Reducing fever in children without the use of medication

Dressing the child in light clothing

Okay, so this probably isn’t the best way to attempt to reduce a child’s fever.
Nonetheless, it is important to realize that for efficient heat loss to occur (sweating) especially within the time period throughout which a child’s fever is being brought down (after the use of antipyretic medication, for example), one should remove layers of clothing from the child and to try and cover him with lighter blankets, all while taking weather and room temperature into consideration.
Sweating is an excellent way to lose heat, and if the child is covered with lots of thick layers, the process may be jeopardized.
I would like to emphasize that one should obviously not strip a kid naked to reduce his fever. Simply try and remove excess layers, especially while the fever is being brought down.

Reducing the temperature in the room

A pleasantly aired out room can help with bringing the febrile child’s temperature down and prevent him from “cooking” in a warm room.

Placing a cold washcloth on the child’s forehead

This may be slightly cooling.

Alcohol compresses

I usually try not to argue with grandma-approved remedies but I strongly recommend not to try this one because the harm may be much greater than the benefit.

What about reduction of fever with the help of cool baths?

A cool bath with water at a temperature of 36-37 degrees Celsius may be helpful. But do not go for water that’s colder than that. Despite these baths being somewhat useful, they do not reduce the child’s temperature significantly. In addition, cold baths can be very unpleasant to the child.
Since our goal is not to simply “reduce the fever” (see more about when and whether a fever should be reduced here), rather to care for the child’s well-being, and since cold baths do not improve a child’s well-being (and probably just make it worse), I do not believe this method is very beneficial.

In my opinion, non-medication techniques can at most be an adjunct tool, used to help reduce a child’s fever.

To summarize, to efficiently reduce fever in a child, I strongly suggest using medication. Read more about common anti-pyretic medications here.