Seeking Natural or Alternative Ways to Lower a Temp.

Honestly, K., I'd get him to the doctor/hospital ASAP. A 105 temp is REALLY high. And it's been going on for quite some time. Sounds like he has an infection brewing somewhere in his body.

Hi K.,
At 105 I would call the doctor. Meanwhile Motrin works much better on high fever than Tylenol. Try that next time plus a warm bath or cool washclothe on this head and neck should help.

Good luck... I hope he's better soon.

105 is very dagerous you should call the doctor right away even go to the ER. IF you do need to lower his temp right away when it is that high childrens Motrin is the only way it will work. When his temp is lower 102 and under you can do the cool baths. let him sleep with just along sleeve shirt no socks and a really thin blanket or sheet.
have him eat lots of popcicles and cool water or gatoraide.
i know you want to stay away from medications but that is too high of a fever.

A temperature this long, or one that won't go down is serious. Take your child to a doctor right now.

You can give BOTH Tylenol and Motrin AT THE SAME TIME. My son had febrile seizures from a high fever, and this is what they told us to do. (Tylenol every 4 hours and Motrin every 6 -- write down the times and keep it on the fridge so you don't forget when the last doses were.)

DO NOT give a bath. Anything that might cause the child to shiver is not a good idea, because that is what a body does to bring up a temperature.

Good luck hon.

UPDATE: so many moms were advising a bath, which is the opposite of what the ER docs told us, so I did some research. This is what I found:

"Will a bath help lower my child's fever?

Used together, acetaminophen [Tylenol] and a lukewarm bath may help lower a fever. Give the acetaminophen before the bath. If the bath is given alone, your child may start shivering as his or her body tries to raise its temperature again. This may make your child feel worse. Don't use alcohol or cold water for baths."

source: http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/children/par...

I have to agree with Roma...a fever that high could be an indication of something really wrong.

My son is 30 mos and we follow the 102/3 day rule...if it's 102 or he's been sick for longer than 3 days we got to the doctor.

Otherwise, we use cold compresses, Motrin and LOTS of Pedialyte.

Good luck.

Fevers are actually good - its the body's way of fighting. Your son can probably safely have a temperature up to 103 without treating it or worrying. 105 is getting up there. Once you reach 105 or 106, you should call the dr. That being said - cool compresses on the stomach or back will help. And tepid baths will help too.

I would recommend calling your pediatrician, but when my son had a persistent fever, my peditriacian told us to alternate tylonol and motrin. That worked to get his fever down. I think you take tylenol every four hours and motrin every six, but look at the bottle and it will tell you.

If it was 105 he should have BEEN at the hospital already!!!!!

I'd take him to the doctor. It's probably nothing but that's a tad too long and too high for me. Good luck.

I would take him the dr. Fever indicates infection. I had the same thing with my daughter recently. Since her only symptom was the fever I didn't think much of it. After days and days I gave in and took her to the dr. Turns out she had a horrible ear infection in both ears. Good luck and hopefully he'll be on the mend soon!

K.,

Get your son to the doctor right away. A sustained temperature of 102 for more than a day or two needs attention, but 105 is cause for concern.

In the future, you can temporarily lower his temperature by using cool wash cloths on his forehead and the inside of his wrists.

You can also put him a lukewarm bath...but, really...get him to the doctor.

Blessings to you and your son.
R.

Hi K.,
It's not "natural," but my kids have always responded much better to ibuprofen (Motrin) than to Tylenol. Our doctor had us alternate between ibuprofen and Tylenol when I had to get my son's temp down from 105.5. Going down from 105 to 102 was probably the Tylenol working its magic, and is enough of a decrease that you probably don't need to worry too much. Our doctor told us that if we could get it below 102, that was fine. Also, you can put cool compresses on his forehead and underarms to cool him off. Although tepid baths are apparently not recommended anymore, our son begged to take a bath when he had the high fever and we let him. Also, I thought that I had read recently that research debunked the theory that the fever itself helped knocked out the illness. Our doctor has encouraged us to help our kids feel as comfortable as possible (which means reducing the fever) when they are sick.

By the way, with our son (who was 13, old for such a high fever), his fever kept spiking for four days. Every time the Motrin wore off, it went back up to well above 103. We took him to the doctor twice, once the day after it had been 105.5 and then two days later when it still would not stay down. On the second visit, the doctor x-rayed his lungs even though he could not hear any pneumonia. The x-ray looked like his lungs were full of spider webs! Even knowing that the pneumonia was there, his doctor could not hear it! So, short version, if the fever does not come down for today or tomorrow, take him to the doctor! Even if the doctor thinks that his lungs sound clear, ask for an x-ray after 5 days. (Our son responded fabulously to the Z-pak. No fever after his first dose!) Oh, just on a sort of funny note, he was in a musical and opening night was the night that he started the Z-pak. He went on and thus was born, "Dancing Pneumonia"!

Good luck!

Hi K.,

What other symptoms are there, and how old is your son? 105 in a toddler/young child can be tolerated and can be caused by viral or bacterial pathogens. In an older child, teen or adult, a temp of 105 deg F can be more of a concern. A temperature that high, though, is frequently an indication of a bacterial infection and should be evaluated by a doctor. Is your son congested? Can he breathe easily, or is he complaining of a tightness or heaviness in his chest? (If so, you can be looking at bacterial or viral bronchitis or pneumonia). Does he have a headache? Can he bend his head easily and touch his chin to his chest? (If not, you need to be concerned about meningitis). Do his ears hurt? (Frequent infection site for young kids). Has he had a recent open cut or wound that could have started an infection? Is he putting out a decent amount of urine? (If not, he could be becoming dehydrated, which will increase temperature). Is he vomiting? All of these things need to be considered beyond the fever to figure out what is going on and if additional treatment should be sought.

In the meantime, although not natural, you can dose with children's motrin and children's tylenol every 6 hours, spread 3 hours apart. For example, give motrin now and in 6 hours, give tylenol 3 hours from now and then 6 hours later, until you can get him to the doctor.

Make sure your son is taking in plenty of fluids. Cooler fluids will help to lower his core temperature, too. Give him ice chips or popsicles to suck on. If you see him shivering, this is an indication that his body is trying to fight the infection by increasing the core body temperature.

I hope he feels better soon!

R.

K.,

That is not good to have a such a high temp for such a long time! I hope it is down by now!!

Along with Tylenol, the best thing you can do is place your child in a tepid, warm, bath, not cold, not very warm, just barely warm. This will help to bring that temperature down quickly. If that doesn't work, use a bit cooler water.

It is NOT good for anyone to have a high temperature for very long. I hope you have managed to reduce it by now!

A.
http://ACLiveLifeWell.com

Hi K.:

At 105 I would take him to the doctor ASAP because that is very high - you need to find out if there is some type of underlying infection. If nothing is wrong beyond normal illness then one of the moms recommended some homeopathics which I would try. I have such incredible success treating my children with homepathics for so many different reasons. They are truly a gift from God! If you live in the San Diego area I would suggest taking some homeopathy classes from Learn Homeopathy Now (obviously this is for the long term if you are interested in learning more about natural treatments). You will learn a lot and get connected into a great group of women and teachers who can support you. Their classes are inexpensive and convenient and awesome. Their website is www.learnhomeopathynow.com. Willow Tipton is one if the teachers and she also takes private appointments. I am sure her phone # is on the website. Good luck.

Take him to the doctor ASAP

Egad.... RUN to the ER, right away!

With a high fever like that, for a few days... you FIRST NEED A PROPER DIAGNOSIS...before you try haphazard things to "cure" him.

How old is your son?

Be CAREFUL of dehydration... in a baby or child it is VERY dangerous.... you have to keep your baby/child hydrated...

DO NOT USE RUBBING ALCOHOL... it can be absorbed through his pores... even waterless hand-sanitizer is dangerous for young children and they can get poisoned.

This is too long to be having a high fever like that.
Fevers will fluctuate... Tylenol will NOT 'cure' the illness or fever... it just TEMPORARILY brings it down... but the illness/infection will still be there...

I'm for homeopathics too....BUT, with certain things, you really just have to get medical advice and a diagnosis FIRST... and not rely on natural things until you get a PROPER diagnosis... like anything, there is a time and a place for it. And because you don't know what is wrong with your son... more harm than good could occur.... DO NOT rely on hindsight or willy-nilly temporary 'cures' UNLESS you know for certain, what is wrong with him.
AND, already, NOTHING you tried is working.... thus, take heed and have him looked at by a Doctor or ER.

TAKE HIM TO THE DOCTOR! ASAP....

All the best,
Susan

Hi K.. The fever is his body's way of killing off the virus. What we do with our kids is cool them off by putting cold cloth on their forehead and neck to bring down the fever and to relieve them a bit. Giving them a bath also helps. Otherwise, if the fever continues for another day or so, you might need to bring him to the pediatrician. Good luck.

a cool bath might help, but if he has had a high temp since Tuesday you might want to take him to the dr. Remember Tylonol does not make temps go away just reduces them for a short while.

Good luck

Hi,Kelly, I have a home remery, put slide of potato on his bealybottom. I hope this work.
if this doesn't work try slide of bread with alcohol put this on his bealybottom.
I did it whith my child it work.Give him pedialyte. A lot liquids.

it's a very serious situation to have a kid with a really high fever. I hope you've been in contact with your son's doctor. Sometimes Tylenol will bring the fever down to a manageable state, but not totally knock it out. You might try Ibuprofen, as I have very good luck with that. With a fever that high, I would NOT mess around with alternative methods of getting down, except maybe cold compresses and a tepid bath. You could be under dosing your child. Make sure you are in contact with your child's doctor and getting advice from them.

Put Vick's Vaporub on the soles of his feet (then put socks on him). It helps pull the fever out. A cool bath will help lower the temp too. Good luck!

Belladona or Aconitum. Homeopathic medicine. You can call the Santa Monica Homeopathic Pharmacy. No fodd or water 15 minutes before and after taking it. No side effects and completely safe and natuural.

Remember that a fever is a good thing. The body's immune system is working well and doing it's job fighting the bug. Make sure he's well hydrated. Call a doctor immediately if you see that he is non responsive, limp and lethargic beyond a normal bug, or if your unsure and just plain old nervous.

http://www.smhomeopathic.com/

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Good luck!

aside from cold compressions. the fastest way that has worked for us is have him drink something cold. I give mine half&half apple juice and water. and I mean refrigerated fluids. the temperature goes down within 20 mins.

also, a child who is having a fever or flu, should be drinking LOTS of cool fluids throughout the day it not only prevents dehydration, but also keeps his temperature down.

Warm baths are good. Just warm enough. No cool baths or cold baths. My 2nd child got fevers frequently when she was younger and I'd wake up at 1am seeing her lay there just burning up. So, I'd put her in the tub and just pour warm water on her over and over again. Drying her up and the water evaporating would help cool her down a little. Good luck.

Good morning, K.

I'm a mom of 4 and what I founf to work is ice packs under armpits and one on top of head for about 15 minutes. Even a luke work bath of shower. Keep using the tylenol and about 1hour later children's motrin. This combo is reccomended by my pedriction. Praying for you son to get better. Remember to keep up his fuilds. water/gatorade/7up

A Caring Mom,
Nancy

when the temp goes that high get him into a tub of cool not cold water and wait until it goes down then switch every 2 hours between tylenol and motrin for children that will do the trick

Hi K.,

Something that is strange but it works is when you have your child play with toys or play the Wii. It takes his mind off of the fact that he's sick and has him think about something else. If he can play with something that he can move with his hands, it will help him. Also, did something upset him a day or two before he got sick with the fever? Let me know.

Motrin works way better than Tylenol. Also, there are a lot of ear infections going around right now. You should take him in to see the doc.

While it's not natural, we've always had luck alternating motrin and tylenol--that's what our doctor's recommend. Make sure you're using the correct dosage. Along with some popsicles and soup, that should help!

1st, it is good the temp is down. But you do want a temp since his body is fighting to get healthy. If you keep the temp lowered by tylonol then his illness will linger longer.

I would just put him in a few baths a day, if you can. Cool temperature water...tepid.

I would probably only give him tylonol at night to help him sleep. Otherwise, keep a watch on it. 105 is high that he should go to the doctor, but 102 really isn't and his body is doing what it needs to do.

A cool bath but it has been a lot of days at such a high temperature which is not good. I would get him to a doctor today before the weekend.

HI K.,
If you are set on not taking him to a doctor, keep alternating Tylonol with motrin depending on age. Also use a bowl with room temp water and a wash cloth and just keep him with a fresh one over his forehead and on neck, do this every few mins or so. Do not use freezing cold water, this could make his body go into shock. Get large glass of water and a straw and make him keep sipping every 5 to 10 mins, then refill glass. If he is that hot and the fever is not breaking you need to keep these liquids in him.
If it is still like this after a few days, please take him to the Doctor.

Hello, sometimes a cool bath works wonders, but with a 105 temp a doctor should be called I think. Hope your child feels better soon!

Hi, 105 is very high! ( I am sure you already talked to a doctor)
Put on light clothing
Take a bath ( not too hot )
Drink a lot of liquid
Hope he feels better soon

K., when my daugher was young she would always get UTI's so I would take a cool bath or shower with her to lower her temp. Sometimes it would take at least 2 cold showers. That worked best for us.

C. O.

K.,
Try giving him a bath with baking soda in it. It is something my mom told my to do with my kiddos and it really does work.

Hi K.:

My older son was the same way and we the ER doctors and pediatrician recommended Tylenol suppositories.

When I finally got into homeopathy, my son never needed tylenol or motrin again, but homeopathy is very case specific. We had tons of luck with Meso silver, oregomax (oregano with some wild herbs)and mushroom capsules. Our current MD is also a naturopath and a homeopath, so he does everything natural first. We live in San Diego and he is in Solana Beach. If you are near there, just google Dr. Dan Harper.

If you want to read more about homeopathy and all the successful trials, visit www.bluedominoes.com and there is an article on the bottom left hand side. Good luck,
D.

What I did with my son when he had a high fever for 3 days was to wrap a cold compress in a towel and place it on forehead, then neck, and just all over his head for as long as possible to keep him cool.

My doctor told me once to have the child take a "tepid" bath - that means not real cold, but not warm at all. It really brings the temp down w/o meds. Also have them drink something cold. My husband is against meds unless completely necessary, so when a fever isn't too high, he doesn't give meds so it can fight the infection or whatever is going on, but when the fever does get high we give the kids meds. I don't believe in keeping them on total meds 24 hours, alternating between two meds, because it will take longer for the fever to go away.

K.,

My daughter had very high fevers when she was young. 105 many times. That is a dangerous temperature and needs to be brought down immediately if possible. A warm bath was always recommended by pediatrician and ER. Not cold, just warm. It not only helps the temp, but helps them feel a little better. That high of temp makes you feel miserable! All the medicine helps, but this is immediate. Also, touch him softly, because the body aches that accompany fevers are almost intolerable.
LOL, A.

K.,
I am sorry to hear about little ones being sick. One of the best ways is cool temp bath. This may have to happen a few times a day. It is one of the easist ways to cool a temp. I hope this helps and that your little one is well soon.
~~D.

There are two things you can try. One is giving him a room temp. Bath. Not cold or else he will just start shaking and create more body heat. That is supposed to lower the temp. Also you can rub rubbing alcohol in the seems of his body like under the arm pits or behind the knees. This is supposed to open the pores and allow some of the heat to release. I hope this helps, and that your son feels better soon.

You didn't say how old your son is but when a person develops a fever, it's the body's reaction to an infection that needs to be 'cooked out.' Unless it goes too high for his age, then let the fever run it's course. We usually don't give medication for a fever unless our children are uncomfortable or it's too high. Running a bath for him will also lower his temp. Don't make it too hot or too cold, just a warm bath.

i have heard before that plain old calcium reduces a fever.

Hi K., I know this may sound funny but for some reason Gatorade works for fevers on my three boys. I learned this by "accident" with my first son and swear by it. Whenever he ran a fever I never had to give him tylonol or any other kind of meds. Also a warm (not hot) bath, just a little cooler than his body temp, you dont want to shock him. But I hope you realize a 105 temp may be cause for concern. If it gets that high again take him to see the doctor right away.
Good luck, M. A.

We have MUCH, MUCH, MUCH better luck using ibuprofen to lower a fever. If necessary, alternate ibuprofen and Tylenol.

Hi K.

In our family we do "Vinegar Wraps". I know it sounds weird, but they really work. Here is what you do:

First mix lukewarm water with vinegar (ratio 3 parts water to 1 part vinegar). Then wet some towels (don't wring them out to much) and wrap your son's legs with it.

The lukewarm water will feel cool to him and the vinegar is going to lower his temperature. We've been using this remedy for generations in my family and it works every time. Not just for kids but for adults as well. My husband had a fever of 105 once and I got his temperature down to 101 in one hour.

It's worth a try. Good luck!

A cool bath drinking lots of water will help.

K.,

The only advise I would have for a natural way to lower a child's temp is to bath the child in a cold bath. It is not recommended that it be ice cold, but not warm either. My mother used this on me as a child and I have used it on my son in the past. I know your son will cry and hate you for it, but it usually works at breaking a fever. The key is to make sure you get the water sponged over his head, under his arms (the places where heat can get trapped). I don't think the child has to stay in it long, only about 5 minutes and it usually help quite a bit.

Whenever a fever hits 105, call the dr. No matter what time it is, there is always a dr on call. Once in the middle of the night, my daughters temp was 105.7. It was 3am, but I called the office and left a message for the dr on call. They called right back, we already had her in the tub (warm, not cold). She directed us how much tylonol to take and then motrin. With high fevers, once the initial 105 is down to about 102/103 my dr office has us alternate tylonol and motrin every 3 hrs. They work in different ways, and this way neither one completely wares off before the other one starts to work. We were able to get her fever down to 103 in an hour, so I didn't have to take her to the ER. Never be afraid to call the drs office to ask for help in what to do. That is what they are there for.

I hope he starts to feel better soon,
J.