Before knowing how to reduce fever, know why fever occurs. A fever is often a sign that your body is fighting off infection. As your white blood cells battle with microscopic invaders, they release chemicals that raise your body temperature, making the environment less friendly to viruses and bacteria.

A fever in adults is generally regarded as a temperature higher than 100°F (37.7°C). In infants and young children, any fever should be treated. But in older children and adults, a fever below 102°F (38.8°C) doesn’t necessarily need to be treated unless the person has intense discomfort because of sweating, chills, or both.

01. Be Cool

Take a bath in lukewarm water. This temperature will feel plenty cool when you have a fever, and the bath should help bring your body temperature down.

Don’t try to bring a fever down rapidly by plunging yourself into cold water; that tactic sends blood rushing to internal organs, which is how your body defends itself from cold. Your interior actually warms up instead of cooling down.

Give yourself a sponge bath. Sponging high-heat areas like your armpits and groin with cool water can help reduce your temperature as the water evaporates. When you’re not bathing, place cold, damp washcloths on your forehead and the back of your neck.

02. Sweat It Out

Brew a cup of yarrow (achillea millefolium) tea. This herb opens your pores and triggers the sweating that is said to move a fever toward its end. Steep a tablespoon of herb in a cup of freshly boiled water for 10 minutes. Let cool. Drink a cup or two until you start to sweat.

Another herb, elderflower, also helps you sweat. And it happens to be good for other problems associated with flu and colds, like overproduction of mucus. To make elderflower tea, mix two teaspoons of the herb in a cup of boiled water and let it steep for 15 minutes. Strain out the elderflower. Drink three times a day as long as the fever continues.

Drink a cup of hot ginger tea, which also induces sweating. To make the tea, steep a half-teaspoon minced gingerroot in 1 cup just-boiled water. Strain, then drink.

03. Fight Fire with Fire

Sprinkle cayenne pepper on your foods when you have a fever. One of its main components is capsaicin, the alarmingly hot ingredient that’s found in hot peppers. Cayenne makes you sweat and also promotes rapid blood circulation.

04. Soak Your Socks

Try the wet-sock treatment, a popular folk remedy for fever. First warm your feet in hot water. Then soak a thin pair of cotton socks in cold water, wring them out, and slip them on just before going to bed.

Put a pair of dry wool socks over the wet ones. This approach helps reduce fever by drawing blood to the feet, which dramatically increases blood circulation.

Another way to draw blood to the feet is with a mustard footbath. In a basin large enough for your feet, add two teaspoons of mustard powder to two pints of hot water, then soak.

05. Fill up on Fluids

When you have a fever, it’s easy to become dehydrated. Drink 8 to 12 glasses of water a day or enough to make your urine pale. A sports drink like Gatorade can also be helpful. It not only replaces fluids lost to dehydration but lost minerals as well.

Orange juice and other fruit juices like apple juice rich in vitamin C are good choices, since the vitamin C assists your immune system in fighting off infection. Cold grapes provide hydration – and a soothing treat.

06. Cologne Treatment

Take a piece of cotton or gauze that can be placed on the forehead. Soak the piece of cotton or gauze in the cologne. Then place it on the forehead and rest on the bed. You can use baby cologne for this.

After a while, you will see that the piece of cotton or gauze is dry with the temperature of the body. Then do the same again. You can also apply a few drops of cologne on the head.

These 6 tips will surely help you to reduce fever quickly and naturally at home. But if the fever persists, it is very important to seek medical attention.

You may also have a mild or severe headache when you have a fever. If so, read this article to know how to easily relieve your headaches.

Source: Reader’s Digest; 1801 Home Remedies