ProudGrandma Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 we try really hard to do as much of our health care at home using more natural methods. I mostly use vitamins, good whole food and essential oils. My dd14 is sick. She woke up yesterday not feeling the best. Her throat and nose were congested and she was caughing some. She muddled through school, but just didn't feel the best. By bedtime she was running a temp of 101. Gave her the normal vitamins and oils I would use for this situation...and sent her to bed. She woke up coughing and still feeling icky. Her temp was 101. (this was at 7)...then at 8:30 I took her temp again...102.4. I am a firm beliver that a low temp is not a bad thing...it's killing something. But then she threw up (all mucus)....and again at about 9:45. Took her temp again at 10:30...it was 103.7...so I took it again...103.7...so I changed thermometers...103. I gave her one and a half motrin (not really wanting to do that) and put an ice pack on her head an neck. what else should I be doing?? If it's influenza, I am still not planning on doing to the doctor because we have had this before and have beaten it at home. thanks for your thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 If you want to reduce fever without medication, you could try the lukewarm calf wraps. http://cgi.linuxfocus.org/~guido/med/wadenwickel/ That was the standard remedy when I grew up, and fever meds were rarely necessary. ETA: This is not about icy water directly cooling teh body, but the process of evaporation, so do not use very cold water. In order to evaporate water, a certain amount of heat energy (the so called latent heat) is required. This heat energy is provided by the body, and thus the process lowers the body temperature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustEm Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 In that situation I always focus on keeping them hydrated, with broth, water, electrolytes, and whatever other liquids they'll tolerate. That is the most important thing. 103 temp is high but its nothing to need immediate care if its only day one. I tend to go a good few days with that kind of temp as long as they are able to remain hydrated and are in a normal state of mind and not dangerously lethargic after sleeping for a few hours. If the throwing up persists and signs of dehydration start up I'd be concerned. So I would just keep doing what you're doing and wait and see. I might also add cleaning out the sinuses with a saline rinse and gargling with salt water regularly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Saline rinse. High levels of vitamin D and C. Hydration Oscillococcinum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Peregrine Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 In that situation I always focus on keeping them hydrated, with broth, water, electrolytes, and whatever other liquids they'll tolerate. That is the most important thing. 103 temp is high but its nothing to need immediate care if its only day one. I tend to go a good few days with that kind of temp as long as they are able to remain hydrated and are in a normal state of mind and not dangerously lethargic after sleeping for a few hours. If the throwing up persists and signs of dehydration start up I'd be concerned. So I would just keep doing what you're doing and wait and see. I might also add cleaning out the sinuses with a saline rinse and gargling with salt water regularly. Pretty much this. We also offer emergenc-c. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 she is tired right now...so I told her to sleep...I will see how she is in a couple hours, I guess. right?? I am trying to get her to drink water...and she is drinking some...thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I think a fever is a great thing. The body is trying to burn the infection out. I only raise an eyebrow when the temp is over 104....and then only if the fever seems out of the blue. Peppermint oil on the bottom of the feet is a decent way to bring down a fever quickly. The evaporation method regentrude mentions above is also good. As long as she is staying hydrated and breathing ok, I wouldn't be worried at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aura Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Vicks salve, either on the chest and back or on the feet, covered with socks. Helps with congestion and fevers. Ginger can help with the stomach and fevers. Try it as a tea, Ginger Ale made with real ginger, or make a very strong tea and add it to a warm, not hot, bath. Nettle is good for congestion, and makes a pleasant tea (sweeten with some honey if you want) . Guafenisen (plain Mucinex) is very good at thinning mucus and helping with congestion. It's a gentle medicine that doesn't cause hyperactivity or drowsiness and doesn't dry out the nose like Sudafed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I think you're doing great! The main thing is going to be watching out for dehydration and for breathing problems. Heavy coughing is often a breathing problem in disguise as airways start to close up. I would see a doctor for that, or for continued vomiting (which leads to dehydration and electrolyte imbalances which can be very dangerous). I would make sure that she sips water pretty much continuously whenever she is awake, do a pinch test on the back of her hand a few times per day, and feed her bananas, which contain potassium--the most common dangerous depletion with vomiting and/or diarrhea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I would keep her hydrated and give her a full dose of Motrin (1-2 depending on her weight). My kids vomit when they get mucous in their stomachs and fever. I'd probably use a menthol rub to help her sinuses clear if you don't want to use ingested cold meds. Throat coat herbal tea is good too, and of course lots of fluids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Even though the fever isn't going over 104, the flu bug this year has a lot of body aches with it. Our ped office said to alternate motrin and tylenol every 3 hours as needed to help with the symptoms. We've all got it in our house right now (not dh yet, but the rest of us), but we've been getting away with just tylenol. I'm normally anti stuff, but the body aches from this bug are really nasty. We use Primadophilus (probiotics) for the stomach part. She's getting the bugs from her mucous into her stomach, so you put in good bugs to combat. You can have her sip diluted pear juice or water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I am fine with going to the doctor, but nothing I am seeing would make me feel like a doctor trip was warranted. It is a virus and will go away with time and rest. I would be giving a full dose of motrin for the fever, but only because it is over 102 and that is just uncomfortable and feels terrible. If she starts to get sicker instead of better, if she has labored breathing, if she starts vomiting etc, if her fever suddenly spikes up higher or she starts to complain of a really bad headache, if her throat gets very sore..those are the sorts of things to keep an eye on. and it is prob not The Flu because that generally has a sudden onset high fever. After having had the flu, I say that if you have to wonder if it could be the flu, it isn't the flu. I was fine one minute and then 20 mins later I was on the floor shivering with a high fever and I felt like I had been beaten with a baseball bat. My baby was crying in the crib and I could not get up to check on him. That was what the flu was like. It is a virus and will prob run its course. I hope she is feeling better in a day or two! :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustEm Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I hate giving fever reducers because you can't accurately identify the type of fever and severity if you reduce it. You are also going against your bodies defense mechanisms for fighting off the infection. But sometimes with the aches that can come from illness it is necessary in order to allow the body to get a really good rest. In that case, I like to keep fever reducers to only half the day, usually at night, so I can monitor what the fever does while not being inhibited by meds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I am fine with going to the doctor, but nothing I am seeing would make me feel like a doctor trip was warranted. It is a virus and will go away with time and rest. I would be giving a full dose of motrin for the fever, but only because it is over 102 and that is just uncomfortable and feels terrible. If she starts to get sicker instead of better, if she has labored breathing, if she starts vomiting etc, if her fever suddenly spikes up higher or she starts to complain of a really bad headache, if her throat gets very sore..those are the sorts of things to keep an eye on. and it is prob not The Flu because that generally has a sudden onset high fever. After having had the flu, I say that if you have to wonder if it could be the flu, it isn't the flu. I was fine one minute and then 20 mins later I was on the floor shivering with a high fever and I felt like I had been beaten with a baseball bat. My baby was crying in the crib and I could not get up to check on him. That was what the flu was like. It is a virus and will prob run its course. I hope she is feeling better in a day or two! :grouphug: We all had the flu this year (verified) but it manifested differently for different family members; a couple did not have fevers or only low fevers. Just saying, not everyone gets the same symptoms or the same severity of symptoms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 after about 45 minutes after the motrin, her fever went down a whole degree...so instead of being 103.7...it's now 102.5....but she is a little more perky for the moment. She hasn't vomited anymore...she is drinking some water and I gave her ice chips. I don't think she is dehydrated yet...discovered lime EO is a good mucus reducer...so that as helped her. just now hoping the rest of us stay healthy. thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I am fine with going to the doctor, but nothing I am seeing would make me feel like a doctor trip was warranted. It is a virus and will go away with time and rest. I would be giving a full dose of motrin for the fever, but only because it is over 102 and that is just uncomfortable and feels terrible. If she starts to get sicker instead of better, if she has labored breathing, if she starts vomiting etc, if her fever suddenly spikes up higher or she starts to complain of a really bad headache, if her throat gets very sore..those are the sorts of things to keep an eye on. and it is prob not The Flu because that generally has a sudden onset high fever. After having had the flu, I say that if you have to wonder if it could be the flu, it isn't the flu. I was fine one minute and then 20 mins later I was on the floor shivering with a high fever and I felt like I had been beaten with a baseball bat. My baby was crying in the crib and I could not get up to check on him. That was what the flu was like. It is a virus and will prob run its course. I hope she is feeling better in a day or two! :grouphug: FYI- there is a flu going around that does not run a fever. Several dear friends have had it and have tested positive for the flu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustEm Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 after about 45 minutes after the motrin, her fever went down a whole degree...so instead of being 103.7...it's now 102.5....but she is a little more perky for the moment. She hasn't vomited anymore...she is drinking some water and I gave her ice chips. I don't think she is dehydrated yet...discovered lime EO is a good mucus reducer...so that as helped her. just now hoping the rest of us stay healthy. thanks. make sure water isn't the only liquid she is getting. Electrolytes are key to keeping one hydrated while sick. Hope the rest of you stay healthy as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 what do you recomend? juice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I hope she feels better quickly. Our flu A (verified) this year manifested in a similar way - her symptoms sound very familiar. Some of us had fevers, some didn't. I think the main things to watch for are dehydration and breathing issues. We needed to use the nebulizer every 4 hours for our asthmatic kiddo. I'm going to second Jean's suggestion of Vit D and C. Also, our natural leaning doc suggested Andrographis Plus by Metagenics and HEEL Engystol for me. Those are both anti-virals. We used elderberry syrup as well, especially for the people who weren't sick yet. For the fever, we did Motrin, and as long as it brought a high fever down 2 degrees or so, we were happy. We (obviously, since the flu was verified) went to the doc, but my kids had strep along with the flu, so they needed to have that treated. Around here, the kids all seemed to be catching the double whammy special of flu A and strep simultaneously. Yuck. But really, other than Tamiflu, there's not much they do for the flu, and Tamiflu has it's own issues. We had it, but none of us finished our courses, as we had side effects and decided it wasn't worth it. Hoping she is better soon, and that you all don't catch it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I am fine with going to the doctor, but nothing I am seeing would make me feel like a doctor trip was warranted. It is a virus and will go away with time and rest. I would be giving a full dose of motrin for the fever, but only because it is over 102 and that is just uncomfortable and feels terrible. Same here. I wouldn't go to the doctor for this unless the fever lasted for several days. I too would give something to bring the fever down because it does tend to make people feel less lousy. Our doc always wants to know why we hardly go there. I say because the kids only get colds and minor viruses. There is nothing they can do for that. If you go there they think you expect them to do something so often they prescribe stuff you really don't need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Oh! We did end up with one kiddo in the hospital due to dehydration - after days of vomiting. So definitely keep an eye on that, and make sure she's hydrated. If you can stomach doing it, the powdered gatorade is a bit healthier than the type that's pre-mixed. I can't recall the difference, but it's distinct enough that our doc (the natural leaning one) always suggests that. Pedialyte makes a drink or some push up pops that would replace electrolytes, too. Our kiddo that was dehydrated is an excellent water drinker, so he'd been drinking water, but not replacing electrolytes. And for full disclosure - I was also hospitalized with this particular flu. It was really a doozy. Not sure if the crushing chest pain was from the Tamiflu or the flu itself, but I scored an ambulance ride and hospital admission. Not fun to have the flu in an isolation room. Not at all. While I was there, there were 90 other flu patients admitted. Horrible. So do be careful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 We had strep and flu at the same time over Christmas. If people are feeling very poorly and the cold symptoms continue I would go ahead and go to the Dr to get it tested and make sure. It was horrible, my kids have NEVER been that sick before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I hope she feels better quickly. Our flu A (verified) this year manifested in a similar way - her symptoms sound very familiar. Some of us had fevers, some didn't. I think the main things to watch for are dehydration and breathing issues. We needed to use the nebulizer every 4 hours for our asthmatic kiddo. I'm going to second Jean's suggestion of Vit D and C. Also, our natural leaning doc suggested Andrographis Plus by Metagenics and HEEL Engystol for me. Those are both anti-virals. We used elderberry syrup as well, especially for the people who weren't sick yet. For the fever, we did Motrin, and as long as it brought a high fever down 2 degrees or so, we were happy. We (obviously, since the flu was verified) went to the doc, but my kids had strep along with the flu, so they needed to have that treated. Around here, the kids all seemed to be catching the double whammy special of flu A and strep simultaneously. Yuck. But really, other than Tamiflu, there's not much they do for the flu, and Tamiflu has it's own issues. We had it, but none of us finished our courses, as we had side effects and decided it wasn't worth it. Hoping she is better soon, and that you all don't catch it. Ugh! That is what we had! It was awful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Ugh! That is what we had! It was awful! Wasn't it?! I didn't even think it was possible to have strep and flu at the same time! The doc said 50% of the kids coming in that week were testing for both. It was about Dec 29 or so. I am *still* not back to 100%. Hope you guys are all better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Well, my kid would have already been at the doctor for some Tamiflu or antibiotics (not saying yours should be, but thought I should mention it before I give you any advice so you can decide whether or not my suggestions would be helpful or useless to you!) but I am also very big on natural stuff, and if I thought it was the flu, I would do the things that have already been mentioned and also add Sambucol because we have had very good results with it for the flu. When our friends' kids had the flu, they used Sambucol and oscillococcinum for it (no tamiflu) and they recovered quite quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Wasn't it?! I didn't even think it was possible to have strep and flu at the same time! The doc said 50% of the kids coming in that week were testing for both. It was about Dec 29 or so. I am *still* not back to 100%. Hope you guys are all better! We are pretty much better, it took me awhile to bounce back just because ds was so sick and sleeping poorly. I barely slept while he was sick. My kids have never been so sick. It was a very miserable experience for everyone. Dh wouldn't even let anyone of us in the same room as him. :lol: I slept on the couch for two weeks! Rude! People need to keep an eye on that combo going around and if people in their area are coming down with it. We had Tamiflu and antibiotics and it still took ds weeks to get better. I prefer to use natural methods as well. We were actually all on vacation and at my mom's when we became infected. Since my younger sister was also sick we made her go to the clinic first before we dragged the kids there with our out-of-state- health insurance so once we knew what it was we decided that was too much. That was actually the first time my kids and I have taken Tamiflu. I have certainly had colds where I took some elderberry and was fine but this season one might want to be a little more aware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Slartibartfast, I'm glad you are all recovering. To have that happen while out of town... [shudder]. It was one heck of a combo. We canceled a vacation to my mom's house (I was so disappointed because I miss her, but need I say how grateful we were not to give it to her?). Then we had to cancel a visit to more extended family, and another visit *from* extended family. We still have to reschedule it all! Yikes. OP, I hope your kiddo is okay, and that it doesn't turn into the crazy-bad experience we had. FWIW, except for the strep, there wasn't much the doc could do. But it helped to know that the strep was taken care of, and that the rest was viral. If you think it could be the same combo we had, you might consider the doc, but if you're sure it's just (ha! *just* is hardly the word) the flu, then do what you'd normally do, and I hope some of the above ideas help. :) Sending healthy thoughts to all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitestavern Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 We use raw garlic and oregano oil for the more serious stuff, Sambucol for common colds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted January 23, 2015 Author Share Posted January 23, 2015 well, we make it throught the night. Against what I wanted to do, I gave her Motrin again before bed. The dose I gave her yesterday at 11 lasted until betime...her fever stayed pretty low...and was just creeping up at bedtime. I wanted her to get a good nights sleep. SHe woke at 7 coughing and hacking...but she is cool to the touch. My youngest son woke up congested and very tired. He said he slept, but he is very tired. So he is still resting. Hoping he isn't next...but planning that he will be. Anything I should do with him this morning??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 If you have no autoimmune disease in the family, I'd be giving elderberry syrup on a regular basis along with a lot of vitamin D, C, or a blend like Airborne. I'd also avoid all sugar/processed foods and work on getting a lot of nutrition into him. I think you said upthread you were into essential oils...so I'd be using Thieves or eucalyptus in a diffuser and pushing a lot of fluids. Wild cherry syrup is great for coughs. Thyme, elecampane, and cajeput are also herbs I tend to pull out for congestion... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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