Bring Down Your Child’s Fever Naturally

Fevers are not bad. Let me say that again. Fevers are not bad. A fever is a response of the body fighting off infection. Taking ibuprofin or tylenol is acceptable but it may slow down the body's ability to fight the infection, which consequently could drag out the sickness.

With that said, there are some natural ways to bring down your child's fever without the use of over the counter drugs. Having five children, we've endured many fevers. Our son and our youngest daughter just seemed to always get the highest fevers, you know the ones over 104. It's scary. The last thing any parent wants is for their children to be in pain. I am going to share some things that we've done to help our kids when they've been sick.

1. Popsicles - They're cold, and it will help get some fluids in their system. Most kids when they're sick don't want to eat or drink. Try to make sure they are drinking lots of water, as a fever can quickly dehydrate a little one.

2. Cold wash cloth - Keeping a cold was cloth over the top of the forehead and behind the neck really helps to cool them down.

3. Less is best - They may have the chills and want to stay under the blankets but the point is to cool the body down so less is best.

4. Lukewarm Bath - I am not a big fan of this one but can help, so I felt I had to add it. Keep in mind even a lukewarm bath will feel cold to a child with a fever. Never put a child in a cold bath. It could put their bodies in shock.

5. Egg Whites - This one seems a little odd but hear me out. Take just the whites of the eggs (no yolks), whip them up a little and soak either a couple of hankerchiefs, paper towels, or anything thin and apply to both feet. Cover the feet with saran wrap or socks and leave it on till it dries and reapply if needed. We actually did this treatment when our son was about 4 years old.

He had one of those high fevers and we did the motrin, tylenol rotation, along with everything we knew to do but it wasn't breaking. We finally decided to try this and I want to say it was within 20-30 minutes his fever came down considerably. Supposedly the eggs whites draw the fever down from the head into the feet.

My sons fever was relatively high, so the paper towels we used dried pretty quickly (from the heat of the fever) We ended up reapplying a total of 3 times to get the fever down to a low grade fever. I don't totally understand the science behind it, I just know it works.

Note* Fever in children under four months of age, fever along with other serious symptoms, and fever lasting over a week should seek medical attention.