Dear Friends,
A merry day to you! We hope that you and your loved ones are well and happy today. We felt impressed today to share with you some of the things that we have learned about treating the fevers that happen in any family. The information we will present is in no way intended as medical advice, only as what we have followed in our own family. The best advice is just to follow your instinct, and prayefully consider what is right for you and your loved one at the time. We promise that you will always be guided to just what you need at that time.
As a warning, let me just say that we have received more negative feedback from family and friends in our treatment of fevers, than just about anything else "odd" our family does! It has been a real trial of faith, but over the years we have seen fewer and fewer illnesses as we have helped Nature to remove toxins from our bodies, and the fevers that do occur are shorter in duration.
I remember at first being shocked, back when AnnaMarie was a baby, when I first learned the purpose of fevers from Dr. Christopher's School of Natural Healing. But then, I had an overwhelming feeling that it was all true and sensible. Here is a quote from Dr. Christopher's "Herbal Home Health Care" (Which we highly recommend for empowering parents to care for their own children during illness, as well as preventing illness from happpening in the first place):
"When excess mucus, toxic materials, drug accumulations, poisons and other undesirable materials accumulate within the body, the body's natural reaction is to unload this material before it reaches a high enough level to cause death. The body then reacts with colds, smallpox, measles, chicken pox, or some other childhood disease. The first indication of disease that generally appears is a fever. An adult's first thought, when he sees that his child has a fever, is to hurry and lower the temperature to normal. This is a mistake because the fever is nature's way of letting us know the child has toxic material in his body which should be removed quickly. The fever must not be ignored, but we should work with it."
Dr. Christopher goes on to teach us that fevers have different purposes. One is to pull bodybuilding materials (such as calcium) to an area that is lacking in them. An example is a teething baby with a fever and swollen gums. He says that many times, administering a good organic calcium causes the fever to drop quickly, and the teeth pop through. "If the parent uses medication to lower or suppress the fever and nothing else is done, he is . .. stopping the attempt of a building process without assisting it to accomplish what the body is trying so hard to do."
The second purpose of fevers is to discard or burn up unwanted materials. Our bodies literally melt toxins and cook viruses and bacteria during the process of a fever. Of course, we do not want the fever to build up to too high of a level. That is why it is so important to help it rid itself of these materials as soon as possible.
Again from Dr. Christopher: "The first thing we do is to check the bowels, and see if the child is constipated. Many times a good bowel movement is all that is necessary to bring down a fever." I have never heard anyone else mention the following, but when you think about it, it does make sense! One can give the child a safe, mild herbal laxative, or a cold catnip tea enema, to help the bowels evacuate (Enemas are another thing that no one talks about these days!).
If you can catch the fever when it is first starting, a tea made of red raspberry (or blackberry) leaves or yarrow leaves or flowers, and given rather warm, will many times help the body to sweat and clean itself out through the pores. Give as many cups, sweetened with honey or stevia, as the child (or adult) will take. When dealing with babies or small children, I find that using a tincture of yarrow, warmed up in a cup of hot water, followed by some warm water in a bottle, works very well. If breastfeeding, the mother can drink the teas as well as eating lots of garlic, and this will go into the milk and help the baby, too.
Lots of rest, and being warmly covered, are also good keys to helping the body work through a fever faster. Fasting and drinking unsweetened juices will help to clean the body out as well. Many times we worry that we will starve if we miss a meal or two, but it is a welcome relief to a body who is already dealing with an overload, to not have to add digesting food as well.
The most important thing to remember is that a dry fever is deadly, but a moist fever is life-giving. Never let someone with a fever become dehydrated! Forcing liquids (especially the teas), and if the fever has been progressing for a while, placing them in a hot-but-not-scalding tub of water till they are freely perspiring (followed by a cold rinse to close the pores before drying off, and putting them to bed), will assist with this.
If you are interested in learning more,
Dr. Christopher's website, as well as his book, have lots of information on simple, yet effective ways of keeping our bodies running smoothly and healthily.
May we all learn to work with and appreciate all the beautiful processes that our Creator has given us, to keep us healthy!
Love,
Marqueta
p.s. Our Sweete Felicity Wolverine Tea, for sale in our Etsy Shop, has yarrow in it. Although we haven't had a chance to use this tea with fevers, the mint and catnip would make it a very pleasant "medicine", indeed!
