high temperatures

dangerously high temperatures depend a lot on age. children can endure a higher temperature than adults.


http://www.mindspring.com/~drwarren/fever.htm


and this one:


http://www.ds-health.com/fever.htm


"Here's the important point: Fever is NOT dangerous! The amount of temperature required to hurt the human brain is over 107.6 F (42 C). Fever due to infection very rarely goes over 106.2 (41.3 C), and while scary to parents, is not harmful. (Temperatures over 107.6 F are usually due to heatstroke, head trauma, toxic ingestions or anesthesia side effects.) Seizures due to fever can occur in the age range of 4 months to 6 years, but is most often associated with an abrupt rise in temperature, rather than an extremely high fever. And while seizures due to fever are frightening, they are short (less than 5 minutes) and are very rarely harmful to the child's brain."

read between the lines on both of these pages. i am not recommending the drugs, etc. it is simply important to realize the function of fever. helping it along with a warm bath, covers, rest and lots of clear liquids is the best thing to do. food will tend to feed an infection and give fuel to any nausea that comes to a head. a healthy person with a fever doesnt need food. the body has more important things to tend to besides digestion. food is pushed on people because the caregiver wants reassurance the danger is over. a natural appetite is surely that sign, but dont force it. there is no way a person is going to garner strength by eating while sick. the opposite is true for most infections and for short durations of a couple of days or so.

this also brings to mind the huge racket of family clinics. most people stew over a child for a day or so and then take them in for fear there is something more serious than just a normal illness. they go, the child gets loaded up with crappy meds and the child gets better in spite of the poisoning just like it would have anyway. if and when one feels they must rule out more serious problems, do so with the idea that if it is a normal cold or childhood disease, go back home and refuse the antibiotics and cough syrups, etc. do your own doctoring which is easy to do naturally. having your child on a good diet, active schedule and fully iodinated is the best prevention for serious problems such as a cascading infection or meningitis, etc. when a child is isolated in an artificial environment all the time, that is when a cut or other exposure from outside can cause such catastrophic problems. let em play in the dirt and eat without washing their hands. beats vaccinations all day every day. keep them away fromt he cat litter, though!