FEVER

The very word strikes fear in many parents' hearts. . . FEVER. This is one of the most-asked questions of me: "What do you do for fever?" Here's my answer in a nutshell.

The first, and most important thing is, I don't freak out over fever. I see fever as a blessing--it is a good thing and means that the body is taking care of business. Our children's bodies are fearfully and wonderfully made and those little bodies know when there is an invader that needs to be ousted. Fever means things are working as they should.

Maybe once or twice ever has one of my children had a fever spike to 106 degrees. And even when it did, it didn't stay there long. Most of the time, my kids' fevers hover around 101-103 degrees for a couple of days.

Now, here's my line of defense during times of fever to keep my children as comfortable as possible and still let the fever work its magic:

1. Boost the immune system--work with the fever. Be its comrade and help it fight off the invader. I use whatever I happen to have on hand. Some of my favorite boosters are EmergenC (Vitamin C), BarleyLife, carrot juice, lots of pure water, Del-Immune, cutting out all sugar and dairy until the fever is over, increasing fresh fruits and vegetables (if they even feel like eating), encouraging lots of rest, and echinacea. I know there are even more natural solutions, but these are the ones we use the most.

2. Tepid baths--a lukewarm bath feels so good on a fevered body and is often all it takes to "break" the fever in my babies and begin to bring their temperature back down to normal. Also, for an infant, I nurse him or her more frequently. Mama's milk is such a God-given gift of natural anitbodies and wellness for our littlest ones. And it's deliciously FREE!

3. Teething tablets--sometimes the fevers in children are from teething (even at two years old when they get their molars in). This year I discovered Humphrey's Very Cherry Teething Tablets, and they have been very effective for my baby's fevers. With infants, it's so hard to know sometimes exactly what's causing the fever. I have found that these homeopathic teething tablets are very effective no matter what the cause of the fever is. I found mine at Walgreens and they are under $10 and last a long time. As with any medicine, I don't give it unless it's really needed, otherwise it doesn't seem to work as well. In other words, don't overdo it. Medicine is a tool, not a crutch.

4. Tylenol--I save this for the times that the fever has lingered for 36 hours or more without coming down at all and the child cannot rest. This doesn't happen very often around here; probably because of our faithfulness to number one on this list (boosting their immune system). But from time to time an over-the-counter medicine is needed. My rule of thumb for over-the-counter drugs is: use 1/2 the amount the directions say to. I have found that if we aren't used to popping a pill for every little pain, then when we really DO need to take something, it doesn't take nearly as much to get the job done.

Now, I don't think I need to say this, but I will anyway: I am not a medical professional and you know your child best. If my child had a fever that spiked very high, very quickly and I could not get it to start coming down with natural remedies or it was accompanied by throwing up or something else very unusual, I would not hesitate to seek medical help right away. You know your child best and what is normal and what is not. Plus, we have the good Lord, the Great Physician, to guide us and give us wisdom in how to handle our children's fevers. So, there is no need to fear fever. And that is definitely good news!