Saturday, August 25, 2012

The Miracle of Fevers

Last week, E. had a fever. 

On Wednesday night before she went to bed, I noticed she was a little warm. When she woke up the next morning, she was hot. I had to borrow a thermometer from a neighbor, since my digital forehead one is freaking out. I love those things when they work, but it seems like they don't last very long.

Anyway, she had a fever of almost 102 F, was fussy and tired, and wouldn't eat or drink except to nurse. I called the doctor, and the nurse said there was something going around. It starts out with a fever, and then diverges into different symptoms, like a cough, or flu. She said that it was a virus, and there wasn't really anything they could do. She said I could give her children's Tylenol to bring the fever down, but beyond that I really just had to wait and keep her hydrated. I asked her about the fever and when I should be worried or bring her in. She said there wasn't really a number to watch for, but if she became unresponsive and lethargic, then I should be worried and call.

I used all of this information, along with my instincts to decide what to do:
    1.   I decided to let her fever run its course - In general, our bodies get fevers for a reason, and usually that reason is to create a hostile environment for the pathogen. I monitored her fever and behavior for the next 24 hours, and did not give her the Tylenol.
    2.  Based on the assumption, corroborated by a muscle test, that this was a virus, I put an essential oil with oregano on her feet. Oregano is great for viruses, but it's pretty strong, so I couldn't use it by itself. Normally I use doTerra's On Guard for this sort of thing, but since it doesn't have oregano, I used Be Young's Spice of Life instead. My husband actually likes this one better when he's sick, I just like the smell of On Guard better.
    3.   I nursed her whenever she wanted. - Normally we just nurse in the morning, before bed, and after nap time, but since she wouldn't eat or drink anything else, I nursed her a lot more. I think it helped because she didn't seem to get dehydrated.
    I also tried to give her WPD, but since she wouldn't drink it, that was unsuccessful. 

By late in the evening, her sleeping schedule was all messed up, but she seemed to feel a little better. She didn't wake up as much that night, and by morning, her fever was gone. She seemed her normal happy self, and even ate some crackers and drank some juice. She has since gotten a little cough and runny nose, but I'm not entirely sure it's not from all the smoke up here. But the diffuser with Breathe from doTerra in it is clearing that up quite nicely. 

Spice of Life Be Young Essential Oil

So who's the big winner for this round? 

I'd have to say its a tie between the fever, and Be Young's "Spice of Life" oil.

It was really pretty impressive to watch her little body work to heal itself, with a little help from us. 

Of course, the real winner is E. 
I'm so glad she's feeling better.


For now, if you want this oil, you can email me or comment and I can get it to you. I haven't quite figured out my back office for their site yet, but as soon as I do, I'll add a link here.