Why I love fevers!
Fevers! Something in recent years I have become quite passionate about. We have been taught to fear illness, this ultimately leads to fearing our bodies, our immune system, our bodies' abilities to restore itself. We take all sorts of “medicine” to help us feel better, taking away our body’s power, its ability to truly do its job, and we've stopped trusting our innate inner wisdom.
Illness is seen as an inconvenience: having to take time off work, slowing us down, the aches, the pains, the snots and runny eyes, ugh, who has time for that!!?? Maybe it is an inconvenience, but if we really look at it from a metabolic level, and appreciate what our bodies are really doing for us it might not seem that inconvenient.
When we view it as an inconvenience we are also missing out on the beautiful gift that is happening in front of us. The opportunity to nurse our children back to health. Allowing them to move through discomfort, challenging times and testing their body. They understand that they can now trust their body, they can overcome difficult moments, the discomfort is temporary and on the other side is resiliency, strength and vitality. A unique bond is also created between child and parent, where now they also know they can trust you, their caregiver, to support them through these difficult moments. Equipping them for the challenges that present throughout life.
We fear illness the most when it comes to our kids. I get it, I’m a mom too…the sight of our children being uncomfortable, unwell, sick breaks our hearts and all we want to do is make them better. Our kids have a cough, we want to give them cough medicine (containing sugar, and food dyes, that suppress and impair the immune system), our kids have any sort of fever, we rush to take it away (tylenol not only includes sugar, food dyes, but is toxic to the liver), we’ve been taught to FEAR these symptoms, these symptoms that are clearing the garbage that has invaded our bodies. Symptoms that are healing! Symptoms are the solution not the problem.
We have many lines of defense and detox passage ways: our hair, skin (largest organ), mucus membranes, digestive system, respiratory (AHHH-CHOOO!). All our used to detox toxins, upgrade our DNA, and clean out what does not serve us in our bodies (including hormones and emotions). When we are experiencing such healing, sometimes our body calls in the big guns; it turns up the heat, literally! Fevers, especially in children, are a sign that their immune systems are working, it’s doing their job to detox and clear out what does not serve. Sometimes it is a leveling up of our DNA, sometimes it’s entering a new phase of childhood. For example fevers can show up with teething, or right before a new milestone is about to be unlocked. Elevating the internal temperature increases the number of immune cells that are recruited to the lymph nodes which is the body's detoxing passageway, circulating throughout our entire body clearing things out.
We want to assist the body, not suppress it. We want to help it do its job, not take over. To do so, support your little one. Maybe that means extra cuddles and story time, cool cloths to the back of the neck, peppermint oil and lavender to the feet, and liquids, such as bone broths, water, smoothies, soup, coconut water, or elderberry. It’s ok if they aren’t eating much. We don't want to distract our body's immune system by having to share energy to digest food, it is doing a big job, let's not take away from the task at hand.
What’s really important is adding in foods rich in Vitamin A, as fevers and inflammatory responses rapidly use up Vitamin A stores. Fermented Cod liver oil is a great way to replenish stores.
You’ll find when you support the body, your child’s immune system becomes stronger and colds and fevers don’t last as long. Children with fevers before the age of 1 are less likely to develop allergic sensitivities between ages 6 to 7.
One of the biggest concerns parents have with fevers are febrile seizures. Febrile seizures occur in children that respond to quick changes in body temperature. Children that are sensitive to changes in body temperature are prone to febrile seizures. Trying to stop the fever with Tylenol or other medications, does not necessarily stop the seizure from happening, but instead does interfere with what the body is trying to do, and can prolong the fever or healing symptoms the child is experiencing. Temperatures do not have to get high for a febrile fever to occur, again it’s the sudden onset of a temperature change not the temperature itself. Good news, although absolutely terrifying to witness, it is benign and there are no long term consequences with febrile seizures. Once a child experiences a febrile seizure they are more prone to experiencing another, thankfully this is something your child will grow out of. Children tend to grow out of them by age 5. Keeping them safe, held, making sure they can’t hurt themselves or hit their heads is most important. Febrile seizures can last 2-3 minutes, and making sure you also stay calm (as hard as it may be) is also very important.
All three of my children have presented with fevers that all varied in duration, onset, temperature and how they moved through it. Each child is unique and will have a different way they move through healing. When they were babies it was lots of skin to skin, cuddles, sleep and rest and breast milk. Sometimes the fever would be 24hrs and sometimes would last four days at temps of 40C. Adley was the most recent with her new teeth coming in. During the day her fever would drop and at night it would spike again, making it hard for her to sleep. We had 4 restless nights, walking outside, cuddling, holding, rocking in arms and using lavender and peppermint to the feet. After night four, you could see the shift and she was back to her energetic self. Patience - is another key component to the healing process, along with trust.
There are lots of other natural remedies that I can also share to help boost immune systems and support the body.
Our bodies are truly amazing! Miraculous really!
Check out My Herbs 101 course or Ebook on Creating Your Own Natural First Aid Kit.