February 2006

Burning up with fever

by Dr. Ogi Ressel

"My mother‑in‑law wants me to give my children medication whenever they have a fever. I don't feel comfortable doing so, but don't know how to explain it to her."

If you've ever been asked this (or a similar) question by one of your patients, then this month's column is for you. I suggest you copy it and hand it out it to all the moms in your office.

Your child is hot, flushed, glassy‑eyed and obviously not well. Your diagnosis is fever! Brilliant! You're very concerned and even feel a little panic setting in. After all, you've been trained to think of fever as a bad thing, as something that should be treated. And right now, your child is a shining example of "sickness" at its best.

Let's take a close look at this fever "thing" for a moment.

We've been taught that normal body temperature undulates around

98.6 F (37C), right? Wrong! That only represents an average. Your child's body temperature can hover anywhere between 97 and 100 degrees and still be considered "normal." That's a lot of heat! And that's what fever is ‑‑ heat. It's the result of approximately 150,000 chemical reactions occurring in the body every second. Normal body temperature is the result of your child's body working as it was meant to, under the perfect control of its computer command center: the nervous system.

Yet, in order to help your child recover when he or she is fighting some bug or other invading organism, two things happen.

First, the nervous system ‑‑ which is closely aligned with the immune system ‑‑ commands an increase in heat production. The purpose is to literally burn the invading germ, which can only survive at a body temperature of 98.6 F. Any increase in heat, therefore, kills such bugs. This is a good "thing."

Second, as a result of orders from the nervous system, many body activities speed up in order to beef up the body's defense. Respiration and breathing increase in order to increase blood oxygenation and help get rid of the invading agent through exhalation. Also, the heart rate goes up in order to pump blood faster preparing the body for battle. The skin becomes moist and clammy (another portal of exit for the invader) and the child begins to shiver. Shivering is needed to cause muscles to contract and therefore produce extra work. All this extra work and activity produces extra heat, which we call fever. Simple!

All this activity has one purpose: to eliminate the invading bug.

Here's where it gets really interesting. This doesn't necessarily mean your child is sick, as you've been taught to believe. His or her body is doing exactly what it's been naturally programmed and designed to do. I'm not saying you have to like it, but it's for the best.

But here's something that may surprise you. Whenever a child has a high fever, the eyes appear glassy. That's because the cornea, which is very heat sensitive, is continually washed with tears in order to cool it down. Is this an example of sickness? I don't think so.

As bizarre as this may sound, fever is really an expression of health. But as a loving parent, it's at this point you feel you have to do something.

Not necessarily. The most important things to do are to understand why this increase in body temperature is happening, provide supportive care, and allow your child's body to do what it needs to do with no interference ‑‑ for most parents, a very difficult thing to do.

The other thing that must be remembered is that the height (temperature) of a fever has no bearing on the seriousness of the condition and there is absolutely no clinical evidence to suggest that high fever causes convulsions or brain damage. Think about this logically for a moment. Why would the nervous system increase temperature to injure itself? These are old wives 'tales designed to frighten parents for the sake of, you guessed it, profit.

So why do you have to take your child's temperature when he or she is feverish? The answer is you don't. Increasing numbers of doctors feel that the taking of temperature is an unnecessary ritual and I couldn't agree more.

The idea of measuring temperature was borne out of marketing efforts by the pharmaceutical industry, whose aim was to teach the public that fever should be feared and treated so that sales of anti‑fever medications would soar. This marketing plan was very effective and is still prevalent today.

It's neither necessary nor wise to lower body temperature. Fever isn't the problem. It's simply the result of the body attempting to recover. Medications taken to lower temperature work only temporarily. Once they're excreted from the body, the temperature will again increase. The reason is that these drugs have no effect on the real problem and therefore nothing is really changed by giving them to your child.

Health food stores carry a number of natural health products you that may help your child cope with his or her "sickness" symptoms while the body's doing its thing. Ask. Fever should be viewed as a sign that the nervous system and immune system are doing exactly what they're designed to do.

On its own, a high fever isn't critical. But at times, a youngster may need a bit of help. If your child is less that a year old and has a fever with the presence of any of the following signs, you should seek the advice of your health care advisor:

‑‑ is in severe pain and cannot be comforted;

‑‑ is anxious and/or lethargic;

‑‑ whines continuously;

‑‑ can't retain fluids and/or has continuous diarrhea;

‑‑ has difficulty breathing, urinating, or swallowing;

‑‑ has an unexplained rash and a pulse rate of over 120 beats per minute.

Although these situations are rare, they may indicate the need for some form of help and intervention.

I suggest that the next time your child has a fever, understand the reason for it. Don't jump the gun and try to lower his or her temperature; you may actually delay recovery.

Lastly, have your child checked by a chiropractor to ensure he or she has an optimally functioning nervous system that can successfully deal with this "illness" and recovery.

(Dr. Ogi Ressel, author, researcher, and an x‑ray and pediatric specialist, teaches The Practice Evolution Program, the "fastest‑growing coaching program on the planet." Visit online at www.practiceevolution.com  and take the Practice Health Mini‑Checkup. Dr. Ressel may be contacted by e‑mail at drogi@practiceevolution.com  or by calling 800‑353‑3082. Interested in receiving his weekly THOTS "on seeing tons of children and families in your practice?" Send him an e‑mail and asked to be added to the list.)