Fever during a cold. Temperature for a cold: what happens and how to be treated

Runny nose, fever, muscle weakness, elevated temperature body - the first signs of a cold - respiratory viral infection, a frequent visitor during the cold season. Let's talk about what to do at the first sign of a cold and how to strengthen immunity.

Elevated body temperature is a defense reaction of our body to bacterial and viral attacks. Only at a temperature of 38.5 or more, our immunity turns on at full capacity. The troops begin to pull together to fight the uninvited guest: their own interleukins, interferons, etc. are being developed.

And if we use antipyretics (paracetamol, fervex, teraflu, nurofen, aspirin), then from the side of the immune system we cut off a full-fledged response. The body removes protection, spreading its troops in places. And viruses remain in place and continue to harm (which is why, after taking antipyretics, after a while, the temperature rises again). It happens (even worse) that viruses from the intercellular space go into the DNA and the cell itself, and the disease changes or takes on a chronic form.

With very frequent use of antiviral, antipyretic drugs, sulfonamides and antibiotics, the immune system is disrupted. Often, as a result of such treatment, people suffer colds on their feet: they suffer from weakness, nasal congestion, sweating, and discomfort in the throat; increased temperature up to 37-37.5 degrees, decreased appetite.

An increased body temperature contributes to the death of not only bacteria and viruses, but also cancer and atypical cells. That is, the body is cleared of the negative mass.

First, you need to stay at home. The main steps in treatment at the first sign of a cold are bed rest plus plenty of fluids (lemon, cranberries, gooseberries, rose hips, lingonberries, currants). By the way, elderflower and mint flowers also have anti-inflammatory and antipyretic properties.

Secondly, in the fight against colds, it is advisable to cleanse the intestines. You can use for this:

Activated carbon (for 10 kilograms of weight, 2 tablets are a single dose taken 30 minutes before meals or after 1-2 hours).
Smecta (the drug is previously dissolved in boiled warm water, the required dosage depends on the patient's age).
Flax seed (pour 1-2 teaspoons of seed with a glass of boiling water, insist for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, then filter, take from a teaspoon to half a glass warm before meals for 15-20 minutes).
You can cleanse the intestines with vegetables and fruits () baked in the oven (pears, apples, pumpkin, plums). During baking, pectin is formed in them, which enhances intestinal motility and removes toxins.

Third. To reduce the fever for colds, you can use lotions on the heart, forehead, groin, and axillary areas. If the patient's skin is cold at a high body temperature, rubbing with vodka diluted with water in half. After that, you need to wrap yourself up so that the capillaries of the skin expand, blood flow improves. If the body temperature does not reach 38 degrees and there is a chill, raspberries, honey, elecampane root, lime blossom can be connected to the treatment.

But at a high body temperature, above 38 degrees, linden blossom, raspberry, honey are contraindicated. After profuse sweating, be sure to wipe the skin with warm water, thus removing toxins, and change the clothes.

The fourth rule in the treatment of colds. It is useful for an adult to starve or use a plant-milk diet during a fever. Children can prepare vitamin drinks from raisins, dried apricots, pears, figs, rose hips, prunes, currants, cranberries, lingonberries, gooseberries, blueberries (). Raisins, dried apricots, prunes, figs, after washing, should be immersed in boiling water for 1-2 minutes, then drained. Thus, preservatives used for processing dried fruits for long-term storage are eliminated.

Preparation of a vitamin drink. Combine all of the above ingredients or that are available. Pour a liter of boiling water into a glass of the mixture in a thermos with a glass flask, leave for 4-6 hours (preferably overnight). The broth is taken warm throughout the day, the berries are eaten.

Fifth. Remember positive emotions. Say to yourself: "I am healthy, I am well done, everything is wonderful!" Read books, fairy tales for children, but playing on the computer and watching TV is undesirable, since the immune defense is reduced under the influence of electromagnetic waves, which have a detrimental effect on the psyche and the nervous system.

Many people are afraid of a rise in temperature, since it is high, it poses a threat to the nervous systems and other organs, they try to reduce it as soon as possible with the help of drugs. But negative consequences are actually extremely rare and only with any existing chronic pathology. And that is why it is so important to consult a doctor. But the illiterate, uncontrolled use of sulfonamides, antibiotics, antiviral drugs during the treatment of colds is no less a threat to health.

Our body is a perfect system, and if it is given antimicrobial and antiviral drugs, why should he develop his own interleukins and interferons, activate the cells of the immune system? We put ourselves on crutches prematurely. The drugs listed above are needed only for severe forms of the disease and for patients who are weakened and suffering from immunodeficiencies. In Western countries, official statistics show that 70% of diseases are caused by indiscriminate intake drugs: 7 out of 10 people get sick from what is being treated. And it seems for some reason that in our country this figure is not lower.

You have read the information on the topic "What to do at the first sign of a cold?"

Fever accompanies almost any cold illness. Only in 15-20% of cases with a cold, there is no fever, which is usually associated either with the problems of the patient's immunity, or with a specific causative agent of the infection.

By her own heat in case of illness, it is not something serious until it reaches a critical level (39.9 or more degrees Celsius). In such cases, urgent action is required, since overheating of the brain and even death is possible.

1.1 Can the temperature drop during colds?

An objective decrease in body temperature below 36 degrees Celsius (hypothermia) is sometimes observed with colds. First of all, patients in such a situation think that the antipyretic agent has worked this way, but this is by no means the wrong conclusion.

Ordinary antipyretics cannot bring the temperature down to life-threatening 34-35 degrees, the reason here is the infection itself. Most often, hypothermia with a cold is observed if the infection has reached the brain.

Moreover, they often pass like this. colds in people with serious chronic diseases (AIDS, endocrine disorders, anorexia). In any case, in this condition, an immediate call for an ambulance is required, since a decrease in body temperature is much more dangerous than an increase.

2 Symptoms of raising and lowering

Symptoms of changes in body temperature are varied and depend on which point the patient's temperature is kept at. For example, for low temperature (<36 градусов по Цельсию) симптомы следующие:

trembling in the limbs;
extreme weakness;
violation of the perception of reality;
pallor of the skin;
slurred speech;
dizziness;
hallucinations, delirium, loss of consciousness.

With a heat of 37-38 degrees Celsius, the symptoms are as follows:

body aches;
dry mouth;
dry eyes;
mild to moderate discomfort;
nausea;
slight muscle weakness.

With a heat of 38-39 degrees Celsius, the symptoms are as follows:

dry eyes and mouth;
nausea, sometimes vomiting;
malaise, muscle weakness;
headache;
muscle pain;
feeling of stiffness in the joints.

At a temperature of 39-40 degrees Celsius, the symptoms are as follows:

severe dryness of the eyes and mouth;
increased sweating;
attacks of severe nausea, vomiting;
feelings of unreality of what is happening;
dyspnea;
stupor;
dizziness, severe headaches;
loss of consciousness is possible.

At a temperature of 40-41 degrees Celsius, the symptoms are as follows:

dryness of the skin, mouth, eyes;
delirium, hallucinations;
extreme muscle weakness;
heat throughout the body;
vomiting that does not bring relief;
loss of consciousness;
severe shortness of breath;
severe headaches.

2.1 How and what to measure correctly?

You need to measure the temperature with an ordinary medical thermometer, which can be used in three ways:

Axillary measurement (armpit).
Oral measurement.
Rectal measurement.

To take an axillary measurement, you must first wipe the armpit with a dry napkin or towel, and then place the tip of the thermometer there. During the temperature measurement, the hand should be firmly pressed to the body.

For oral measurements, place the tip of the thermometer under the tongue, trying to push it as close to the bottom of the tongue as possible. Keep your mouth closed during measurement. No smoking, no hot meals or drinks 30 minutes before taking this measurement.

For rectal measurements, coat the thermometer tip with a soluble hygienic lubricant (water-based only!). It is important to consider: it is impossible to use technical petroleum jelly for these purposes. After applying the lubricant, the tip of the thermometer should be inserted into the rectum to a depth of 1 centimeter.

The duration of temperature measurement for all described methods is the same and is 5 minutes.

2.2 How many days does it last?

The temperature with a mild cold lasts from three to five days, after which it almost suddenly disappears (the patient notices this after waking up on the day of cure). Only small echoes of a cold remain (mild cough, runny nose), which can remain for up to two weeks.

The temperature with the flu lasts longer, about 7-9 days. A sudden cure is rare, usually a patient from 5-6 days of illness notices that the temperature is decreasing every day. Echoes of the flu in the form of a cough and a runny nose can remain for about a month, but in a mild form.

3 When should medication be used to bring down the temperature?

The physiological temperature range for colds, which is 37-38 degrees, does not require the use of medications and is an absolute norm. Simply put, at temperatures up to 38 degrees Celsius, the body simply fights infection, which is unnecessary to interfere.

At a higher temperature, it is required to lower it using any antipyretic medication. Temperatures above 38 degrees are no longer a natural reaction of the body, but the result of the activity of pyrogenic substances.

TeraFlu is extremely effective at elevated temperatures

It is also required to deal with the alternating temperature when it “jumps” from high to low for a short time. This is a serious symptom that requires an ambulance call.

Remember: dealing with elevated temperatures up to 38 degrees Celsius is not only not recommended, but also dangerous. Thus, you will simply interfere with the work of the immune system, which can lead to the progression of the disease or the development of its formidable complications.

Moreover, often the increased temperature leads to the appearance of chills. Under no circumstances should you try to warm yourself up in a hot bath! Hot water will expand the capillaries, thereby providing passage for pathogenic microorganisms to all organs. This can seriously damage your health, especially if the infection spreads to the heart valves or reproductive organs.

3.1 Medicines

Medicines approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) have the best efficacy in reducing the temperature for colds. Namely (cheap drugs of the old generation):

Aspirin (contraindicated in children, pregnant women and people with gastrointestinal ulcers);
Citramon;
Ibuprofen;
Diclofenac;
Indomethacin.

New generation drugs:

Movalis (has a selective effect, that is, it acts selectively and is not effective in all patients);
Nimesil (contraindicated for ulcers);
Celebrex;
Arcoxia.

The preference should be given to the drugs of the new generation, since they are devoid of many of the side effects of the drugs of the old generation. It is also important to note that any of the above drugs can be used only for a limited time (no more than two days, 2-3 times a day).

Long-term use is dangerous... In addition, if 2 days of therapy with antipyretic drugs do not give a result, this is a reason to urgently consult a doctor.

3.2 High temperature - how to relieve the condition? (video)

3.3 Folk remedies

With a slight rise in temperature (up to 37.4 degrees), ordinary tea, with the addition of lemon or honey instead of sugar, would be an ideal treatment option. Contrary to popular belief, for colds, it is recommended to drink not hot, but warm tea. And here a fairly simple rule applies: the more, the better, therefore, tea should be drunk throughout the day every day, until complete recovery.

It is recommended to add onion and garlic to any dish used during colds. These two products contain large amounts of natural antimicrobial agents that are effective against bacterial infection, which is not uncommon for colds. They are also very successful in lowering temperatures. It is recommended not only to eat onions and garlic, but also to breathe in their vapors.

Another effective folk way to lower the temperature is the use of milk with honey. For cooking, add 3-4 tablespoons of honey, a spoonful of vanilla and a little cinnamon per liter of milk. The mixture should be brought to a boil and then allowed to brew for about 5-10 minutes, after which it should be consumed every day until recovery.

3.4 When do I go to a doctor / ambulance immediately?

The temperature with a cold can simply accompany it without harming the patient, but in some cases it can lead to fatal consequences. An urgent visit to the doctor is needed in cases where there is:

a non-staggering temperature above 39 degrees (which is especially dangerous in children and pregnant women);
long-term retention of a stable elevated temperature (with a cold, we are talking about 4-5 days, with a flu about 5-7 days);
temperature instability over several days (when the temperature "jumps" from high to low).

If we talk about the complications of the common cold in general, without affecting the violation of the heat transfer process, then urgent medical attention is required if there are the following symptoms:

frequent vomiting without relief;
blurred consciousness, fainting (syncope);

In the most frequent cases, when a person is sick with a cold, he is sure that something needs to be done with his condition, because this is the flu virus. In fact, everything is not at all like that.

A doctor in such a situation usually diagnoses ARVI or an acute respiratory infection that is caused by viruses. There are significant differences between it and the flu.

SARS does not pose a danger to the body as a whole, you just should not let the disease take its course. Unlike the flu, which, without proper treatment, can be fatal.

In the modern world, respiratory infections of the lower and upper respiratory tract can cause more than 200 viral compounds of different properties and structure.

If inflammatory processes occur in the upper respiratory tract, such as the nose, nasopharynx, larynx and pharynx, diseases such as rhinitis, pharyngitis, laryngitis and nasopharyngitis take their development.

In a number of situations, the same "culprits" can generate inflammatory processes in the lower respiratory tract, as a result, foci of inflammation are detected in the trachea, bronchi, lungs - tracheitis, bronchitis, pneumonia.

Pathogenic microorganisms, in the form of pathogenic fungi and bacteria, which penetrate the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract, can also become the instigators. Infection can occur in several ways:

By airborne droplets.
Upon contact with a sick person (coughing and sneezing of the patient).
In public transport.
By means of household items that a sick person has touched.

Also, infection can occur against the background of various harmful circumstances, when the patient's individual microflora is activated and causes infection. Such circumstances include:

Prolonged overheating or hypothermia (both general and local).
With a weakening of immunity.
With prolonged stress, depression.
In a state of chronic overwork.
History of chronic diseases of internal organs and systems.

It often happens that a patient takes his illness immediately for the flu. But it must be remembered that colds and flu are two completely different diseases that are caused by different pathogens and require different treatment. Therefore, it is very important to know what is the difference between these diseases.

Influenza always has an acute onset and starts unexpectedly. Its first manifestation is that the body temperature rises (usually up to 39, but in some cases it can reach 40). There are no special symptoms such as cough, runny nose, sore throat at first.

However, there are persistent symptoms of general intoxication of the body, such as lethargy, general malaise and weakness, dizzy and a headache, nausea, and sometimes vomiting. A typical symptom of influenza is bright red eyes with barely visible ruptured blood vessels.

Unlike the flu, a cold develops slowly, that is, it has a smooth onset. First, local symptoms appear, in the form of a runny nose, light coughing, slightly scratching the throat, sometimes inflammatory processes affect the visual organs and conjunctivitis is detected (only with viral or microbial damage to the conjunctiva).

In the vast majority of situations, the temperature for a cold is subfebrile, that is, not exceeding 38.

Very rarely, the temperature can exceed 38, depending on which infection is connected.

Symptoms

Complaints of patients with progressive colds are basically the same, such as general ill health, loss of appetite, sometimes nausea and vomiting (with severe intoxication). The most typical clinical picture of a cold disease includes:

Regular sneezing, nose stuffy and not breathing, dry nose and throat, unproductive mild cough, may hoarse.
Severe headache, less often dizziness.
Redness and swelling of the mucous membrane of the pharynx.
Subfebrile body temperature.
Muscles ache, joints ache, conjunctivitis (not always), otitis media (rarely).

If the patient begins to cough, you can be almost sure that this is a cold disease. As a rule, the symptoms of a cough will not worsen, but with the help of it you can understand that this is a cold virus.

It can hold for quite a long time, up to several weeks. If the patient has asthma in the history, then you should not self-medicate, and hope that a mild cold will soon pass, the disease can go in a completely different scenario and give complications.

It is possible to identify a microbial infection. If black phlegm is released when you cough, it is bacteria. It is also possible with a respiratory infection and a febrile condition. Do not discount the slightly elevated temperature.

In total, the symptoms of a cold can last up to three days, if you start counting from the time the infection occurred.

When a patient has a cold, it is possible that he is already a carrier and can easily infect people around him.

The common cold of an adult is generally considered an acute viral infection, which begins with foci of inflammation in the upper respiratory tract.

But, at the same time, the definition of "cold" in domestic conditions is often used to name an ailment caused by overheating or hypothermia of a person, which begins with fever, coughing and stuffy nose.

In the language of medical workers, the name of the disease sounds like ARVI or acute respiratory infection, at an earlier time such a diagnosis was common as.

The duration of a cold disease determines the patient's immunity, the general condition of the body as a whole and the severity of the onset of the disease. Also, such factors also affect:

The presence of parallel ailments that can aggravate the course of a cold, and contribute to complications of various kinds.
Aggravating factors - chronic stress and fatigue, work at a hazardous enterprise, environmental pollution, climatic conditions.

According to data based on medical statistics, an adult can get colds up to four times in a year. Although children can get sick up to 12 times a year. Elderly people are less prone to colds, after the age of 60 they get sick no more than once a year.

In the standard course of the disease, the patient gets better, somewhere on the third day of the disease, but the body recovers completely a week after the onset of the primary symptoms. In some patients, against the background of a general improvement in health and condition, the cough can persist for up to two weeks.

If signs of a cold persist for a longer time, this is not normal, you should consult a doctor, since such a clinical picture indicates an aggravation of the disease.

Perhaps a bacterial or fungal infection in the lungs has joined, as a result of which bronchitis or pneumonia develops. Or in the maxillary sinuses, which speaks of an imminent sinusitis, in the ear - otitis media, labyrinthitis.

Unfortunately, there is no correct answer to the question of how long a cold lasts, it all depends on viruses and a possible complication of the course of the disease. It is worth remembering that the correct treatment will help you cope with the disease faster.

First of all, it should be focused on lowering high fever and relieving pain (soreness and sore throat), relieving coughing.

How to properly treat a cold

After a respiratory infection enters the human body, symptoms signal such an "invasion". Therefore, with primary symptoms, it is necessary to take care of the correct treatment:

A temperature not exceeding 38.5 should not be brought down with antipyretic drugs. The thing is that such a temperature regime of the body itself helps the body to cope with the invasion of foreign microorganisms. That is, interferon is produced - a protein element that is aimed at combating viral agents.
When relieving symptoms, be especially wary of vasoconstrictor drugs - drops, sprays. If used often, they can dry out the nasal mucosa by their action, as a result of which its natural blood supply is disrupted, and this facilitates the penetration of new viruses. It is better to give preference to douching the nose with saline and frequent blowing out.
If the temperature for a cold is more than 37.5, heat procedures (bath) should be abandoned. The risk of aggravating the situation on the part of the cardiac system and activating the thermoregulation center is very high. Temperatures can skyrocket over 39.
With the symptomatic treatment of cough, expectorant and antitussive drugs cannot be used at the same time. Such tactics can lead to an abundant accumulation of sputum, as a result of which it stagnates, and bacterial complications can join - pleurisy, pneumonia.

It is worth knowing that if viral diseases occur in the body, antibacterial drugs cannot help. This group of drugs has an effect on microbes, but they are completely inactive against viruses, which are (most often) the causative agents of the common cold.

Fever is not a reason to panic!

"Give me a fever and I will cure any disease!"

Hippocrates

An increase in temperature with colds (ARI, ARVI) often causes panic not only among parents, but also among doctors. Especially from "fever-phobia" mothers of children suffer, because in their minds they have already firmly introduced (not without the participation of pharmaceutical companies) the idea that high temperature is dangerous, and antipyretic drugs are just vital!

Unfortunately, in our time, fever is revered as a kind of evil that needs to be fought. But the rise in temperature with a cold is an evolutionarily developed protective reaction of the immune system, the only purpose of which is to provide the body with the fastest self-recovery!

The ability to develop a fever is an indicator that the body's immune system is working well and should not be feared. This is something to be happy about! However, the myths that are firmly rooted in the consciousness of the population about the danger of a temperature rise above 38.5 ° C again and again force us to "trip" our own immunity, feeding the body with antipyretic pills or antibiotics, believing that this is how the treatment process should look ...

The thought of the great Hippocrates, who once asserted “Give me a fever, and I will cure any disease!”, Has now led to the creation of a number of new methods of treatment based on a purposeful increase in the patient's body temperature.

For example, in recent years, a new, effective method of combating malignant tumors has been proposed, which consists in heating the body of an oncological patient to a very high temperature (about 40 ° C) and injecting interleukin-2 (a substance that is normally produced in the body during fever and exhibits antitumor activity).

There is another alternative method of fighting cancer (within the framework of anthroposophic medicine) - the so-called mistletoe therapy. This is a treatment with preparations made from a plant - white mistletoe. As a result of injections of these drugs, the patient also experiences a sharp rise in temperature to critical levels, and it is this high fever that promotes the "resorption" of cancerous tissues. This method has found its application to combat other serious chronic pathologies (viral hepatitis, bronchial asthma, etc.).

If such a serious disease as cancer is so afraid of a high temperature, then what can we say about less serious diseases?

So, if you have a fever with a cold, it makes sense to “turn on logic” so as not to think in patterns imposed by the pharmaceutical business.

The body NEED, well just LIFE NECESSARY reaction of temperature rise in order to "burn" all the toxins in the heat of fever, in order to get out of an acute situation cleansed and renewed.

However, fever and fever are different, and there are times when you need to resort to urgent measures when hyperthermia develops. Antipyretics can and should be prescribed in critical situations, which include the development of fever in a child with birth trauma, heart defects, with a history of increased convulsive readiness.

There are different types of fevers:

Infectious - arises from the action of bacteria and their toxins.
Protein - arises as a result of the action of various products of protein breakdown (with hemorrhages, tissue necrosis, bone fractures, hemolysis, etc.)
Salt - arises in response to an injection of a hypertonic sodium chloride solution (salts cause destructive disorders in tissues and the transition of protein breakdown products into the blood).
Fever from hormones and poisons - more often these are sympathicotropic substances (adrenaline, thyroxine, cocaine, nicotine, caffeine, etc.).
Neurogenic - arises from injuries and bruises of the brain, various affects, reflex irritations of the heat center.

In life, these species are often combined with each other. For example, any infectious fever is inherently proteinaceous.

The mechanism of development of fever is that under the influence of toxins or protein breakdown products in the body, pyrogens (substances acting on nerve cells thermoregulation center). Thanks to them, the autonomic nervous system is activated, which leads to a decrease in heat transfer and an increase in heat production. As a result, heat accumulates in the body, with an increase in body temperature. This leads to increased metabolism, which further increases heat production.

Muscle tremors (chills) also increase heat production when the temperature rises rapidly.

Until the substances that caused the fever are removed or destroyed, the body actively maintains an elevated body temperature.

Thus, a rise in temperature occurs due to an increase in heat production due to an increase in metabolism. To reduce the release of heat, there is a spasm of the skin vessels, a feeling of coldness, chills, "goose bumps".

When we observe the phase of "standing temperature", then heat production and heat transfer are established at a certain level, the heating of the body stops against the background of an increased level of metabolism.

Significant protein breakdown leads to increased urinary excretion of protein breakdown products. A lot of light-colored urine is excreted.

So, fever with a cold is not a disease!This is just a symptom that plays a protective, adaptive role... Is therefore fever is USEFUL!!!Why?

First, it resists the growth of bacteria and viruses.

Secondly, high temperature stimulates the immune system to fight against "aliens" (infectious agents), activating phagocytosis ("eating" by leukocytes of "aliens"), and increasing the production of interferon and other immune defense factors. Therefore, it is wrong to "knock down" the temperature when it rises! Nature gives our body a gift (an attempt to heal itself), and it is simply stupid not to use this chance ...

And thirdly, in opposition disease-causing viruses, bacteria against the background of high temperature organism produces special antibodies but who remember alien "aliens" and when you meet them again instantly " rush in the fight » ... This is how lifelong immunity (lifelong protection) against some infectious diseases is formed, which is VERY IMPORTANT. For example, while breastfeeding, the baby will be protected from infections that his mother had previously suffered, since he will receive protective antibodies with her milk.

For my patients, I usually always ask the first three to four days of an acute condition with fever not to panic, and not to take anything (even homeopathy), because only in this way can the immune system learn to cope with an acute condition on its own. Of course, this requires a medical examination to assess the severity of the situation and not to miss life-threatening symptoms.

It is interesting that after a year - two homeopathic recovery and banal "not knocking down" the temperature of mothers of often ill children, they suddenly discover with surprise that the body can be trusted, and that the fever is not an enemy, but a friend, and that their child is now sick less often, but "Brighter" (high fever for one to three days and subsequent full recovery without snot, cough and fatigue).

The ability to "fever" is not developed in all people, and it depends on how strong the immunity is, and to which health group the person belongs ( see about this)

Usually, a fever with a temperature above 38.5 ° C with acute respiratory infections indicates a good level of immunity. As a rule, these are patients from I-II health groups according to George Vithoulkas ( about this see ). After contact with an infectious agent, they develop a fever for one to three days, due to which a foreign agent (viruses, bacteria) and toxins are excreted from the body with further full recovery. Such episodes do not happen often (once every one to three years), and the body overcomes them without any medical assistance due to the wise work of the immune system.

In patients with chronic diseases (III-IV health groups), the immune system is weakened so much that it is not able to produce a high temperature (above 38.5 ° C) in response to the introduction of an infection, therefore, such patients practically cease to get sick with acute respiratory infections, or get sick without an increase in temperature.

Often it is this symptom (the ability to develop a fever with a temperature above 38.5° C) allows you to understand the patient's health level and build a treatment prognosis.

With the correct homeopathic treatment, there is a gradual strengthening of vitality. A person gradually climbs the ladder of health up the stairs. And finally, there comes a moment when the immune system is already able to develop a good temperature response to the introduction of an external infection. In this case, taking antipyretic drugs is highly undesirable! It is important to enable the body to cope with the disease on its own within one to two weeks.

Why are antipyretics and analgesics dangerous?

First, antipyretics lead to a sharp drop in temperature, suppressing, breaking a number of protective and adaptive reactions, which are aimed at combating the disease, at self-healing. Such chronic suppression of immunity, unfortunately, leads to lengthening the recovery time and a long train of runny nose, cough, weakness, etc. after acute respiratory infections and to "sliding" into the third health group ( about this see).

This happens because toxins formed during acute respiratory infections can be eliminated from the body. completely only against the background of a very high temperature (above 38.5 ° C), but due to its suppression, they "get stuck" in the tissues, accumulate and cause the development of chronic intoxication, which provokes the development of chronic diseases.

The human body is an intelligent, self-regulating system, and during illness it needs to be helped, not "harmed".

And the second, no less important reason. Taking antipyretics (as well as taking analgesics) often affects the kidney tissue, causing so-called interstitial nephritis or analgesic nephropathy. This rather severe, rapidly progressive damage to the renal tissue often leads to kidney atrophy and the development of renal failure. Such nephritis can be either acute (if the patient has a high sensitivity to these drugs, then he can give an instant reaction), and chronic, which often proceeds imperceptibly and manifests itself suddenly, when the kidneys have already "broken" and detects protein, erythrocytes in urine tests etc.

Aspirin as an antipyretic known to almost everyone, but few people know that it is not recommended for children under 12 years of age. With its appointment during viral infections, severe complications from the brain and liver (Reye's syndrome) are possible due to imperfection of the liver enzyme systems in children. Many doctors believe that the huge mortality rate during the flu epidemic known as "Spanish flu" in the early 20th century was largely due to the widespread use of aspirin at that time.

In addition, aspirin inhibits kidney function, causing edema; reduces blood clotting, causing bleeding; and in the presence of bronchospasm, it can worsen the attack. I would like to give an example from A. Timofeeva's book “Conversations of a Children's Doctor”, where she describes her case from practice:

“A healthy nine-month-old boy fell ill for the first time, his temperature rose to 40 degrees at night. They called a doctor who suggested giving aspirin to lower the temperature. After taking aspirin, the temperature dropped briefly, and by the morning the child had vomiting of the color of "coffee grounds" - a sign of gastric bleeding. The child was sent to the hospital, where he underwent gastroscopy and found multiple bleeding ulcers on the mucous membrane. In the center of many ulcers there were aspirin grains ... ”.

What to do in case of cold and fever?

An increase in temperature with a cold, acute respiratory infections is a necessary protective reaction of the body, aimed at self-healing. Therefore, the habit of constantly lowering the temperature with antipyretic drugs in such cases leads to suppression of the immune system and "care" in chronic diseases.

BUT: the temperature is reduced in case of epilepsy, in cases of high convulsive readiness, a history of traumatic brain injury, here the observation should be especially careful andall questions need to be coordinated with your homeopath and pediatrician. If, for any reason, in a threatening situation in your opinion, you need to call an ambulance, and it is not possible to call a homeopath, then while waiting for an ambulance doctor, you can try to alleviate the patient's condition by picking up a homeopathic medicine from a home homeopathic medicine cabinet - see.

In the first three days, the body must try to heal itself, no medication is desirable - neither allopathy nor homeopathy (if there are no life-threatening symptoms).

The rise in temperature is often a homeopathic exacerbation of the prescribed drug. In this case, it is all the more unacceptable to lower the temperature..

But of course in life there are situations when the patient cannot, for some reason, endure the symptoms of a fever.

In such cases, the doctor goes “on the brink of patient tolerance” and can make a homeopathic appointment.

Here are some tips on how to "properly" get sick with a cold:

If you suspect that the cause of the high temperature is not an infection, but something else (poisoning, overheating, injury, etc.), call an ambulance immediately. At the same time, try to contact your homeopath by telephone (if you have a homeopathic medicine cabinet in your home, the doctor will be able to find the appropriate medicine). Read about how to correctly describe the situation to a homeopath over the phone so that he can correctly assess the situation and give the correct recommendation..
To avoid dehydration and ease intoxication at high temperatures, offer the patient plenty of drink (a glass every hour).
With ARVI, you should not measure the temperature every hour. This will only increase your fears, but will not help your recovery;
There is no need to confine the patient to the bed.if it is unpleasant for him. If the patient feels better when walking in the fresh air - believe me, this will not worsen his condition!
Since when the temperature rises with acute respiratory infections, the body uses all its forces to fight viruses and bacteria, it is important not to interfere with it, and to exclude from the diet foods that take a lot of energy to digest (animal protein: meat and dairy products), for with the exception of breast milk and milk formulas (which are artificially fed).
If you simply cannot “do nothing” with a fever, then a wipe with water is much better and safer than taking antipyretics. When wiping the patient, use only warm water (since the decrease in body temperature is achieved by evaporation of water from the skin and does not depend on the water temperature). You can add vinegar to the water (1 liter. water - 1 tbsp. 9% vinegar).
If you have severe sweating, it is important to change your underwear often.
If the temperature rises again and again, you can give the child a warm bath, it will calm the baby, relieve cramps in the tummy.
When the temperature rises no more than once a day, you can wrap up (for 60 minutes). The baby is quickly wrapped around the body with a cotton cloth soaked in water, leaving the arms free, and the legs, on the contrary, are wrapped inside from all sides (excluding the feet). Next, the child needs to be very quickly wrapped in a sheet, in a flannel and in a woolen blanket. Cotton socks moistened with water are put on the feet, and woolen socks on top. Then they wrap the feet with a blanket, and if the baby is cold, apply a heating pad to the legs and additionally cover. Older children are given diaphoretic tea with honey or raspberries. Sometimes the child does not sweat immediately, but only after the second or even the third procedure. After the end of the wrapping, you need to take a bath (or shower) to wash off the sweat, after which, without wiping the skin, wrap the child in a sheet, a blanket and put him in bed for a quarter of an hour, and then change into clean linen. If the temperature starts to rise again after 2-3 hours, you can do the same bath / warm shower again, without wrapping, or wipe the child again with vinegar solution.
The temperature is temporarily reduced with a cleansing enema, since cleansing the intestines, in which toxins accumulate, helps to reduce intoxication. But the water for the enema must be necessarily salted and warm (otherwise it will be absorbed together with toxins from the intestines into the bloodstream, which will aggravate intoxication and worsen the general condition). Dissolve 1-2 tablespoons (without a slide) of table salt for 1 liter of water. The amount of water injected depends on age:

up to six months: 30-50 ml of solution,
from six months to one and a half years: up to 100 ml,
2 to 3 years old: one glass,
from 3 to 7 years old: up to 2 glasses,
from 12 to 14 years old - up to 800 ml of liquid

You can do contrasting foot / hand baths (at a temperature not higher than 38?). Dip your feet / hands into warm water, gradually adding hot (up to 40?). As soon as the limbs turn red, douse them with cold water, and then immerse them in hot water. Repeat all this three times, and after the last dousing with cold water, put on wool socks.

Of course, the hardest thing for any mom (and especially for dad!) To endure the sight of a sick baby, in such cases it is very difficult not to do anything. What can be done from non-drug methods to alleviate the condition of a sick child?

If there is still no temperature, but it is obvious that the baby is about to get sick (especially if the day before there was hypothermia, his feet got wet, and now snot started flowing and his throat sore), you can carry out elementary procedures aimed at activating the processes of cleansing the body:

- It is important to actively water the child with water, fruit drinks (cranberry, lingonberry), tea (linden, with ginger root, lemon and honey). Ginger tea is the best warming agent, after which it is advisable to take a warm cover and sweat.
- With a runny nose, a child older than nine months (and it will not hurt an adult) can steam the legs (if the temperature is not higher than 38? C): pour 2 tablespoons of dry mustard into a bucket of hot water, and sit with the child for 20-30 minutes, reading fairy tales to him. Then wipe your feet dry and put on socks with dry mustard poured into them at night.
- It is good to rinse a sore throat with a tincture of propolis, eucalyptus (1 teaspoon per 100 ml of water), or a decoction of sage, alternating with a solution of sea salt (1 teaspoon per 200 ml of water) or Chlorophyllipt solution.
- It is very useful to hang garlic beads on the chest of a sick child (over clothes) (especially in a flu epidemic), stringing peeled cloves on a thread (only in no case on bare skin so as not to cause irritation). Inhalation of garlic phytoncides enhances antiviral protection, and during flu epidemics helps not to get infected.
- With the onset of a runny nose, onion juice diluted in vegetable oil in a ratio of 1: 4 can be instilled into the nose (just before dripping into the child's nose - try this on yourself so as not to be mistaken with the proportions). With a runny nose, you can also rinse your nose with slightly salted water (it is better to use sea salt), instill Kalanchoe juice in a 1: 1 ratio with vegetable oil (to trigger a sneezing reaction and profuse mucus discharge from the nose).
- When a cough begins at night, you can rub the chest with badger fat (baby balm "Badger"), or vodka with fir oil (for 100 ml of vodka 1 tsp of fir oil - preferably NATURAL!).
- After rubbing the chest and feet, the patient needs to be warmly dressed and given diaphoretic tea (a mixture of dried raspberries, linden flowers, leaves of coltsfoot equally - 1 tbsp. L. Brew 2 cups of boiling water in a thermos).
- You can also do inhalation: add 3-4 drops of fir oil (NATURAL) to a cup of boiling water and inhale the vapors, covered with a towel.
- If the throat or chest hurts a lot, then a "pulling away" compress from the usual warm cottage cheese on the sore spot is good (old English recipe). Also, when coughing with pain in the chest before bedtime, the child can apply a compress on the chest or back (excluding the heart area) from scalded warm cabbage leaf, smeared with a mixture of honey and salt.

Body temperature for a cold is sometimes called a fever or fever, implying not only an increase in body temperature above normal, but also a specific state of health. According to the level of increase, the temperature is divided into subfebrile - 37-38 degrees, febrile - 38-40 degrees and hyperpyretic - over 40 degrees. Fever can be a symptom of many illnesses, but fever with colds is the most common occurrence.

They are infectious viral diseases and fever in them is a protective reaction of the body. Toxic waste products and decay of viruses cause inflammation, irritating the nerve centers of thermoregulation, thereby triggering an increase in temperature that will destroy them. Most pathogens cannot withstand temperatures above 38.5-40 degrees. One could calm down and wait for the victory over the infection, but too high a temperature is not safe for the person himself.

At high temperatures, the basal metabolism is accelerated, the breakdown of proteins and other substances in the body increases, as a result the concentration of nitrogenous compounds (intoxication) increases, respiration and heart rate increase, and a headache occurs. At the same time, sweating and urination increase, which leads to excessive loss of fluid and a violation of the water-salt balance. It is to compensate for fluid loss and accelerate the elimination of toxins that frequent drinking is required. As a result of the acceleration of metabolism, the consumption of vitamins increases, especially the B vitamins and ascorbic acid.

Currently there is a rule: do not knock down the temperature up to 38.5 degrees, when possible, to allow the body to fight the virus and help it with it. Unfortunately, in some cases it is necessary to suppress the temperature, although this is a protective reaction of the body. Some people with a cold can hardly tolerate a temperature of 37 degrees, so they need antipyretics. This is especially true for the elderly, weakened and with cancer.

At high temperatures, the load on the cardiovascular system increases, therefore, antipyretics are always needed for patients with cardiac arrhythmias, atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, heart failure. Due to the additional load on the respiratory system, antipyretics are prescribed to patients with chronic lung diseases, even with a slight increase in temperature.

Modern antipyretics are aimed at smoothly lowering the temperature in order to avoid dangerous vascular reactions. Most drugs are based on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs): paracetamol, ibuprofen, aspirin. Paracetamol is a part of combination drugs that help relieve several symptoms at once for a cold: headache, muscle pain, nasal congestion, lethargy (Efferalgan, Coldrex, Fervex, etc.).

On the basis of ibuprofen, the popular Nurofen series is produced in the form of syrups for children, rectal suppositories for colds and tablets with various dosages and duration of action for adults. Aspirin is available as a vitamin C effervescent tablet or in the classic version for adults only. Aspirin is excluded from pediatric practice due to the risk of Reye's syndrome (a toxic reaction leading to brain edema or fatal liver damage).

The domestic antipyretic drug in suppositories Cefekon N, which contains naproxen and salicylamide, both NSAIDs, providing a reliable antipyretic and analgesic effect for up to 8 hours, has proven itself well. Their effect is enhanced by the content of caffeine, which also eliminates drowsiness and lethargy, often associated with a cold. The advantage of the drug is rectal administration, in which there is a more complete and faster absorption and there is no irritating effect on the stomach.

Sometimes it is advisable to use other NSAIDs as antipyretics, especially taking into account existing chronic diseases (for example, Nimesil). It should be borne in mind that all antipyretic drugs, like other drugs, have contraindications and side effects, so you need to carefully read the instructions and use the drugs on the principle of sufficient need.

A low body temperature with a cold indicates a weakened state, a decline in strength and low body resistance. In this case, adaptogens will help: eleutherococcus extract, echinacea tincture, lemongrass tincture or dry extracts of these plants in the form of lozenges or tablets.