Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Motherly Advice

For the last several days my son has been down and out with a terrible cold/flu. On Sunday night his temperature got up to a whopping 104.9°, which certainly worried me. I remembered that children can tend to run high fevers and that it isn't necessary cause for panic, but I didn't like it being that high.

My mother-in-law told me that what she used to do to naturally lower a temperature was to run a lukewarm bath and spoon the cool water over the child. So, immediately upon hearing this advice, I ran a bath. I have just two things to say about this method: first of all, it works! My son's temperature dropped to about 103.4° right after the bath. And second of all, he HATED it when I would pour the water over him. It is quite uncomfortable to have water touching your skin when you have such a high fever but it didn't harm him, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

His temperature hasn't been that high since, but he is still feeling pretty miserable and will barely eat anything. My main concern right now is dehydration. So, after seeking my mom's advice, we determined that tonight his dinner will consist of Sprite and vanilla pudding to ensure that he is getting something in his system that is easy on his tummy and that will taste good - now how could he resist that?

Thank you to my moms for your help! I would be lost without you.

1 comment:

PeePaw said...

Grammy used to rub my chest and back with rubbing alcohol. I think it was the same principle ... cool the person down. I remember I hated it because it was sooooo cold. I remember also, that I felt better not long after my rub down.