Fever is a temporary increase in body temperature that normally hovers around 36.6-37.2 ° C. It is a reaction of the body to fight an infection or disease. In most cases, fever is beneficial, because viruses and bacteria do not survive the high temperatures, so it is a natural defense mechanism of the body. It can cause some discomfort for a few days, but shouldn't cause concern, unless it reaches or exceeds 39 ° C in adults or rises above 38.3 ° C in children. Fever almost always goes away naturally on its own, but lowering it when it is dangerously high can avoid serious complications, such as brain damage. You can reduce it with home remedies or medications.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Reduce Fever Naturally
Step 1. Be patient and check your temperature periodically
In most cases, the fever in children and adults goes away within 2-3 days. However, you need to be patient when it's mild or moderate for a few days (because it's beneficial) and you need to take your temperature every 2 to 3 hours or so to make sure it doesn't rise dangerously. With infants and young children it is best to use a rectal thermometer. When the fever lasts a week or more it is a cause for concern, just like when it exceeds 39 ° C in adults and 38.3 ° C in children.
- Keep in mind that your body temperature is usually higher in the evening and after physical activity. Even the menstrual cycle, strong emotions, hot and humid environments can induce a temporary rise in temperature.
- In addition to sweating, other symptoms associated with a mild or moderate fever are: muscle aches, general weakness, fatigue, chills, loss of appetite and a flushed face.
- Symptoms related to high fever include: hallucinations, confusion, irritability, seizures and a potential loss of consciousness (coma).
- While you wait for your mild or moderate fever to pass, make sure you stay well hydrated. Fever causes sweating, which can quickly lead to dehydration if you don't commit to drinking adequate amounts of fluids.
Step 2. Don't put too many clothes or blankets on
A simple and common sense method to reduce fever is to remove excess clothing when you are awake and blankets during the night. Too many items insulate the body and prevent heat loss. Therefore, wear only a layer of light clothing and use a light blanket to sleep when trying to fight off a high fever.
- Avoid synthetic fabrics or wool. Choose cotton clothes and blankets because this material promotes skin transpiration.
- Remember that your head and feet tend to lose a lot of heat, so don't put on a hat and socks while trying to bring down a high fever.
- Don't cover yourself up too much if you're shivering with a fever, as you may overheat.
Step 3. Take a cold bath or shower
If you or your child have a high fever with symptoms similar to those described above, you need to take action to lower the body temperature by taking a bath or shower with fresh water. However, it is important not to use water that is too cold, neither ice nor an alcoholic solution, because they can often aggravate the situation by causing chills, which tend to raise the core temperature even more. Instead, take a bath with warm or cool water for about 10-15 minutes. Bathing can be easier than showering if you feel tired, weak, or sore.
- Alternatively, take a sponge or clean cloth, dip it in cool water, squeeze it to remove excess liquid, and apply it to your forehead as if it were a compress. Change it every 20 minutes until the fever subsides.
- Another good idea is to use a spray bottle and spray fresh distilled water directly on your body every 30 minutes or so to lower the fever. For best results, try especially to wet your face, neck and upper chest.
Step 4. Stay well hydrated
Good hydration is always important, but even more so with a fever, because the body loses more fluid through sweating. You should increase your water consumption by at least 25%; so if you usually drink 8 large glasses of water a day (recommended amount to stay healthy), you should get to 10 when you have a fever. Consume cool drinks and add ice to lower your core body temperature. Natural fruit or vegetable juices are great because they contain sodium (an electrolyte) which is lost when you sweat.
- Avoid alcoholic and caffeinated beverages, which redden the skin and heat the body even more.
- If the fever does not cause particular sweat, you can decide to have hot drinks (such as herbal teas) and foods (such as chicken soup), which promote sweating and consequently stimulate evaporative cooling.
Step 5. Sit or lie down next to a fan
The more air circulates around the body and over sweaty skin, the more effective the evaporative cooling process will be. This is why humans sweat: the skin and superficial blood vessels cool as the air in the environment evaporates the moisture. If you stand in front of a fan, you simply speed up this process. For this reason, sit or sleep near an oscillating fan to reduce fever and make sure you expose enough skin to the appliance for the remedy to be effective.
- Do not get too close to the fan and do not run it at such a speed that it can trigger the chills, otherwise the classic "goosebumps" will increase the internal temperature of the body.
- In hot and humid rooms, the air conditioner could be a good solution; however, the fan remains the best choice, as it is unlikely to cause the room temperature to drop excessively.
Part 2 of 2: Reduce Fever With Medical Intervention
Step 1. Know when to call the doctor
In most cases, fever is a beneficial phenomenon and should not be artificially reduced or suppressed; however, it is sometimes necessary to limit it to avoid serious complications, such as febrile seizures, coma and brain damage. To better understand how to treat a fever, make an appointment with your family doctor if your temperature doesn't go down within a week or if it's really very high. The doctor has all the tools necessary to measure the fever in the most suitable area - by mouth, in the rectum, in the armpit or in the ear canal.
- You should call your pediatrician if your feverish baby has a body temperature above 38.3 ° C and is apathetic, irritable, vomits, cannot maintain eye contact, is constantly drowsy and / or has lost some all appetite.
- Adults should see their doctor if they have a high fever, over 39.4 ° C, and if they show the following symptoms: severe headache, throat swelling, severe rash, photophobia, neck stiffness, confusion, irritability, chest pain and abdominal, continuous vomiting, tingling in the limbs and convulsions.
- If the high fever is caused by a bacterial infection, then your doctor may recommend a course of antibiotics to control or eliminate it.
Step 2. Consider taking acetaminophen (Tachipirina)
This drug is a pain reliever (analgesic) and a powerful antipyretic, which means that it stimulates the hypothalamus of the brain to lower the body temperature. In other words, "lower the internal thermostat". Paracetamol is generally better and safer for young children with high fevers (in low doses of course), but it also proves useful for teens and adults.
- When the fever is high, it is recommended to take a dose of paracetamol every 4-6 hours. Adults shouldn't exceed 3,000 mg per day.
- An overdose of acetaminophen or prolonged intake could be toxic and cause liver damage. You should never drink alcohol when taking this medicine.
Step 3. Try ibuprofen (Brufen, Moment)
This anti-inflammatory has good antipyretic properties, in fact some studies show that it is more effective than paracetamol in feverish children aged between 2 and 12 years. The main problem is that it is not recommended for babies under two years of age (especially infants under six months of age) due to its potential serious side effects. It is a good anti-inflammatory (unlike acetaminophen) and is very effective if you or your child experience muscle and joint pain as well as fever.
- Adults can take 400-600 mg of ibuprofen every 6 hours to reduce fever. Pediatric dosage typically equals half, but can vary based on the baby's weight and other health factors. For this reason, you should always seek the doctor's opinion.
- If you take too much of this medicine or take it for too long, you may suffer from stomach and kidney damage and irritation; this is why it should always be taken on a full stomach. The most serious effects of ibuprofen are kidney failure and stomach ulcers. Also remember to never drink alcohol along with the drug.
Step 4. Be careful with aspirin
It is a good anti-inflammatory and a strong antipyretic, very effective for treating fever in adults. However, it is much more toxic than acetaminophen or ibuprofen, especially in children. For this reason, never give it to children and adolescents to lower their fever or to treat other ailments, especially during a viral illness and related convalescence (chicken pox or flu). Aspirin is related to Reye's syndrome, an allergic reaction that causes prolonged vomiting, confusion, liver failure, and brain damage.
- Aspirin is particularly aggressive on the gastric lining and is one of the causes of ulcers in Canada and the United States. Always take it on a full stomach.
- The maximum dosage for an adult is 4000 mg per day. If you exceed this amount you could suffer from stomach pain, tinnitus, dizziness and blurry vision.
Advice
- Fever is a symptom triggered by many diseases: viral, bacterial or fungal infections, hormonal imbalances, cardiovascular diseases, allergic or toxic reactions.
- Short-term cases of fever are the result of excessive physical activity or abnormal hot weather and not an illness.
- Recent administration of vaccines can cause a short-lived fever in children, which disappears in about a day.
- Fever does not cause brain damage unless it exceeds 41.5 ° C.
- Untreated fevers triggered by infections often exceed 40.5 ° C in children.
Warnings
- Do not treat febrile children with aspirin, as it may cause Reye's syndrome.
- See your doctor if you experience severe rash, chest pain, recurrent vomiting, warm red skin swelling, neck stiffness, sore throat, confusion, or fever lasting more than a week in addition to fever.
- Don't use a warming electric blanket and don't sit in front of a fireplace if you have a high fever. You would only make the situation worse.
- Go to the emergency room immediately if your child has a fever from leaving him for too long in a car exposed to the sun.
- Don't eat spicy foods when you have a high fever, as they will make you sweat more.
