Feverish feeling and chills

The tradition distinguishes two states we now lump together: chilliness with shivering, and heat with sweating. For the first it reaches for warming up and a hot infusion, for the second for cooling and sponging — the logic lies in where the body is heading at that moment.

The nine species the catalogue lists here are the classic sweating teas of the Central European herbal: elder and small-leaved lime above all, with wild thyme, German chamomile and lemon balm, and the fruits raspberry, lingonberry and bilberry. Andrographis is the only name from another tradition.

Fever is not an illness but a regulated response of the body. Lowering the temperature improves how you feel, but by itself does not speed recovery and says nothing about the cause — which is what should be looked for. The idea of 'sweating out' an illness has no support; sweat is a consequence of fever, not a way out of it.

What really matters is fluids, rest and watching how things develop. A sweating tea is hydration and comfort in that picture, which is a legitimate role, and in small children cooling is handled with care.

Any fever in an infant under three months means an examination immediately, without waiting and without home remedies.

Do not delay either with fever and a stiff neck, confusion, a rash that does not fade under pressure, breathlessness, persistent vomiting or signs of dehydration. An unexplained fever lasting more than three days needs an examination too, as does every fever with a weakened immune system or during cancer treatment — there, the same day.