When my son’s fever spiked as a baby, I took him to the emergency room. There, I took off his jacket and pajamas and began wiping him down with a damp, cool (not cold) cloth. Within a minute, the cloth was almost dry and warm. More water, more wiping. I was pulling the heat from him slowly and he stopped crying.
The triage nurse watched me carefully as he processed patients. When it was our turn, my son’s fever was down by a full degree. “Good job, Mom,” he mentioned in passing. “You’d be surprised how many parents leave their kids all bundled up and they are in rough shape when we get to them.”
Thankfully, an inner ear infection. Some antibiotics and he was good to go.
Letting a fever run its course is one thing; allowing it to stay elevated is dangerous. Bring it down gently to avoid shocking the system and always get a high fever checked. Better safe than sorry.
You’re right, it depends on how long the fever lasts.
Most of the time it is a virus and viruses usually are self limiting r/t the bodies immune response.
If a fever lasts more than two or three days, go to your doctor or urgent care center.
And please, don’t bundle up your babies when they have a fever. That only makes the temperature higher.
That goes for children and adults too.
In my humble, non medical opinion, what you did was absolutely correct for an infant or under 6 year old.
But I think for an adult, a mild fever is helpful