As any parent can tell you, when your child has a fever, it can be an emotional rollercoaster that ranges from having sympathy for your child to worry and possibly fear. But if you understand what the body is doing and why your child has a fever, it can help reduce some of your anxiety.
A fever is the body’s way of sterilizing itself.
As a doctor, I understand the science and physiology of the various immune responses such as fever. As a mother, I understand the emotions one might experience when they see their child not feeling well. But I also understand that there is a life force that drives their body; an inborn intelligence that knew to give them arms, legs, eyes, ears and a mouth, as well as a heart that beats without us telling it to, lungs that began to breathe the instant they were born, and a digestive system that knows to pull nutrients out of the foods we eat and discard the garbage. And I know that this inborn intelligence will do everything it can to protect their little body, as long as that intelligence is not interfered with. It does exactly that, everyday, in every one of us.