So now we need to know how and how much to care for a person with a fever. First and foremost, fever can be left to run its course. The most important thing is to treat your self or your family member and not the fever. In other words, make certain to be hydrated, comfortable, quiet and resting, if that’s what it takes. Oftentimes the low-grade fever isn’t enough to take you or a child to bed. Assess whether a fever remedy will make you or your ‘patient’ more comfortable. Most of all, don’t panic.
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Here are some remedies:
- Rest
- Plenty of liquids to drink, especially water.
- A damp cool cloth placed on the forehead and back of neck. Also, patting the forehead, face
and neck with a cloth can be soothing.
- A drop of Lavender essential oil to the temples, forehead, back of the neck, bottoms of the feet.
For an adult, a drop of 50/50 diluted Peppermint essential oil to the bottoms of the feet. A child may feel too much burning sensation from this essential oil.
- A sponge bath. Put an inch or two of tepid water (85-90 degrees) in the tub or baby bath for an infant. With a washcloth or sponge, squeeze water over the belly, arms and underarms, legs and groin. Do not let the water be cold or too cool. Do not let the child or person shiver.
- A warm bath with one-half to one cup of apple cider vinegar. Soak for 5-10 minutes.
- An apple cider vinegar compress: 1 part vinegar, 4 parts water, to the forehead or the feet.
Chlorophyll compress. A cabbage leaf or lettuce leaf used as a compress to the forehead or the bottoms of the feet.
- Marjoram tea. Keep this herb growing in your garden or on your window sill. It is an acrid (meaning sharp tasting) and cool herb so it can be used as a tea to reduce fever.
This list is not everything (there are more home remedies out there and later in this blog I will go over appropriate and applicable Chinese herbal formulas) but there are enough always-on-hand items and easy-to-do protocols here that you should feel confident about taking care of normal fever presentation.