What is a Fever and How Does a Fever Work?
It is incredibly disappointing to learn how many individuals simply don’t understand the body and at any signs of the body self-regulating, panic that it is failing them. In fact, this is the most common sentiment when it comes to fevers.
However, fevers are incredibly healthy and can reset your health by killing off and detoxing opportunistic pathogens, and there are simple ways you can go about reducing a fever naturally.
A fever is a condition that is a part of the body’s healing process. It increases the body’s core temperature to more than 1 degree Celsius to kill off opportunistic pathogens that cause infections and compromise the body’s immune system.
It likewise stimulates the skin and other elimination organs to help with the detoxification process of purging inflammatory agents and other unwanted chemistry, including pus, mucus, parasites, and cellular waste.
The sweating that occurs during a fever helps the body purge toxins and acids through the skin, which is one of the largest and most active detox organs in the body! In fact, if the kidneys don’t function optimally or are overwhelmed with purging toxic chemistry through urine generation, the skin will always take over most of the work.
As a result of its healing process through temperature increase and detoxification, fevers are an essential mechanism for body healing when the immune system becomes compromised and the body’s terrain (pH) becomes too acidic. It is a means of self-regulation that stems from the body’s inherent wisdom, intelligence, and inclination toward self-preservation.
During a fever, the body increases its vital core temperature as a means of detoxification, ensuring that bad bacteria and viral pathogens don’t proliferate. This instigates the symptoms of shakes, chills, headaches, sweating, nausea, and vomiting. These reactions are all the body’s way of dealing with the effects of pathogen die-off, detoxification, and healing.
There is vast research evidence that points to the fact that an increase of 1 to 4 degrees Celsius in body temperature that occurs with fevers is key to survival and the necessary healing component to many infections. Although our body elevates in temperature depending on internal and external pressures, this elevation doesn’t classify as fever until about 100.4 Fahrenheit or 38 Celsius.
Why Do We Get Fevers?
Fevers are the body’s natural response to body inflammation that cannot be stopped easily by the immune system for several reasons. Essentially, a fever is a side-effect of both a lowered immunity and an acidic terrain that is an opportunistic breeding ground for bad bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi.
This proliferation of unwanted pathogens creates infections that the body views as a threat to its survival. Therefore, it looks to eliminate as many pathogens as possible by raising its core temperature to kill them off.
It also readies all the elimination organs, such as the skin, lungs, colon, and kidneys to eliminate the waste efficiently. That is why fevers bring about the symptoms of frequent urination (kidneys), sweating and shivering (skin), and diarrhea and vomiting (colon).
But why does the body become prone to infections in the first place and how do you take care of your health so that your body doesn’t kick into self-preservation mode frequently? What we call infection is most notably chronic inflammation, and a mucusless, alkaline diet and a lifestyle that doesn’t deplete vital energy reserves are key to reversing it!
This perspective of health is based on the terrain theory, a theory of health and natural law that has been misunderstood and suppressed by the allopathic medical system for a good part of a century. Its premise dictates that we get sick because of the condition of our internal pH terrain. In nature, everything that lives functions in homeostasis within the 80 alkaline/20 acidic chemical ratio.
If our diets and lifestyles cause this ratio to be skewed on a more acidic side of chemistry, our internal terrain becomes hospitable to opportunistic pathogens that thrive in acidic environments and cause even more toxins to be generated through their metabolic activity.
In a healthy, balanced terrain, opportunistic pathogens cannot stay in the body long and seek out more acidic pastures. Overall, it is not the germ that causes disease but the environment that is hospitable to it!
Germ Theory Versus Terrain Theory
The terrain theory of disease formation was first postulated by Antoine Bechamp and later expanded on and propagated by a scientific prodigy, Claude Bernard, whose experiments and observation led him to conclude that it wasn’t the pathogen that caused disease but the presence of an acidic terrain that empowered the pathogen to proliferate and attack the body’s protective functions.
Bechamp and Bernard’s terrain theory stipulations were structured around the following findings:
- Germs and bacteria change their form according to their environment; viruses and bacteria, yeast, fungi, and mold can change their form (evolve and devolve) depending on conditions found in the body’s internal environment.
- Infection is not an infection but inflammation. Usually, body toxicity and/or malnutrition are the main culprits.
- In toxic terrain, healthy and neutral bacteria can morph into yeast, fungus, or mold.
At the same time as Claude Bernard worked on proving the terrain theory, Louis Pasteur was working on the germ theory proving that it was the germ, in fact, that caused illness – irrespective of other conditions. Although initial experiments were successful in showing causation, Pasteur couldn’t prove germ causation in many controlled experiment cases.
But before he could backtrack his worldwide claims and growing support from the scientific community, the medical world was already rallied around germ theory and started creating medical interventions that would come to define our modern medical systems – most especially pharmaceutical drugs and vaccines.
This validation of the germ theory over the terrain theory was inevitably most notably driven by the ability of the medical system to use it more effectively to gather profit, power, and control.
Louis Pasteur quietly accepted the state of affairs and his worldwide acclaim, but he did express his remorse and belief that the terrain theory was indeed correct close to his death:
“Bernard was right. The germ is nothing, the terrain is everything.”
The germ theory still operates as a fact, governing our collective consciousness about health and disease causation. It is also the foundational status operandi of the medical system, whereas the terrain theory governs the practice of natural medicine, or naturopathy and functional medicine.
By learning about the terrain theory, we can better understand our bodies better and what it takes to stay healthy. As a result, we won’t be victims of the healthcare system and its misguided solutions and will take our power back through personal knowledge and healthcare sovereignty.
What Are The Main Symptoms of a Fever?
The main symptoms of fever vary from person to person and will manifest according to one’s body constitution, levels of inflammation, and the state of health of their detoxification organs.
The most common fever symptoms include:
- Chills, shaking, and shivering
- Headache
- Muscle aches
- Backaches
- Sweating
- Dehydration
- Diarrhea
- Fatigue
- Loss of appetite
- Whole-body weakness
- Deliriousness
- Skin discoloration (yellowing)
- Irritability
- Vomiting
- Mucus congestion
- Frequent urination
What Does a Fever Do For Your Body?
Overall, a fever is meant to decrease overall inflammation levels in the body by targeting pathogens that thrive in the inflammatory environment. It is meant to make the body and the immune system stronger and more capable of defending itself against additional threats by increasing white blood cell production.
That is why stopping a fever is never a good idea! It is a healing mechanism that, if stopped, will prevent your body from stopping opportunistic infections that can become stronger and cause true damage to vital tissues and organs.
The best advice is to let the fever take its course and support the body’s detoxification and healing process with plenty of hydration, rest, and the consumption of alkaline foods (which will help hydrate the body and lower its inflammation levels). This is my essential “go-to” for reducing a fever naturally by supporting the body’s self-healing processes.
How Many Days Does a Fever Last?
On average, a common fever lasts approximately 1 to 4 days, depending on the severity of the healing crisis. The longer the fever, the more healing the body needs to bring itself back to homeostasis.
Fevers are caused by a chronic inflammation that feeds pathogen survival and propagation and is activated by the body’s immune response as a means of self-preservation.
Depending on the levels of inflammation and the extent of pathogenic proliferation (and the danger this may cause to the vitality of organs and other essential systems), a fever may be more severe and long-lasting.
For example, some pathogenic infections can be vastly opportunist, desiring to survive in the body and infiltrate its vitality. Dengue fever, for example, can last anywhere from 4 days to 2 weeks. Tropical fevers that arise as a result of Malaria, Zika, West Nile Virus, and other infections have their phases of recuperation and can last longer than common fevers.
Similarly, Covid-related fevers are more severe and can last up to two weeks.
Are Fevers Dangerous and Should You Stop Them?
Depending on how compromised the body is and how far it senses it has to fight for its survival, a fever may reach levels that can prove dangerous and damaging to internal organs and processes.
When a fever reaches 106.1 degrees Fahrenheit, it can produce symptoms of deliriousness, extreme confusion, seizures, hallucinations, and even loss of consciousness.
If you find yourself in this scenario, the best course of action is to hydrate the body with distilled water, tea, coconut water, and pressed juices and seek medical attention – preferably from a naturopath that understands how the body works holistically and how to bring down the fever without harsh and inflammatory medication that may compromise your health further.
However, if you are experiencing a regular fever, even if it is caused by an infectious disease, most health experts advise you to let your body experience it and to do your utmost to help it in this process. By letting a fever take its course, you ensure that the body properly cleans any inflammatory or toxic build-up and that you experience better health as a result.
In terms of health, my advice is to always trust your body’s intelligence and inherent self-healing capacity. It always does what it needs to do to find its homeostasis and ensure our survival. The less “chemical intervention” we place on it, the better chance it has to do what it has done for millennia – keep us healthy and alive despite ourselves!
Reducing A Fever Naturally in 5 Ways
“Always drink plenty of pure water and fresh fruit or vegetable juices during times of cleansing. Never let the body dehydrate.”
– Dr. Robert Morse, ND
Fast and only consume hydrating juices
Hydrate by drinking plenty of natural water, herbal teas, cold-pressed juices, coconut water (full of electrolytes!), and watery fruits (make sure the food you consume is alkaline and cooling in nature).
Soak washcloths in apple cider vinegar
Use this washcloth and place it on the forehead and over the abdomen; you can also soak your socks with vinegar or place slices of onion in the socks to expel toxins more readily through the soles.
Conserve your energy and rest comfortably
Rest until you feel better and more energetic. This includes no activity, talking, and minimal sensory input. Loss of vital energy will cause the fever to last longer.
Breathe deeply and slowly
Breathe deeply and get fresh air by leaving the window open. This will help with blood and lymph circulation and the full-body detoxification process.
Shower with essential oils
Use lymph-draining essential oils in your shower to propel the body to detoxify and heal. You can do so by dropping 1 drop on the shower floor while showering and breathing in the essential oil steam deeply. You can also place a drop on your loofah and massage your body gently in the direction of the kidneys to promote circulation and lymphatic flow.
Overall, you should never stop a fever unless it is dangerous, unbearable, or causes you too much pain and discomfort. The best way to get through a fever fast is by following the steps above. However, if none of these provide relief fast enough, it is up to you to follow which modern fever-breaking protocol you feel intuitively called to follow.
Always trust your intuition and do what is best for you. Know that after the fever is over, you can always strengthen your body with an alkaline diet cleanse that will complement the cleansing effect of the fever wonderfully.
Final Thoughts
Unlike what the popular consensus has us think about fevers being a curse, they are quite a blessing! Not only do they stop opportunistic pathogens from weakening our bodies over time, but they also help strengthen our body’s immunity and lower its inflammation levels. It is a tremendous healer that should not be suppressed or stopped – unless it becomes dangerous.
Either way, reducing a fever naturally is actually helping it heal the body more optimally. Lowering a fever naturally not only shortens its span but also provides the body with the energy and chemistry it needs to become stronger.
The terrain theory of disease causation explains a lot about why inflammation and pathogenic proliferation occurs in the first place and gives us the keys to understanding our bodies and how to invest in our health by bringing our bodies’ pH to an ideal balance. It explains quite a lot about chemistry and energy and what it takes to live a long, healthy life.
If you’d like to learn more about healing your body through detoxification, I offer free guides and resources on my homepage. Make sure to check them out and empower yourself with the knowledge you need to never fear illness but understand it from nature’s perspective.
Ultimately, this knowledge will help guide you to your personal healing and transformation….as well as empower you to align with your health sovereignty and personal choice to decide what you want to put inside your body!