For those of you who have children, you’ll completely understand my next statement… “There is nothing more frightening than watching your child burn up with a high fever in the middle of the night.” If you don’t have children, you probably don’t get it. But think about it for a moment… a child with a fever over 104 degrees (up to 102 or 103 is common in small children – not so in adults), anyway, that child would be hot to the touch, listless, and could have seizures – and doctors’ offices are closed! I think the most frightening part to parents is that they have no control – they can’t fix it.
Generally, conventional medicine directs parents to uncover the patient, perform ice baths, and take ibuprofen and acetaminophen. Further, they direct parents to “let the fever take its course.” What? Sit back and let a fever ravage my child’s body?
An adult with a fever (theirs rarely go above 103) is not susceptible to seizures, but will still feel listless, often accompanied by headache. Adults usually have to take care of themselves and really don’t feel like moving; therefore, adults become dehydrated quickly. Dehydration gets ugly:
- Lack of sweating – which leaves the patient in a predicament – if the patient can’t sweat, how will he/she reduce the fever?
- Rapid heart beat
- Low blood pressure
- Rapid breathing
- In severe cases, delirium
When I was growing up, I always took fever-reducing medicines, placed ice packs on my neck, wrists, and chest, and waited it out. The aggravating thing was that the fever would drag on for days. When I was older, I began seeing a naturopath and she recommended “The Wet Sock Treatment.” Let me tell you my family laughed about that for weeks. But one winter, my nephew was about 19 and developed a fever that stayed at 104 for several days (close to a week). He had become listless, couldn’t eat, and began having hallucinations. I suggested the Wet Sock Treatment to my sister. We chuckled about doing such a thing to a sick person. But she said that they had done everything conventional and nothing worked.
She called me up the next morning and said, “It’s a miracle. I would never have believed wet socks would do anything – but his fever broke in the night and he’s up celebrating Thanksgiving with the family.” I asked if he minded the treatment – considering how sick he was. She said two things:
- He said he was so out of it, he really didn’t care what was done; and
- He said the cold wet socks actually felt so good. He said his skin had felt like it was on fire… the socks just felt good.
So what is this crazy, miraculous treatment? It’s called The Wet Sock Treatment for a reason… it involves wet socks. Read on…
You’ll need the following supplies:
- thin cotton socks
- thick wool socks
- ice water
- a warm bed
Follow these steps to implement this treatment and get great results:
- Verify that the patient has completely dry feet.
- Take a thin pair of cotton socks and put them in the coldest, iciest water that you can access.
- Wring out the socks and place them on the patient’s feet
- Immediately place THICK WOOL socks over the wet socks.
- Tuck the patient in bed – covered well with sheets and blankets.
- Allow the patient to sleep, preferably through the night
- In the morning, check the patient. You SHOULD find that the patient’s fever has broken AND that the patient is drenched with sweat.
- You should also find that the wet socks are completely dry
How or Why Does This Work?
The Wet Sock Treatment is a natural method of stimulating the immune system to battle the flu (or fever-causing infection). Basically, this treatment is a heating compress; this means that the body has to work to warm the cold socks. The cold shocks the immune system into action. “The body reacts to the cold socks by increasing blood circulation, which also stimulates the immune system. You have to ‘rev up’ the immune system, so it’s ready for battle against the affliction or condition,” according to Jamey Wallace, ND, clinic medical director at Bastyr Center for Natural Health.
A nice side effect of the treatment is that It seems to have a sedating action; many patients indicate experiencing deeper sleep during the treatment.
This treatment is free and safe for all ages. It can be repeated three days in a row to continue to gain benefits. However, the added benefits will most likely pale in comparison to the drastic initial response.
So this winter, put down the bottle of pills or syrup and pick up a pair of wet socks!
