immunity 123
Immune System Treatments
assisting a fever with immune herbs and
natural healing methods
Fever is generally nature’s way of getting rid of unwanted toxins, making
it a healthy sign; the high temperature and consequent sweating burn and
kill unwanted attackers. There are situations, however, in which it can be
dangerous. Fevers in children and old people should be monitored, while
in babies and those who are already chronically sick, good professional
advice should be sought.
To help a fever in general, aim to keep your temperature up, but not
too high — above 102°F but below 104°F. Make sure the fever is “wet” and
not “dry.” To keep the fever wet, drink hot real fruit juices such as apple
juice with a stick of cinnamon and a pinch of pepper, or fresh lemon in
hot water. Herb teas are ideal, too. Good ones for fever are yarrow leaf,
red raspberry leaf, catnip leaf, peppermint leaf, elder fl ower, and boneset
leaf. Drink as much as possible. Red raspberry leaf and boneset leaf not
only help the sweating process but also provide calcium, which is lost in
enormous amounts during sweating. Additionally, these herbs act to
cleanse and clear the bloodstream and lymph system, which is a vital
process. If you need a break from hot drinks, take sips of noncarbonated
distilled, fi ltered, or mineral water, which must be at room temperature;
you don’t want to bring your temperature down.
Take fi ve to ten drops of echinacea root tincture hourly along with fi ve
drops of barberry root bark tincture. If the bowels have not opened
recently, have an enema, because constipation can push a fever up very
high. An enema in certain fever situations can actually save a life, being
the only thing that will bring a dangerously high temperature of 106°F or
107°F down a few degrees. Ensure that the bowels keep moving.
If your temperature is too high, get into a bath at a temperature of
98.6°F for approximately half an hour. If you feel low and exhausted, add
one half-cup cider vinegar, two tablespoons Epsom salts, and fi ve drops
rosemary essential oil to your bath. Once you have dried off, use a skin
brush, then go back to bed immediately and cover up well.
Use your thermometer frequently to keep gauging how you’re doing.
Once you’ve broken the fever, have another bath, this time fi nishing with
a cold shower. Change all nightclothes, bed linen, and so on. Keep
drinking the fl uids you drank during the fever to maintain the
detoxifi cation process and to build up the lost calcium. This is a vital
convalescent procedure. Also ensure that you consume appropriate liquid
nutrients to maintain the healing process.
123 The Complete Home Guide to Herbs, Natural Healing, and Nutrition