Managing a fever headache & cough

Managing a fever, headache & cough

NHS advice regarding fever now recognises a raised temperature as a purposeful mechanism: a critical part of the immune system’s strategy for fighting infection and destroying diseased or damaged cells. In other words, an elevated temperature triggers an immune response which prompts our white blood cells into action. Fevers are usually self-limiting and in most cases should be allowed to run their course and not be brought down with medication. 

Generally speaking, a fever brought about by a virus will last around 2-3 days and usually break on day 3 or 4, if it’s not being interfered with by medications to reduce it. This ‘dosing with paracetamol (or other meds) every four hours’ to bring down a temperature actually impairs the immune response, allowing the virus to survive and prolonging the illness. 

But, there are a number of exceptions where medical aid should be sought:

• A high fever (41C or above in an adult) that doesn’t abate after two or three days

• You are on treatment for immune deficiency

• You are on immune-suppressant drugs, such as regular steroids, methotrexate, azathioprine or cyclophosphamide (among many others)

• You are taking medication where there is a risk of reduced immune function

• You are on, or recently completed, treatment for cancer, leukaemia or lymphoma

• You are a transplant recipient

• You are HIV positive

Children:

• Under three months old and has a temperature of 38C (101F) or above

• Between three and six months old and has a temperature of 39C (102F) or above

• If your child has other signs, such as persistent vomiting, refusal to feed, floppiness or drowsiness.

NB, the actual number on the thermometer often tells you less about severity than signs and symptoms.

Naturopathic means to ease a fever

Take a bath in lukewarm water, adding Epsom or magnesium salts to soothe muscles and aid relaxation. This temperature will feel cool when you have a fever, and the bath should help bring your body temperature down. Don’t try to bring a fever down rapidly by plunging yourself into cold water: that sends blood rushing to internal organs which is how your body defends itself from cold. Your interior actually warms up instead of cooling down.

Give yourself a sponge bath. Sponging high-heat areas like your armpits and groin with cool water can help reduce your temperature as the water evaporates.

When you’re not bathing, place cold, damp facecloths on your forehead and the back of your neck.

When you have a fever, it’s easy to become dehydrated. Drink 8 to 12 glasses of water a day or enough to make your urine pale (NB: B vitamins can make urine look quite fluorescent green!). It is important that you replace lost minerals as well fluids lost to dehydration: soups, broths and vegetable juices can replace lost minerals, but dioralyte can be bought over the counter too.

Drink a cup of yarrow or elderflower tea. Both herbs trigger the sweating that eases a fever. Steep a tablespoon of the herb in a cup of freshly boiled water for 10 minutes. Let it cool. Drink a cup or two until you start to sweat.

Drink a cup of hot ginger tea, which also induces sweating. Steep a half-teaspoon of minced ginger root in 1 cup just-boiled water, strain, then drink. Cayenne pepper can also be used as a tea for the same reasons.

Elderberry or rosehip extract can be bought (or made in the autumn when these bushes fruit).

Feverfew is a herb that has been used traditionally to manage fevers: make a tea as above.

Try the wet-sock treatment, a popular home remedy for fever. First, warm your feet in warm water. Soak a pair of cotton socks in cold water, wring them out and slip them on just before going to bed. Put a pair of dry, wool socks over the wet ones. This approach helps ease a fever by drawing blood to the feet.

Another way to draw blood to the feet is with a mustard footbath. In a basin large enough for your feet, add two teaspoons of mustard powder to four cups of warm water, then soak.

Manuka honey eases a cough and has antiviral and antibacterial properties (this has been well researched). It has also been shown to possess cytophylactic (cell-renewing) properties, so speeds up tissue healing: making it the ideal medicine for a cough caused by an infection. 

Sleep is one of the best medicines, so if someone is in real discomfort because of a fever and cannot sleep, then paracetamol is probably the medication of choice, certainly for children. But bear in mind that paracetamol needs to be processed by the liver and, therefore, gives the body more work to do when it needs to be healing, so use very sparingly.

What to eat 

Probably not much, the body stands a better chance of healing quickly if it’s not wasting energy digesting complicated foods. Fasting is useful if that’s what your body tells you to do (not with type-1 diabetes or a metabolic disorder). See previous post (Food that heals... 29/3/21) for more information.

Supplements to manage a headache

Magnesium (citrate, bisglycinate or fumarate) is a muscle relaxant. Take 600mg daily (take the last 200mg before bed).

Ginkgo Biloba helps prevent blood vessels constricting; however, because one of its actions is to increase blood flow, there are various drug interactions with drugs like warfarin, aspirin, heparin and metformin, amongst others. If you are taking any medication, check https://www.rxlist.com/ before supplementing.

Niacin (vitamin B3) is a vasodilator (dilates blood vessels), so can ease a 
headache. Take 100mg daily. Use the type that induces a red flush (the supplier will state whether it is flushing or not – usually contains nicotinic acid), on your face and upper body (this can be quite dramatic with some people at first: taking it with food helps this).

Mixing a couple of drops lavender (lavandula angustifolia) essential oil into 50ml carrier oil (rapeseed, almond etc) and then rubbing into the temples and around the back of the head and into neck can increase circulation and ease pain. NB. Pregnant women should consult an aromatherapist before using essential oils.

Willow bark is a natural painkiller. Consume it as a tincture, in powdered form or as a tea.

Using a clay pack to ease a headache

Montmorillonite and bentonite are effectively the same: a soft phyllosilicate group of minerals that form clay. Using this clay in a poultice has a number of therapeutic actions but, in the case of fever or headache, it has a cooling action and eases pain.
To make a clay pack, mix approx. 1 tablespoon of bentonite or montmorillionite (food-grade) powder in approx. 2 tablespoons water. This should form a thick paste that will stick to a bandage.

Cut a gauze or bandage (a piece of clean cotton will do) that is big enough to cover the forehead and temples.

Apply a good covering of clay to the gauze (a couple of mm thick) and stick onto the head.

Wrap a second piece of clean fabric around this (a stretchy bandage is ideal) and secure in place with a safety pin. Failing this, a piece of cling film wrapped around the gauze should hold it in place.

This can be kept in place for quite a few hours, or overnight.

Disclaimer:

The information in this document is presented for educational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for the diagnosis, treatment, or advice of a qualified, licensed medical professional. The facts presented are offered as information only, not medical advice. Any product or procedure mentioned is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease, simply to support the immune system and ease the symptoms of fever.

Lisa Rutter, therapies@lisarutter.co.uk, 2020