Natural Remedies: Fevers

FEVERS

Symptoms

§  A fever is any body temperature over 99 degrees Fahrenheit

When to be Concerned and Call the Doctor

§  Newborns: Anytime there is a fever over 99 degrees Fahrenheit

§  Infants: Anytime there is a fever over 101 degrees Fahrenheit (anything lower than 97 degrees is a concern as well

§  Children & Adults: anything over 103 degrees Fahrenheit

§  If the fever lasts for more than two days straight, is accompanied by confusion and a stiff neck

§  IF THE FEVER IS OVER 105 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT, THIS IS A LIFE THREATENING EMERGENCY.  Call 911.

Home Remedies

§  HONEY & GINGER: Combine 1 tablespoon of honey with 2-3 drops of ginger.  Swallow this to help bring down a fever.  Honey is also effective by itself.

§  ELDERFLOWER TEA: Elderflower tea is believed to draw the fever down, especially in children.

§  VINEGAR SOCKS: Soak socks or towels in white vinegar.  Wrap around feet and wrists to bring down fever within an hour.  The socks can also be soaked in 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with 1 cup of water instead of straight white vinegar.

§  EGG WHITE SOCKS: Soak socks in egg whites.  Wrap around feet to draw the fever down.

§  BATHS: Take room-temperature baths (NOT cold) to help bring the body’s temperature down.

§  VICK’S VAPOR RUB: Rub Vick’s Vapor Rub on the feet and back to help bring down fever.

Diet

§  ORANGES & APPLES: Give energy and increases body resistance to infection.

§  GREEN LEAFY VEGETABLES: will regulate digestion and help remove toxins.

§  DRINK at all times.  If accompanied with stomach ailment, sip often to keep hydrated but not fill stomach too fast.

§  AVOID: ALL oily and spicy food, along with all sweets/sugar.

Other

§  REST as much as possible

§  AVOID sudden changes in temperature

§  MEDICATION: If medication is necessary, Tylenol/Acetaminophen is preferred over aspirin and ibuprofen, especially in children.  If taking medication for longer amounts of time, alternate between Acetaminophen & Ibuprofen.

§  SWEAT: Allow your body to sweat.  This is your body’s way of naturally releasing the heat and toxins.

PLEASE NOTE: These are only natural home remedies that no professional has reviewed or written.  This is not to take the place of professional medical advice, it is merely to aid you at home.  If you are concerned, it is best to call your doctor and follow instructions given by him/her.

Home Remedies Notebook

I know we've all been there at some point in time.  That time where you have the chills, a fever, and some sort of virus is plaguing you.  It's a miserable place to be...but oftentimes there are natural home remedies to make you feel so much better WITHOUT taking medicine.  Now don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-medicine.  I'm just anti-too-much medicine!  I've had times where I've  been really sick and needed to go on antibiotics and they've helped.  I also have had times where the antibiotics have helped one thing and made my life miserable for months in other ways.  It's all a balance.

There are times when you'll need to go to the doctor...and when

Organization: Family Management Notebook

I've been working on getting my life organized before the baby comes and one of the things I have been working on is a family management notebook for our household.  I first thought it was a good idea when I ran across this post while surfing through some blogs: http://www.thebettermom.com/2011/08/family-management-in-emergency-situations-legos-optional/

To put it lightly, I LOVED her idea.  Now, there are some parts where I thought this very ingenious lady was a wee bit crazy.  For instance, no thanks, but I am NOT keeping important information such as bank account numbers, driver's license numbers, and social security cards in one notebook so that anyone could just snatch it.  Sorry, but that just sounds like identity theft in the making.  I suppose that if you are very careful with the information (as I am sure Amy Bayliss is) you could do it safely, but I want this notebook to be available and easy to find.  I don't want to be worried about where I place it, who sees it, etc.  So I will not be putting any sort of HIGHLY sensitive information in it.

This is what I HAVE put in it thus far, however.  I currently took her front cover template and changed it just

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It started with "THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS."  And then I went to Joann.com for something totally different.  While there I found out that I can get McCall's patterns on sale this week for $1.29.  Then I realized I can get fleece and flannels on sale for 50% off.  Then I realized I had a 25% off coupon for the 4th-6th on sale and full-price items.  I was originally going to use all of these discounts (minus the patterns) on different items for other Christmas presents (which I still plan on doing)....  But....I then started thinking about baby clothes.

So I started looking up McCall's patterns for infants.  And I found some that I REALLY want to try.  These are some of my ideas:

McCall's Patterns: 6426

This is the first pattern I am going to work on.  I am definitely going to make these sacks, as EVERYONE tells me