The truth about fevers

Parents always worry when their child is sick. It's human nature to worry when someone you love isn't feeling well. Unfortunately, it's inevitable that you or your child will be sick at some point in time and have a fever. Especially for children, it's how they build an immune system. They are exposed to viruses, the body mounts an attack, and a fever results. This is actually the body's way of fighting an infection. Bacteria and viruses have a more difficult time existing and multiplying in the higher temperature when the body produces a fever. So parents are left with the question of what do we do? Your child is sick, miserable actually. Should you give acetominophen or ibuprophen or simply wait it out?

There are things to consider here and you should always consult with your health care professional to determine what's best for your child. Understanding what a fever is can help you make educated choices about what you do for your child.
A fever serves several purposes within the body.
1. To create an inhospitable environment for microbes to survive and multiply.
2. Stimulate the body to fire up the immune system.
3. Stimulates the production of more targeted antibodies that will help you fight off this illness.
4. Increase the production of white blood cells to fight this infection.

A fever of around 102 is the optimal temperature for fighting off an infection. Helping your child through a fever without suppressing it using medications will help get through the illness more quickly. To do this you should
1. Avoid hard to digest foods. Concentrate on offering broths and soups for nourishment. If your child is not hungry, don't push a lot of food on them. This is the body's way of directing all it's attention to getting over this bug.
2. Rest, and lots of it. Working, going to school, and active play all divert the body's attention away from healing. Fevers take a lot of energy and they will therefore most likely turn your little energizer bunny into a couch potato. This the best thing for them, so just keep things quiet for the day until the fever breaks and they are feeling better.

There are times when a fever can be problematic and immediate care should be sought.
1. Fever over 104 in anyone.
2. Fever over 100.4 in a baby less than 1-2 months old.
3. Fever over 102 in a child less than 3 years old.

Lyme Disease

Living in the Northwest corner of Connecticut most people here either know someone who has had Lyme disease or had it themselves. This area has the highest incidence of Lyme disease in the world. It is a disease caused by the bacteria Borrellia burgdorferi and transmitted by ticks.

The sign people look for with Lyme disease is the bulls eye rash. Unfortunately this only occurs in 37% of cases of Lyme disease. Many people are infected with the bacteria and never see the rash. Symptoms of Lyme disease can range from typical joint pain, Bell's palsy, and numbness in various parts of the body, to severe fatigue and headaches to name just a few.

When it comes to treatment Doxycycline is the drug of choice for Lyme disease. When caught early Doxycycline has a good record of eradicating the bacteria. Sometimes though this is not enough and people experience a recurrence of their symptoms after stopping the drug. This happens because the Doxycycline can push the bacteria into its cystic form where antibiotics are unable to kill it.

Herbal therapies for Lyme disease have shown promising results when used both in combination with antibiotics and in isolation. These herbal therapies including Cat's claw, Andrographis, Sarsasparilla, and Teasle have been shown to kill Borrellia even in it's cystic form. It is often necessary also to treat gut problems that have been caused by the long treatment with Doxycycline. In these cases it is often necessary to extend the treatment to the gut for repair. Probiotics are always a good choice in this circumstance.

If you are someone battling Lyme disease, acute or chronic, Naturopathic medicine may just be your solution!