Although worrisome to parents, fevers are common in childhood and will come and go on their own. Homeopathic remedies for fever offer a very effective way to control fever and help to decrease discomfort during a viral fever episode. Homeopathy can be very helpful for fevers to ease a natural way the symptoms of fever in adults of children and Belladonna, is one of the remedies that has converted most mums to homeopathy!

As a parent, it can be extremely worrying if your child has a high temperature. However, it’s very common and often clears up by itself without treatment . Nevertheless, this is not the general feeling of the parents, who often try to bring down fevers as quickly as they have valid concerns for their child. If your child is otherwise well, ie still playing or resting or eating with no distress, then often it is not cause for concern. Nevertheless, many parents will give children paracetamol automatically at the first sign of rising temperature. Often I find, that parents do not understand the importance of fevers and do not see it as the body working to their advantage, ie fevers have a vital biological purpose.  Some parents do not know what to expect when children are running a fever and confuse the symptoms of the body trying to recover with the worrisome symptoms of an illness. 

WHAT IS A FEVER?

Fevers are a rise in your body’s normal temperature in response to infections or illness, and research suggests that this is a body’s response to fighting germs to make the body a less comfortable place to be. Fever is an important part of the body’s defence against viruses and bacteria. The body creates extra heat so the virus or bacteria can not survive, so having a temperature is a healthy response to fighting invading foreign organisms. Therefore it is not advisable to bring down the temperature if the body is fighting an infection A child with a fever needs to rest and sleep, which is normal, and it is expected that the body use all its energy to fight the infection. The child does not need to be in bed, but they will probably have naps during the day and want to rest and cuddle more than usual, which is normal if the child has a fever. 

Fevers naturally go up in the evening and at night and may go down in the morning and the day. They may rise and fall over a period of a few days before returning to normal.

The general advice is that in babies under 3 months old, it is recommended to consult a paediatrician as babies have underdeveloped immune systems. It is necessary to understand where the fever comes from regardless of whether they are acting well. Many parents and adult patients ask me if I can recommend homeopathic remedies for the beginning of infection as they feel they are coming down with something such as a cold, sore throat, earache or any other viral infections accompanying fever. Working with homeopathy for fever can help to make the baby comfortable and provides a natural tool for families.

HOMEOPATHIC DOSING REMEDIES IN ACUTE FEVER

• Whether you are using a 30c or 200c the dosing for a single remedy is all the same.

• I sometimes give an initial boost of one dose every 15 minutes for an hour to help the fever drop a bit if it is above 39C and makes the person uncomfortable. Then continue every 2-3 hours or when the fever spikes again.

• Give according to the intensity of the symptoms, for instance, every 30 minutes or so when symptoms are severe. Otherwise, give it every 3 hours.

• As you start to improve, reduce the frequency of administration

• You can repeat the remedy if the remedy helps but does not last long; for instance, if the remedy helps for two hours, but then the fever goes up again, then repeat the remedy according to how fast the body is using the remedy.     

• Sometimes, the fever will not completely go away but, you will get intermittent gaps where the fever is not present or after taking the remedy, the temperature will drop to a comfortable level even though it will still be elevated. This is also a good indication that the remedies are working and, you should continue.

• If after the taking the remedy the child or adult falls asleep or simply feel more comfortable, this is a good indication that the remedies are acting. Healing takes time and it may take 2-3 days for a viral fever to subside.

HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES THAT ARE MOST HELPFUL FOR FEVER
​

ACONITE 200c Symptoms may start after exposure to cold wind, dry cold weather or exposure to drafts with perspiration. Sudden onset of high fever and feeling very restless and anxious. Worse after midnight ie. gone to bed ok and awakened at night with a fever. Although the face may be red and flashed, on rising up from the bed, the face becomes pale. Face alternating red and pale. You may be very thirsty for cold water.
 
FERRUM PHOS 200c  Feeling of tiredness and can hardly move about and pains in the joints, which are worst by any movement.  Sore, bruised pain in the body. Wrists ache and lose the power to grasp. You may have a fever but not as hot as Belladonna or Aconite. The face may be flushed. This is a good remedy if the symptoms of Aconite or Belladonna are unclear; this remedy lies somewhere between both. Symptoms are not very marked in this remedy; if there is a fever, it tends to be mild.
 
BELLADONNA 200c  Symptoms are sudden and very violent, developing a very high fever[39.9C]where you may feel very hot to the touch and look very red on the face and maybe delirious with the fever. Although you may feel burning hot, you can have cold hands and feet. You may have red glassy eyes and dilated pupils. Pains are throbbing and burning, and you do not feel very thirsty. You feel worse in the afternoon. Sometimes, these remedies given right at the start manage to abort the whole process; other times, they help with the initial symptoms. This is also a good remedy for children that throw high fevers with convulsions.

Belladonna is the best first option to think of for the beginning of viral infections, especially with fevers. Pain, redness and heat are all symptoms of an inflammatory process, which is your body’s protective response to a pathogen. And you may wonder why Belladonna is the first and most indicated remedy for that stage. Belladonna has an affinity to the blood vessels and vascular system, especially the CAPILLARIES, one of the initial systems involved. When inflammation happens, the cells release substances that dilate the blood vessels, allowing more blood to reach the damaged tissue. This is why the area becomes red and hot, and did you know that the main keynote of Belladonna is heat, redness, burning and throbbing? When you put together the affinities+ keynotes and the understanding of the action of Belladonna in toxicology, it is very easy to understand why this remedy tends to be considered most of the time indicated for first-stage fevers and viral infections.

However, if more than 24-48 hours have passed since the first symptoms, it is unlikely that the above remedies will help.

At this point, second-stage remedies for acute viral infections may be better indicated. ie. See post on Cold and Flu

ACONITE200+BELLADONNA200C

Let’s face it, life is not always simple! But here is another solution for you. If you awaken in the middle of the night and feel unsure if you should give Belladonna or Aconite ( as they can look similar), you can combine both in the mouth and use it as a combination!

HOMEOPATHY FOR FEVER SECOND STAGE

 
​BAPTISIA 200 This is a nice remedy for fevers that are continued without a brake They tend to be similar to influenza fevers, tropical fevers, or septic fevers. The fever can be accompanied by muscle soreness and tiredness. One dose every 3 hours can help this type of continuous fever.

PYROGEN 200 Fevers accompanying a septic state or chronic fevers. Pyrogen is a remedy for sepsis and includes septic fevers. It has an affinity to the heart, blood, circulation and muscles, so this is not a remedy for superficial infection; it is more a remedy for systematic infection from decomposition in a site and spreading to other areas.
This makes it ideal for infections after:
-surgery
-miscarriage
-after a septic wound that is not healing
– any septic fever
-viral or bacterial infections that have gone septic

Pyrogen tends to be accompanied by fevers that are low grade but with irregularities of the circulatory system, such as too fast or slow pulse. It follows well Lachesis, another good septic remedy and complementary to Arsenicum, Baptisia and Echinacea, all remedies for dealing with different types of infections.

Dose daily or twice daily, depending on the case

BANERJI PROTOCOL TIP

For very high fever with a risk of convulsion, use:

• Arnica 3c+ Cuprum Met 6c to stop temperature from rising and prevent convulsions. Continue with other remedies as well as this protocol. Give every 15 minutes for an hour and wait one hour.

For general fever:

• Eupatorium Perfoliatum 30+Belladonna30 every hour until fever begins to lower.