Fever is a good thing. It’s your body’s attempt to kill off invading bacteria and other nasty organisms that can’t survive the heat. The hypothalamus, which is the body’s thermostat, senses the assault on the body and turns up the heat much the way you turn up the thermostat when you feel cold. It’s a simple defense mechanism, and the sweat that comes with a fever is merely a way to cool the body down.

The most important thing though is to keep body fluids flowing. Like in heat exhaustion and heat stroke and other similar ailments, when the body temperature goes up, the more fluid it uses. So, although inactive and lying in bed, one can still become dehydrated with a fever. To prevent dehydration during a fever, body fluids need to be replenished. The average adult should drink about 10 glasses of water per day, more than the usual average. Children should strive for 6-10 per day. If your fever is the cause of another illness, such as the cold or the flu, water is equally important in flushing out the body of the “bug” that is causing the illness.

A fever isn’t a disease. It’s a symptom of an infection, typically caused by a cold or the flu. When you have a cold, for instance, your immune system signals to your brain that it needs more body heat in order to attack infectious cells, and your body temperature rises.

Steaming the body with water to which khus khus (poppy seeds) is added causes perspiration and brings the temperature down. Water boiled with khus khus may be used as a drink in feverish conditions.

Holy Basil (Tulsi) is another equally effective home remedy for fever. You can boil it in 2 cups of water and drink it. You can add some honey when boiling it.

Normal body temperature ranges from 97 to 99 degrees Fahrenheit, but varies throughout the day. Usually is lower in the early morning and higher in late afternoon. A fever is consider to be any temperature above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. One should get concern when temperature raises above 102 degrees Fahrenheit for an adult and 103 degrees Fahrenheit for children.

The leaves of holy basil are one of the most effective of several home remedies in the treatment of common fever. A decoction made of about twelve grams of these leaves, boiled in half a litre of water, should be administered twice daily with half a cup of milk, one teaspoon of sugar and a quarter teaspoon of powdered cardamom (chhoti elaichi). This will bring down the temperature.

Drink lots of water to compensate for the loss of body fluid. This will also help to reduce the body temperature. To immediately reduce high body temperature, boil powder of 2 to 3 tsp dry roasted fenugreek seeds. Strain the water and add a drop of ghee to it and drink. Drink juice made out of sweet basil leaves twice or thrice a day. Prepare linden tea by boiling 1 tbsp of linden flower in 1 cup of water and drink it hot. Brew willow bark tea and drink it by taking small sips. Willow bark has some aspirin related compound. If you are not comfortable with it then use black elder.

Put an ice pack on your forehead. This also cools you down temporarily. Or, soak a washcloth in a bowl of cool water. Then bring it out and place it on your forehead. This will help your body to lower it’s temperature, thus reducing the fever faster.