One of the WORST things to witness in life, is your child being in a state of discomfort. I just went through 3 days of my 3 year old, Jude, having a fever ranging between 101F-104F.

He didn't really cry, but had some MINOR irritability at times; mostly, I had him stay in bed to rest. There was one period when his fever was 104, that he was obviously uncomfortable, so I set him in a lukewarm bath for several minutes. During these periods of higher fever, I just monitored him closely, looking for cues for what I should do next.

Taking the bath did help him to become more comfortable and managed to lower his fever by a couple of degrees, but it did increase again a bit later. Knowing the fever is an indication of a virus, I rubbed oregano essential oil (in a carrier oil), on the soles of my son's feet and covered them with socks. As he had a slight cold, I alternated between pepperment essential oil and eucalyptus essential oil on his neck and back (in a carrier oil).

As essential oils are quite potent, I keep them away from the front of my children's bodies, so that they avoid touching these areas and rubbing the oils into their eyes, lips or mouths-I do this even with my older children.

In additional to putting the oils on topically, I also put oils in a diffuser to help with breathing, as well as to purify the air-not only for my son and I, but for anyone who may come into the room, even though I do try to quarantine any one who is sick.

Jude did lose his appetite over these few days and if he was hungry, he preferred to eat fruit-namely mango! Outside of that, it was important to make sure he remained hydrated, which wasn't difficult, because he LOVES water!

The only other thing I gave Jude was my homemade, elderberry syrup. I believe elderberry is best when taken as a supplement and consumed in small dosages, daily. Then upon onset of any illness, that dosage is increased as needed.

The problem is, there have been a few times this year where my home supply has run out and Ive waited too long to make another batch for the house. You know how it is, you live 5 minutes from work and you should be able to make it to work WELL in advance, but you're late (most of the time). Late because you take advantage of the fact that you're so close and think you have all the time in the world. 

I think the same happens with me at times with products I make for others, but sometimes get caught up and neglect to do the same for myself or my household.

I will say that in the times where I may not have the elderberry on hand, I'll put extra effort into making sure we are taking supplements for our immune system and adding super green powders and other immune boosters to our smoothies to help compensate. Ill do a blog about which super foods we take soon!

It's been a hectic two years around here-between moving to a new country, leaving my husband behind to work in Bermuda, homeschooling my 3 youngest children, now living with my oldest daughter and 2 grand children (the youngest only being 2 months old) and trying to launch 2 businesses only months apart!! I've allowed my life to take over me and our immune systems can suffer because of this.

We eat plant based and only use natural remedies within our household.  It is quite rare for us to be sick, but since moving from an island to this cooler environment in the U.K., we do seem to get minor sickness a few times a year.

We definitely need to ensure that when we do have sunshine, we get out in it and additionally, take a vitamin D (and K) supplement, because of the lack of sunshine.

Now, I need to be honest with you, although my choice is to use only natural remedies for our household, there were a couple times I was watching my son and felt I needed to do something more.  I have literally had Calpol in my cabinet for almost 2 years now (perhaps I should check the expiration (🤭), I purchased it (I suppose), in case there was an emergency and I needed to lower one of my children's fevers because they were in such a state of discomfort.

Even though my son was never listless or screaming out in pain, the fact that there were 2 days where his fever was consistently reaching 104, was enough for me to MENTALLY reach for the Calpol.  

I know there will be people who question my parenting and why I allowed the fever to get this high-questioning why I didnt use a fever reducer or take my child to the hospital.  My answer is...science.  Although it may be hard to comprehend, having a fever can be an indication that the body is doing EXACTLY what it is supposed to.  However, as I indicated earlier, its also important to monitor your child's behaviour and if your child ever becomes listless or unresponsive, that is quite obviously a reason for medical intervention.

Outside of that, I urge you to research why fevers are necessary-it isnt difficult to find various and numerous sources on the internet and also to find books with the same information.  For ease of reference, Im including a link for your perusal.

I know waiting out a fever may go against everthing you've been taught or experienced in your life; I know watching your child experience a fever is never pleasant, but what is actually going on in their little systems, is quite literally in thier best interest..

Despite knowing that, my son waking up today, with would have been day 4, in great spirits, asking for cupcakes and a fever now down to 99F, was the BEST way to start my day! 💖🧁

P.S. If today, day 4, my son was still running a fever of 104F, I would have DEFINITELY rang our GP.

LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS HOW YOU TREAT FEVERS NATURALLY

https://www.westchesterhealth.com/blog/4-reasons-to-let-your-childs-fever-run-its-course/