So, needless to say, her sleep was a bit restless that night. She was nursing every 3 hours, which is quite typical for her. We co-sleep so I know her sleep patterns very well since they become my patterns. Her head felt hot and feet hotter. She was awake for one hour whining and wanted to go downstairs. So, we went downstairs and I danced her back to sleep.
Thursday morning she did not look well. She was clearly fighting something. Her eyes were a bit glazed over, her breath was "off" and her mood was down. She wanted to be held. She went to my parents again (mainly because I was also not feeling well otherwise I would have kept her home with me. I was dealing with a mild case of body ache, headache and general weakness which in the end was mastitis) and slept most of the day. My mom asked if I would like to give any medication to reduce the fever. My answer was what most naturopaths would say, "No, but call me if she starts to vomit or looks like she's going downhill". Luckily, I didn't get a call. She slept most of the day and came home looking about the same.
That night, I braced myself. I knew it would be a rough night for both of us. Luckily, after several doses of homeopathic medicine, Phytolacca 200 CH, extra immune support, Herbal first defence botanical tincture by Viriditas and lots of pumping and much needed rest, I was ready to take it on. She woke every 1 - 2 hours to nurse or be held or just out of irritability or discomfort. She never vomited. She had slightly softer and more frequent bowel movements (which in traditional Chinese medicine is a good sign - bowel movements are a way to get rid of body heat and helping to naturally reduce a fever) . She had only slightly drier diapers but was nursing so often, I knew she was well hydrated. She felt hot all over, especially her head. I gave her homeopathic medicine, Chamomilia 30 CH for the inconsolable irritability and lots of love and attention. By the morning, we were both exhausted. Her fever finally broke around 9 am Friday morning and she slept for 4 hours straight afterwards.
During the day, her eyes looked brighter and breath had gone back to normal. Her body temperature felt normal again and her mood was much improved. Our little Anja had battled her first fever at 17 months and it lasted for about 2 days and 2 nights. A couple of days later she had a very mild rash on her trunk. It was a slightly red, mottled looking rash. A high fever followed by a day or two of no symptoms, then a rash with this appearance was surely Roseola. A typical childhood viral infection with no long term consequences other than immunity against the viral infection again. Esme also had Roseola when she was an infant and we dealt with it pretty much the same way.
I decided to share this story because so many of my moms ask me about how to handle a fever. They want to know what is the best fever-reducing medication to give and what temperature they should give it at and how often it should be given. My answer is simple: No fever-reducing medication. Don't even take their temperature. Just look at your baby and respond to how they are handling the fever. If they are whiney and irritable, nurse them if you are still nursing, comfort them by holding them (even if it means all day and all night long), hydrate them, be with them through it. If you get exhausted, ask your partner to jump in. But I ask parents to avoid taking the temperature for two reasons: One, most of my moms freak out as soon is they know their child has a fever or if they reach a certain temperature. And two, it is rarely and accurate reading anyways. So, avoid all that by responding to how they are handling it. Look at your baby and comfort them.
The only time I would consider reducing it is if they were screaming in pain and I could not comfort them with homeopathic medicines which, luckily, has never happened in our household.
The only time I would take them to emerg is if they were feverish and vomiting, particularly projectile vomitting or feverish and very confused (speech slurred or saying strange things) or feverish and just going downhill fast (I don't know how else to describe this one) or if my gut was telling me to do it. Follow your gut (one of my colleagues literally saved her daughter's life by just going to emerg on a gut feeling that her daughter Sadie was unwell). Otherwise a fever is our friend. It is our bodies innate immunity that is trying to fight off an infection by getting to that specific temperature that will make our bodies inhospitable to the virus or bacteria that is trying to find a home. Our immune systems are so wise to be able to respond in this specific manner, please let it do it's job. Don't suppress it. Just support it. Hydrate, rest and let it ride. It will peak. It will "break". If we avoid suppressing it, it will probably break sooner than we think. Usually in 1 - 3 days. If we reduce the fever, our body keeps fighting back and trying to mount it again and we end up prolonging a 1 - 3 days process that is really very effective to a 2 - 7 or more day struggle that is getting them nowhere. Also, when our child's fever is artificially reduced, they seem fine and we treat them as though they are fine. We send them off to school, we feed them sweets, we send them to that birthday party, all the while there is still a little battle going on in their little bodies and now they are defenceless. This sets the stage for more complications. Recurrent colds anyone? A cough that lasts for a month anyone? How about an ear infection?
So, my take home message is simple. No fever reducing medication. Don't even take their temperature. Comfort your child and respond to how they are handling the fever.
What about febrile seizures? I have never had one in our household but have several patients with little ones who are proned to them so let's discuss this another time. I think there is a lot to digest already.
Good night everyone and I hope you found this story helpful.
Anja watering our herbs on our front balcony.
