterproductive and that avoiding fever reducing meds is advisable resonates as accurate and true for me. Thanks for reading and just as importantly, for caring and commenting.
Much respect,
Kap
Diane,
I would suggest, from my knowledge and research, that a fever over 107-108 Fahrenheit is when brain damage starts becoming an issue. If we’re discussing newborns or people who are health compromised, the threshold is much lower (immediately contact a medical professional or emergency room if you have a newborn with a fever or are immunocompromised).
The flu can be a very serious issue – in my case, it was not. However, the problems that occur from the influenza virus are problems from the virus itself, not from the fever. Febrile seizures, likewise, are not typically dangerous, though they are certainly scary.
In many cases, doctors, nurses, and hospitals are more overwhelmed by people concerned about the presence of a fever moreso than any other symptom, and that fear is leading to real and measurable harms. I’m sure you’ve seen this in your job. But it’s always a good idea to be clear about where the limits of advice are, so thank you. I definitely appreciate the thought and insight.
Different ages and levels of health require different levels of awareness. Education is the key. As a Mom with enough kids, adopted kids and grand kids, to outfit my own baseball teams, this can be challenging. For me and my healthy kids, we have to be practically dying to go to the doc and unconscious to go to the ER. On the other end of the spectrum, the 2yr old I take care of has asthma and a heart murmur, and has had a febrile seizure. We give him medication if his fever goes above 101 and we make a visit to the doctor or ER if it goes anywhere close to 105. There is never a cookie cutter answer, so be educated about your health as well as the health of those you care for. I am a firm believer in the least amount of medical intervention. Our bodies were designed to fight off viruses and bacteria. It is modern medicine that has changed not only our body’s ability to self manage, but also changed the viruses and bacteria we are contracting.
Thanks for such great advice and for making it easy for everyone to understand and apply it to their personal situations!