Long-running fever.
Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2003 21:12:50 -0600
From: tbone.netease.net
To: herb.lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: [herb] Reccuring fever
I need some advice for my youngest daughter who will be 4 soon. She has always been a healthy child, but for the last 2 ½ weeks. It started one night with a fever of 103-104 F and it lasted for three days. On the fourth day her temperature was normal but she was still pale and in need of a nap in the afternoon. Since then she is well in the daytime and nighttime, but at around 7-8 pm her temperature goes up to 103 F for an hour or two. The only symptoms are more tired than usual in the afternoon/evening, slightly paler skin tone, not much appetite when the temperature goes up. Oh and nose picking and bedwetting, but I don't know if it's related...
I have started giving her echinacea, goldenseal, lemon balm. I would rather not take her to the clinic, so any ideas are very welcomed.
From: Sharon Hodges-Rust mwherbs.cox.net
where do you live?
From: tbone.netease.net
Middle Tennessee above the Alabama and Mississippi line.
From: "jim mcdonald" multiflorum.hotmail.com
Has the fever "broke" yet (has she had the big end of a fever sweat)? If not, it's likely to keep coming back till it does, so the body can eliminate through the skin. A very good all purpose "fever tea" is a blend of Yarrow, Elder & Peppermint (or Wild Bergamot), and you could add things like Catnip to encourage a nap if she's restless.
Things that come & go like that make me think of Boneset. This'd be positively indicated if there's achy-ness, and/or she has that "I'm cold, need to cover up... too hot to be under a blanket, I gotta get this off me... oh, I'm cold again..." Sometimes this is all consecutive, other times people may feel okay between "phases". Unfortunately, Boneset is pretty dreadful tasting... getting a tea down would be difficult, I'd use a tincture. Blue Vervain is similar, but also sedative. It can be added to help sleep during fevers. (Fever tea with Boneset tincure during the day, Camomile or Catnip with Blue Vervain at night or for naps).
Soup broth with Astragalus, burdock and shiitake mushrooms in it will probably help as well, maybe a bit of Ginger?
I don't see any reason to use Goldenseal.
From: "K B" mt_turtle.email.com
Fever is always down in the morning and up in the evening especially in children. Even when a fever is high it will be higher in the afternoon to evening.
I recommend seeing a health professional to rule out strep... A low grade strep infection can drag on and on and can cause permanent damage if not knocked out. 103 for longer than 3 days indicates need for firm action.
If strep is ruled out consider allergies, virus... Allergies can cause a child to run a fever but is usually not this high. Use tonic herbs to build up resistance.
From: Herbmednurse.aol.com
My (then 14) year old daughter had something like that last year. She ran a dreadful fever for a whole week ---- and I gave her LOTS of boneset. Never touched her. She ran the fever throughout the entire day and night with few lapses. It was always around 103. Usually when someone is febrile only late afternoon/evenings, it's - usually - viral. And when they're febrile throughout the day with few periods of a normal or near-normal temp., it's - usually - bacterial. We did take her in, ran several tests, and nothing. She had no other symptoms whatsoever. We did, at the time, have a 'virus' in our city affecting kids the same way. What it turned out to be, no one knew. After the week, it broke on its own. I don't mind saying it was a terrible week; luckily it didn't affect the rest of the family. Weird.
From: "jim mcdonald" multiflorum.hotmail.com
>She ran a dreadful fever for a whole week ---- and I gave her LOTS of boneset. Never touched her.
Hmm... interesting. I've always had pretty good luck with Boneset. Sometimes if there's still deep aching after starting with it I'll use a tiny bit of Black Cohosh and/or Arnica, but the Boneset's always seemed specific with that symptom picture.
I can only imagine making a 14 year old take lots of Boneset (yuk!) and then having it not really work... hopefully it didn't create an aversion to trusting your "potions".
Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2003 19:43:43 -0600
From: tbone.netease.net
Thank you everyone for all the help. She had a hotter fever for longer last night, and this morning she was fine, as usual. Now she is sleeping and her forehead is nice and cool. But last night my 10 month old son had a fever too. So, it could be viral.
We are goat keepers and drink goat milk and I make cheese and yogurt. This year we decided to start drinking it raw after reading about how much better it is. But now we are going back to pasteurizing since I just realized that the fever coincided with the first doe freshening (coming in milk). I wonder if maybe something was passed on to her from the raw milk.
I also had a question about Yarrow. I made a tincture of Yarrow some time ago and that's what I'm using for my little one. Is the tincture comparable to the fresh herb?
From: Henrietta HerbsAcadiana.aol.com
> I wonder if maybe something was passed on to her from the raw milk.
My Aunt Mildred Corwin caught undulant fever (Brucellosis, Bang's disease), from unpasturized goat milk when she was in China. You might have your daughter checked for it.
From: Herbmednurse.aol.com
>My Aunt Mildred Corwin caught undulant fever (Brucellosis, Bang's disease), from unpasturized goat milk when she was in China.
The daughter that I wrote of with febrile episodes ---- we had just gotten a new batch of raw milk (from a farmer that we had gotten some from previously) and I remember wondering if it was this particular batch of milk....no one else in the family got sick. _if_ it was the milk, wouldn't we all have gotten sick, too?
Ours was cow milk.
From: Henrietta HerbsAcadiana.aol.com
> _if_ it was the milk, wouldn't we all have gotten sick, too?
No, not everyone exposed gets it. But, it can also be passed directly from goats/animals-it's carried in the feces. Killed by pasteurization. Untreated it can take up to a year to get rid of it. My Aunt Mildred got it before antibiotics and it left her debilitated for the rest of her life, but did not shorten it-she lived to be very old.
Didn't you say you raised goats? Or was that another poster? A friend of mine here in St. Martinville, LA raised goats and her daughter also had undulant fevers of undetermined origin. She finally outgrew it after a year or so. Makes you think.
I'd also be concerned about TB which can cause that type of fever pattern. That's another disease pasteurization was designed to get rid of. Did the milk come from a certified TB-free herd? Has she had skin test for that or an xray? Not to mention bladder/kidney infections. Sure worth a good checkup to rule out the obvious.
From: "Aliceann and Scott Carlton" carlton47.earthlink.net
I'd be cautious of catstrophizing and evilizing raw milk friends. It is the giver and sustainer of life. We milked our goats in an outdoor ped covered with a tarp on a milking platform. We never had a case of illness nor any odor or contamination and out milk was used raw both by humans and by a show kennel's newborn pups. I know there are real worries about brucellosis and TB....testing assesses both of these. If you or children develop runs or tummy aches from milk, heat it before use and add a little cinnamon or ginger and honey...and don't drink too much at a time. Goats' milk is easier to digest due to it's smaller fat globules and other factors. In any case, if we panic over an imagined association, then we may risk losing a valued food source.
There also are real concerns about cross contamination of many diseases. if your children or you have colds or infections, protect the animals from your illnesses as much as the other way around.
