Sweating a fever?

I remember reading that a very mild feaver, under 100F, is best treated by staying warm and drinking far too many drinks warm or room temp.  Monitor every half hour and if it goes over 101F, follow modern advise.  But usually it dicipates after 4 hours or so and we can avoid the flu or whatever by helping our body do its thing.

Anything to this?  Or is it just wives talk?

Makes sense to me. A run-of-the-mill virus will give you a low fever and will run its course in a few days, so just rest up an stay hydrated. If it gets worse instead of better, then it’s worth seeking medical attention.

I would guess you are not “avoiding” the flu so much as discovering in time that you have a milder virus.

Staying hydrated *& nourished*, letting the low grade fever run its course, isolating, getting rest... All good things. Making the drinks of immune boosters, anti-bacterial, anti-viral herbs like elderberries, oregano, thyme, sage, honey, lemon, ginger, fire cider, etc., will not only hydrate, but also have been proven to shorten the duration of most communicable illnesses.

r ranson wrote:I remember reading that a very mild feaver, under 100F, is best treated by staying warm and drinking far too many drinks warm or room temp.  Monitor every half hour and if it goes over 101F, follow modern advise.  But usually it dicipates after 4 hours or so and we can avoid the flu or whatever by helping our body do its thing.

Anything to this?  Or is it just wives talk?

That's pretty much what I do. Hot baths are really good if there's no danger of falling asleep, or hot bentonite clay foot baths.

These are my excuses, and I'm sticking with them.

I have read that a fever is humanity's way to slow down a virus. Many viruses can't multiply as quickly at warmer temperatures.

So if I feel like I'm getting sick, I heat up my rice pack and put it where I'm feeling symptoms (usually my neck lymph nodes, particularly if they're tender, or my sinuses if they feel stuffy). This is before I even have a fever.

If I get a fever, and believe it's something innocuous like the common cold, I will easily let it get up to 103F (40C) before I get concerned.

Years ago I read a study which had been done in India. It compared people who had taken Acetaminophen for measles vs those who hadn't. The ones that took it had a greater percentage who ended up in hospital with pneumonia. I can't remember more details than that, but it was one of the things which influenced me to think that I shouldn't treat fevers because they were helping my body.

I also saw ads for versions of anti-fever drugs which suggested reasons why they shouldn't be used - like give your kid a drug so he doesn't miss hockey practice. Seriously??? That just makes sure the rest of the team gets sick!  

Yes, if your fever is climbing and you think you may have something particularly nasty, yes, see a doctor. There are things they can do. At least have a plan in place to get you to a hospital if things go badly. Years ago, I realized my 3 yr old son was ill and convinced the doctor he really was sick and he had a pneumonia and responded quickly to an anti-biotic. (She thought I was over-reacting until she asked whether he'd had a reaction to any anti-biotics in the past and I told her he'd never had one in his life. We'd just moved - new Doctor. She learned to listen to me. )

My opinion is: fever is the natural reaction of the body's immune system when it wants to cure (is that the word? or 'heal'?) an upcoming illness. Many modern pharmaceuticals stop the symptoms, but not the cause.
So, yes, I think drinking warm herbal teas, elderberry syrup drink, a.a. and staying in your warm bed is the best thing to do when you have a (not too high) fever. Stay warm, even sweat a little, and take the needed rest. That will help your body heal itself.
When you feel somewhat flue-ish, but there is no fever, being active in fresh air outdoors is a good thing to do imo. But when there is some fever, rest indoors is better I think.
If the fever is getting higher, then it's time to call a doctor, because it means there's something your body can not handle itself (virus, bacteriae, or whatever).

I agree with Inge. My husband and I call this method of getting rid of illness "cooking it out". LOL. We put on warm jammies, a thick sweater or a sweatshirt, pile on the blankets, and drink hot stuff--in our case, that's tea, garlic soup or hot and sour soup.

It's comforting that day and the next morning we feel way better and the fever is generally gone. It's never gone past 103, that I know of.

I agree with sweating it out. That's what my family did years ago and it still works for me. I listen to my body. If I have the chills, I pile on the blankets, hot soup and herb tea, and plenty of room temp water. I do this until the fever breaks with the sweats and feeling hot instead of chills. A shower or bath,  plenty of rest and fluids follows. A fever is the body's way of speeding up metabolism and putting the immune system into high gear. I'm not advising anyone on how to treat illness but this is what works for me.

My whole life (age 53, raised by grandma) and my son's whole life (age 33, raised by me), we never tried to get a fever down if it was up to 102 or even a bit higher. Above 102 I'd monitor more frequently, and it usually didn't stay there long. If it was in the high 102's and bed time was coming, I'd give something out of fear of it rising during the night. If I was awake to monitor it I'd let it stay above 102 as much as possible. Our fevers were never above the mid/high 102's except for me a year ago. It went up & down all week, and over the weekend it went up to 103.8 at night, and I felt super-crappy, so I went to the ER and it was pneumonia. That was after a number of other respiratory illnesses the previous year and tons of stress. I let the hospital do its thing to me, and went home after 48hrs. I took better care of myself mentally & physically and haven't been sick since.

I have always consider a low-grade fever to be of no concern.  A low-grad fever is 99F to 100.4F.

I agree that the body temperature would be good to monitor to make sure it does not go higher.

Drinking fluids at room temperature would probably to good.