Fever In Children And Babies – What To Do And Home Remedies To Use

If your child rejects solid food during this period, leave him be. Digestion of food can interfere with the body’s efforts to recover. Instead, you could offer him light food like soups and teas.

Dress your child in light weight clothing, and if necessary, use a light blanket. Avoid bundling and overheating.

Put on hold any sleep-training schedule for your baby until she gets better, as she needs to get as much sleep as she can for recovery.

Sponge your kid using lukewarm water in a room free of air-draft. Sponging is better than soaking her in water as it is the evaporation of water from the skin that helps increase heat loss from the body. However, if your child starts to shiver, stop sponging or increase the water temperature. Shivering actually contributes more heat to the body.

Avoid self-medicating, especially aspirin, as doing so poses a risk of Reye’s syndrome to your child.

Ginger, peppermint and Echinacea are useful herbal teas to have around when helping your child cope with fevers. Ginger is a mild herb that can help to break fevers, especially in cases where the fever is accompanied by chills. Peppermint is another mild herb that is often used to deal with fevers associated with throat infections. Echinacea is known to enhance the immune system and acts as an antimicrobial at the same time.

References

http://www.seattlechildrens.org/medical-conditions/symptom-index/fever/ (accessed Sep 2012)

Trivieri, Jr., Larry, and Anderson, John W. Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide. 2nd ed. New York, USA: Celestial Arts, 2002. Print.

Balch, James F., MD, and Stengler, Mark, ND. Prescription for Natural Cures: A Self-Care Guide for Treating Health Problems with Natural Remedies Including Diet and Nutrition, Nutritional Supplements, Bodywork, and More. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 2004. Print.

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