Natural Remedies for Fever in Children: Safe and Effective Treatments

| Modified on Sep 20, 2024
The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
ACV Bath, Egg Whites, Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Melissamd (Md, United States) on 12/05/2015 9 posts
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

My 7 year old daughter went from playing happily to burning up almost instantly.

Using one of those forehead to ear thermometers, I took her temperature.

106.5

That can't be right...

I popped out the batteries and reset the thermometer. I swiped my forehead first and it read 98.7. Good, it's working. I swiped hers again... 106.3

I tore down the hall into the bathroom with her in one hand and a carton of eggs in the other, put her in the bathtub, turned on the water, dumped in 1/2 a bottle of apple cider vinegar with the mother, grabbed a new trash bag, cracked 2 eggs into it (without the yolk) and put her feet in.

My daughter wasn't lethargic.

Other than her body trying to catch itself on fire internally, she had no signs of sickness.

While waiting for my son to bring my phone to the bathroom, I found an oral thermometer and put it under her tongue.

105.3

It was working and fast. Still, it's dangerously high.

Obviously, I called 911 because fibril seizures are no joke and I've never seen a thermometer go that high. We have never experienced either and I certainly hope we never will/will again.

By the time EMS arrived, (and they were quick), she was down to 103.

Upon returning home from the hospital, I laid her down and filled her ear with peroxide. Usually, it takes 10 minutes on each side until the bubbling stops.

It took 30. Each.

THIS is how to minimize something brewing (and brewing large).

1. Peroxide in each ear until it stops bubbling. The sooner you do this, the less your body will have to fight.

2. Egg whites on the feet.

3. ACV in the bath water.

It works.


Potato
Posted by Grace (Portland, Or) on 09/03/2010
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

Growing up, my parents always used potatoes in our socks for fevers. This past year, I had a fever of 102 that wouldn't drop after 2 days. I put potatoes in the fridge for 30 minutes, then sliced them, put them in my socks and started a movie. By the end of the movie my temperature had dropped to 99.9 and the potatoes were baked! After this treatment, the fever did not rise again. Cheap and healthy cure!


Baking Soda and Lard
Posted by Grateful (Houston Tx) on 06/09/2013
★★★★★

It's a old Mexican home remedy for fever. It actually works, after 1.5 days of fever and giving her motrin and tyleno l and the fever just keep returningl. My mother in law covered my 1 year old in a paste of baking soda and crisco lard right before bed. She woke up fresh with no fever. And the fever didn't return! She said when u didn't have money in Mx. You had to believe and go by home remedies handed down.


Immune Boosters
Posted by Beth A (Usa) on 01/21/2022

Thanks, Mama to Many. Enjoyed reading about the various natural home remedies. Good helpful and informative blog.

I have given garlic, tepid baths, chamomile, enemas and other natural remedies in the past for fevers. And enemas for constipation in the child.

Prefer natural home remedies. No OTC stuff.

Recently while watching my three grandchildren, one got a fever. And found out he didn't have a BM for two days.

My daughter-in-law (divorced) was working out of town.

After discussing on the phone my observations and his temp with her and calling holistic doctor (she is old fashioned and wonderful), was given permission to give him an enema.

The egg whites remedy did not appear to be of much help.

After preparing everything I sat down with him and told him he was going to be given an enema to help him feel better.

Asked my neighbor to come over and watch the other two while he was getting an enema.

It was amazing. Almost immediately after getting the enema he was feeling great.

Blessings


Enemas
Posted by Carol M (Louisville, Ky) on 06/23/2016
★★★★★

For fever in children -- enemas! I give either a cool water - tap water temp - enema. Or, give a catnip tea enema. Catnip will bring a fever down. It soothes and calms as well.

You can find this remedy in book Prescription For Nutritional Healing. Not medical advice. See your dr before giving any home remedies.

Enemas
Posted by Sue A (Virginia) on 08/02/2016
★★★★★

I also have given enemas for fevers. I have that book as well! Every mom should have a copy in the home. Enemas are a wonderful safe home remedy.


Potato
Posted by Amy (Bluffdale, Utah) on 05/27/2010
★★★★★

My 17 month old daughter had a fever of 104F and the egg whites didn't reduce her fever so I tried the potato. I put slices of potato in her socks, (about 2mm thick)and left them there. I made it big enough to cover her whole foot. I started at 6pm and at 10pm she woke up sweaty as her fever broke. She was so miserable before and she slept well after that. Thank you so much for this wonderful site. I come here for everything.


Potato
Posted by Limajean (Near Cleveland, Oh) on 11/21/2009
★★★★★

Potato as fever reducer

I sliced potatoes and put them in tight fitting socks as I put my feverish daughter to bed. She had a slight fever for most of the night. At 5:30 a.m. the fever spiked high. I removed the potato slices and put new ones in the socks. The fever instantly went down. At 8 a.m., she woke up and I removed the second slices from her socks. With each pair of potato slices, when I removed them, they were totally dry and strangely discolored (gray tinged) when I removed them. The first slices, that were in her socks the longest, continued to blacken and by 8 a.m. they were totally black. At 5:30, when I sliced the potato for the second installment, I also sliced a "control group." That control group looks like a regular sliced potato, now, 3 hours later. The second pair of potato slices that were in her socks, look very, very different from this control group. I am definitely impressed. By the way, I didn't refrigerate the slices as others have done. My naturopathic doctor told me about this remedy first. I then came to this site to see if anyone else had ever heard of it.


Baking Soda and Lard
Posted by Rudy (Hollister, CA) on 04/03/2007
★★★★★

(Remedy) Fever. "When we were small growing up my parents alway used home remedies and one which I recall using on my own children. Baking soda and Lard. You rub it on their stomach,feet and back and add the baking soda and rub it in and it reduces the fever instantly.My wife was a non beleiver till she saw it with her own eyes.

Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Danzi (Cape Town) on 12/26/2022
★★★★★

My 3 year old daughter recently had Herpangina (part of coxsackie virus family). Similar to hand foot and mouth disease, but it's main concerns are high fever and mouth sores. She had a fever of 39.2 Celsius (102.5 F). It kept climbing during the day despite a luke warm bath, taking off her clothes and pain med. I got very concerned and looked at cures on Earthclinic. For her I soaked two paper towels in the whites of two eggs and placed it into two butcher bags (one each). Put her feet in and tied the bag around her feet. Then I dipped a towel in a mixture of roughly 80% water and 20% ACV and wrung it out. Put that on the length of her body. Put her to bed like that, wearing only her night diaper. Every time I checked her fever during the night it was down and by morning it was back to normal.

A couple of days later my 2 year old boy got the same thing. His fever was 38 C (100.4 F) when I acted (which was at 1h00 AM in the morning). The egg whites are messy, so I decided to first see if ACV on its own won't do the trick. His skin is more sensitive, so I watered it down more. Roughly 1 part ACV to 6 parts water and just enough to wet a towel in a little basin. Wrung it out. Undressed him (save for his diaper) and put the towel on the length of his body. He protested a bit (towel was cold), but I stroked his head till he calmed down and he didn't throw it off. By 7 AM in the morning I checked again and his fever was down to normal. So with him nothing but ACV (no pain meds or bath or anything). It is summer here in South Africa, so I wasn't concerned about his temp should the fever break and his has a wet cloth on him.

A lady I know says her grandmother always makes vinegar cloths (she used plain spirit vinegar) to wipe their foreheads during a fever and it works well. I figured a cloth down the length of your body will be even better and will also cool the body. And ACV is off course better than regular for various health reasons, but in a pinch, try the regular spirit vinegar.


Baking Soda Bath
Posted by Diana (Eureka, Ks.) on 04/22/2010
★★★★★

Baking soda bath to drop fevers

You can use a small bowl and bath [face-head], neck, chest, & back or submerge body in tub. If using a small bowl, use 2 parts baking soda to 1 part (cool water-the colder it can be, the better). BE CAREFUL & LIGHTLY APPLY, AS NOT TO SHOCK THE PERSON. Do not rinse and apply often, fever should go down fairly fast. Once person is feeling better, bath to wash off baking soda. If submerging bath, tub does not have to be full. 2-1 parts, same as above. Just enough water to get wet good, (have water as cool as can be stood). Only stay in tub long enough, to soak or wet down entire body,(just a couple minutes). Do not rinse off, wait til fever has dropped. I have personally used this for many years, as my children grew up, passed down in my family. IT WORKS!

Hold the Child
Posted by Michelle (Lamora, Mexico) on 03/06/2008
★★★★★

To hold a child brings down the fever. When the babies get sick if you hold them in the position you would were you breastfeeding them it helps to bring down the fever...something to do with the energy flow. also you can lay them on a bed and place one hand under their head and one under their bottom and let them lay on your hands for a while. this works as well

Potato
Posted by Wyndy (Atlanta, GA) on 01/26/2008
★★★★★

I have my grandson visiting from Birmingham; he had been sick for two weeks with a terrible congestion and cough, and most recently worsened with a high fever (103oF) so I searched on line for a natural remedy to break fever. I came across this site and these suggestions. After reading all, I decided on the less messy potato remedy. I slice a white potato into pieces about the size of his little foot and ut them into his socks. It worked in 30 minutes! The fever is completely gone and he is back to a normal reading. Further, I am using apple cider vinegar with natural blue agave sweetener to loosen the congestion and a juice mixture of fresh lemon with grated ginger and sweetener to sooth his cough. Natural is always better! Thanks to all of you for sharing.


Baking Soda Bath
Posted by Skittles (Clinton, Nc) on 02/28/2017
★★★★★

I know for a fact baking soda bath works to reduce fever. My mother used it on me from small child because I was a very ill child have a genetic immune prob so I would get sick often. But it's not just for children - I was running over 103 fever - high dosage of pain reliever wasn't reducing it so had my bf use warm baking soda water (not cold to prevent horrible pain) within in less than 2 hrs I had no fever.


Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Caco_girl (Cebu City, Philippines) on 11/16/2011
★★★★★

My brother is really chilling and shivering to death with a 40 degrees centigrade.. His fever lasted for 3 days and continuoulsy taking lots of medicine.. Until someone told us to use vinegar ( not the ACV but the real liquid vinegar) as an alternative for water.. So instead of soaking the towel with a water while applying tepid sponge bath all over his body we use the vinegar.. I was really amazed upon using it especially that I am into a medical field.. It may sound so awful but geeeezzz, I dunno what happened but trust me. On the next day he was well with a normal body temperature.. It's not expensive and very effective.. There's no harm on trying anyways.. But as a first timer, hands up on this...


Potato
Posted by Heather (New Orleans, Louisiana) on 04/05/2009
★★★★★

We have been using potatoes in my family to break fever for many years. My mother is 65 and HER mother used to do it when she was a little girl. I tell all of my friends about it b/c it does work and many people do not know about. Get an old pair of socks that fit snugly. Purchase larger sized potatoes. Cute them in half and keep them in the FRIDGE to make them cold! Then, slip them into your socks and keep them on your feet until they cooked! They will turn brown or black from drawing the fever out of your body. I have done this many times throughout my life and only once did my fever not break. I was very, very sick when that happened. But, 95% of the time will work for you. You can even stick the used potatoes in a bag back into the fridge to get cold again...then reapply to the feet within a half hour or so. Please try this...it's been in my family for two generations and there is a reason why.

Baking Soda and Lard
Posted by Margarita (Los Angeles, Ca) on 06/10/2010
★★★★★

My grandmother always made a paste of lard and baking soda to reduce fever. She'd apply it on the inside of the elbows, back of the knees, chest, bottom of the feet ... and it always worked -- it reduced a high fever.


Potato
Posted by Famesha (Memphis, Tn) on 04/05/2018
★★★★★

Trying the raw white potatoes remedy for the first time on baby. She is 9 months, had a bad fever and chest congestion.

Now it's all going away and fever went down.


White Vinegar
Posted by Jp (Houston, Tx) on 03/06/2010
★★★★★

From what my mother had done since I was young was take some white vinegar and use some old socks that we had lying around. We would bath the socks in the vinegar and then put it on the feet for about 15 mins then let it rest for 30 then repeat so long as needed. For the most part we only needed to do it i would say twice. Brought a 104.6 fever down to about 99.8 in about an hour. Hope this helps.


Potato
Posted by marsh (colorado) on 12/14/2022
★★★★★

Potatoes also work on burns. As a child, a friend was being chased by a cousin. His grandmother, mom and aunts were in the kitchen preparing a holiday dinner. The grandmother was taking a stock pot of potatoes in boiling water when he bumped into her full throttle and he was scorched. The grandmother yelled for sliced potatoes; the women and men started slicing until his body was covered. He said by all accounts he should have had severe burns but didn't have to see a doctor. I've keep potatoes on hand just in case.



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