Is it possible or not to lower the temperature to 37°C if a person is generally unwell?

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In what cases does the temperature rise in an adult? It is generally believed that there is a bacterial or viral infection. However, the list of reasons does not end there. The source of the increase can be injuries, chronic diseases, allergic reactions, bleeding, heart attacks, and so on. That is, a reaction such as fever is not always an immune response only to bacteria or viruses. This is a general defense, a signal that something is threatening the normal functioning of the body.

The generally accepted opinion of medical workers is that it is not worth reducing the fever to 38.5. This is the optimal temperature for the death of certain types of bacteria and viruses. So it can be considered an alarming symptom when the thermometer does not fall below 39 degrees.

What not to do at temperatures of 37°C and above

Doctors told what to avoid when the temperature rises:

• bring down the temperature. This should be done only if the readings are above 38.5°C or if the person is generally unwell;
• agents that increase temperature. In this case, it is not advisable to use mustard plasters, rubbing with alcohol, taking a hot shower, wrapping yourself in a blanket, or drinking alcohol;
• prevent air from entering the body. Often, when a person has a fever, they begin to wrap him up vigorously to make him sweat. Thus, it was believed that the degrees on the thermometer would begin to drop. However, the body is capable of lowering its temperature on its own. It needs timely cooling. This contributes to a rapid decrease in temperature;
• Do not heat the room too much. The room temperature should not exceed 24°C. Otherwise, it will be more difficult for a person to fight the disease;
• sweet drinks. There is an opinion that you need to drink tea with sugar so that the temperature subsides. However, glucose causes complications in the kidney. This is fraught with consequences. It is best to give plain warm water or unsweetened cranberry juice.

The above tips will help lower your body temperature faster.

Causes

What reasons can cause a jump to 39 degrees or higher in an adult:

1. Overheating in the sun.
2. Prolonged physical activity.
3. Stress, nervous shock.
4. Reaction to any allergen - from an insect bite to medicinal substances.
5. Bacterial or viral infection.
6. Acute food poisoning caused by various factors - bacteria, toxins.
7. Endocrine diseases. A temperature of 39 degrees can be caused by inflammatory diseases of the thyroid gland.
8. Septic wounds, necrosis, purulent processes.
9. Collagenoses.
10. In some cases, a temperature of 39 and above, which lasts for a long time, indicates oncological changes in the body.

There are several ways to bring down a fever in an adult. They are quite effective and help, but only in cases where the cause is truly an infection. If the cause of the fever is different, antipyretic drugs can only do harm. Therefore, it is better to consult a doctor by calling an ambulance. After all, sometimes even a simple flu can result in serious complications.

What to do if the temperature of 37.8 °C does not go away for a long time?

Low-grade fever is a term commonly used to describe a prolonged increase in temperature2,4. This is an alarming sign for both adults and children. The answer to the question of what to do is clear – contact a specialist. It is impossible to independently diagnose and solve the problem at home. Delaying a visit to the doctor can lead to serious health consequences. It is very important not to start lowering the temperature without the doctor’s permission, since relieving the symptom does not solve the problem, but only makes it more difficult to find the cause of its occurrence. During diagnosis, the patient is usually prescribed laboratory tests of blood and urine, fluorography, ultrasound, etc.

How to fight on your own

Flu or a cold in an adult is accompanied by the following symptoms:

1. Weakness, lethargy, malaise, drowsiness.
2. Feverish blush on the cheeks.
3. Aches in bones and muscles.
4. Headache.
5. Heartbeat.
6. Nasal and nasopharyngeal congestion, runny nose, cough.
7. Sore throat and sore throat.

If you are sure that you have the flu or a cold, you can try to reduce the fever yourself, at home.

Important tip! In an attempt to bring down the temperature, do not use means that will increase it - hot water for drinking, hot water to steam your feet, inhalations over steam, mustard plasters, vodka or alcohol compresses, alcohol, caffeine, spicy foods.

What to do if an adult has a high temperature

Let's look at cases when a high temperature is observed in an adult, what to do when the fever lasts a long time and is accompanied by other symptoms. As a general rule, you should definitely remember that it is better not to self-medicate, but to seek help from doctors. The doctor will always better understand what is happening in the body, and you will recover in a short time.

No symptoms

A high temperature without symptoms in an adult is sometimes not a sign of illness and a cause for concern for health. This is how the body carries out thermoregulation, for example, when a person is overheated in the sun in the summer or after intense physical activity or training. Sometimes fever is a reaction to stress. If within 2 days the temperature does not return to normal, you should definitely see a specialist, because this is how many hidden diseases manifest themselves: abscess, infections, allergies, injuries, neoplasms, etc.

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For diarrhea and high fever

There are signs of an infectious disease of the digestive system. Since diarrhea removes fluid from the body, the first aid will be to restore water and mineral balance. For this purpose, you need to increase your fluid intake; a good option would be to use rehydron, which is sold at the pharmacy. To remove the causes of gastrointestinal upset, you need to consult a doctor to prescribe antibiotics.

High fever and vomiting

Such symptoms indicate acute poisoning of the body with low-quality food or chemicals (for example, in production, household chemicals). If an adult has a high fever or diarrhea, what to do? In this case, you need to drink a lot of water, which will help flush out toxins. It is recommended to do an enema to quickly remove toxic substances from the intestines. Remember that these are only emergency measures; in such cases, medical assistance cannot be avoided.

For sore throat

If you have a cold, your throat is red, it hurts to swallow, your body temperature is slightly elevated - these are all the signs of a cold, for which you just need to rest at home. But if the thermometer shows more than 38, this may indicate a sore throat, which is very dangerous due to its complications. Therefore, after rinsing your throat with a soda solution (1 teaspoon per glass of warm water) and wrapping it well in a warm scarf, go to the ENT specialist to make an accurate diagnosis.

High pressure and temperature

If there are signs of a cold: fever, general malaise, drowsiness, which are combined with elevated blood pressure (140/90 mm Hg and above), hypertension should be suspected. In this case, treatment is prescribed by a specialist, but the patient himself needs to adjust his lifestyle and balance his diet. Self-medication and delay in seeing a doctor for such symptoms are strictly prohibited, because a heart attack may be missed, which directly threatens the patient with death.

Headache

This is often a symptom of acute respiratory viral infection, but this is also how meningitis, sinusitis, acute intoxication of the body due to poisoning, and even tumors in the brain manifest themselves. If the usual methods of treating a cold do not have the desired effect, and the headache continues for more than 2 days, and the fever does not decrease, then in order to prevent severe complications, you should immediately consult a doctor.

Lower back pain

Such a symptom in combination with fever can be caused by the influenza virus, or this is how injuries to the muscles in this area make themselves felt. Then you need to lubricate your lower back with special pain-relieving gels or ointments and tie it with a warm bandage. But be careful, lower back pain accompanied by a high temperature may indicate possible inflammatory processes in the kidneys.

Household auxiliary

First of all, it’s good to remember: the fever can be brought down within 24 hours. If during this time you have not achieved results, the temperature has risen above 39 degrees - call a doctor. Wherein:

1. Drink water or tea constantly. You should not drink hot drinks, they can raise the temperature by a couple of degrees. The drink should be warm, it will help prevent dehydration.
2. You can use a compress on the forehead and legs. It is made from a towel soaked in diluted vinegar (dilute 9% vinegar with water 1:1).
3. Immersing your feet in a basin of cool water can relieve the condition for a while.
4. The body can be wiped with a damp sponge or towel dipped in water or vinegar solution. Rapid evaporation of moisture from the surface of the skin will help reduce fever. Some recommend wiping the skin with alcohol: this method is allowed, but the patient may inhale alcohol fumes.

In febrile conditions, these methods greatly alleviate the general condition for some time. If significant improvement does not occur, medications will have to be used.

How to quickly reduce your temperature at home

Our life experience shows that high fever, along with other accompanying symptoms: body aches, headaches, is an unpleasant phenomenon. To quickly cope with it and return to your previous shape, you need to know what medications help with fever. Folk remedies for fighting fever are effective. Let's talk about this in more detail.

Antipyretics

Traditional antipyretics for high fever in adults are ibuprofen, aspirin and paracetamol. They are taken if the temperature is more than 38 degrees and if symptoms of a common cold are observed along with the fever. Intramuscular injections reduce fever more effectively and faster than tablets. What injection is given for adults at high temperatures? An effective three-component composition is introduced: analgin, diphenhydramine and papaverine in equal proportions, 1 ml each. The medicine helps within a quarter of an hour, but you should give injections yourself without a doctor’s prescription in exceptional cases.

Symptomatic drugs

Symptomatic medications are taken when other cold symptoms are observed at a fever. Doctors often recommend bed rest for acute respiratory viral infections and influenza. If it is not possible to comply with it, you have to fight weakness, and effective work and concentration are out of the question. To avoid such a situation, you should pay attention to anti-cold medications, which are effective not only against symptoms, but also against general weakness. For example, the modern anti-cold drug Influnet helps to get rid of symptoms, but also, due to the succinic acid it contains, helps to cope with lethargy and loss of strength.

Antiviral drugs for colds

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No drugs

If you intend to overcome the temperature on your own, in order to avoid the side effects that medications can cause, use folk remedies. Such medicinal drugs are highly effective and do not cause negative effects on the body systems. The cause of an increase in body temperature in almost 80% of cases is viral infections, so the very first recommendation is to drink more water and warm (not hot!) drinks: tea with raspberries, black currants, linden, berry fruit drinks, compotes. This way, toxins will be eliminated faster along with sweat.

To remove intoxication products from the surface of the body, it is good to take a warm shower, this will alleviate the patient’s condition. For this purpose, wipe the forehead, chest, armpits and groins with a damp, cool towel. It is good to periodically lubricate your palms and feet with a solution of water and vinegar (3 to 1), or apply cool gauze compresses soaked in a vinegar solution to the indicated areas. If your hands and feet are cold, you must first warm them up so that blood begins to circulate well in the vessels, this will make it easier to bring down the temperature.

Medicines

Medicines are called antipyretics and come in several forms:

1. Complex powders for flu and colds. They contain paracetamol and vitamin C.
2. Coated or water-soluble tablets.
3. Syrups.
4. Suppositories.
5. Injections.

The most common and effective remedies include Paracetamol, Nise, Panadol, Nurofen, Ibuprofen. All these drugs are usually easily tolerated, but when taking any medicine, you need to remember its effect on the gastric mucosa, especially Aspirin.

A mixture of suprastin and analgin, taken 1:1, is used as an injection solution. Or another composition of analgin, papaverine and diphenhydramine, also in a 1:1:1 ratio.

We must not forget about the individual reaction to the active ingredient of the drug. For some, Paracetamol will remarkably reduce the fever, but for others it will not work at all. Look for your remedy for fever.

In addition, the following rule will not be superfluous: if the drug does not improve the condition within the time specified in the instructions, then you need to call a doctor, and not take the next pill in the hope that it will bring down your fever.

Simple ways to avoid catching a cold

1. Keep your neck warm - this is the most vulnerable part of the body to colds. The neck contains the most receptors that “catch” the ambient temperature. If your neck is cold, your whole body is cold. If your neck is warm, you will not freeze even in the icy wind.

2. Limit the number of kisses and handshakes - viruses and germs are transmitted not only through airborne droplets, but also through dirty hands.

3. Rinse your nose when you return home - pathogenic microorganisms nest in our nose for some time and only then begin their destructive march through the body. This will not happen if they are “washed off” in time.

4. Ventilate the premises more often - a draft sharply reduces the concentration of pathogenic viruses and microbes in the premises.

5. Breathe onions and garlic - they contain phytoncides (natural antibiotics) that have a detrimental effect on pathogens.

6. Get enough sleep and don’t be nervous - lack of sleep dramatically reduces the body’s defenses, and stress opens the way to illness!

7. Drink adaptogens - tinctures of ginseng, Rhodiola rosea, Eleutherococcus will support the functioning of the immune system.

8. Don't forget about vitamins - without them you can't avoid a cold! Particular attention is paid to vitamin C. It will help not only cure, but also prevent colds.

Other types of fever

A sharp increase in temperature without cold symptoms is possible. In what cases does this happen?

1. A prolonged temperature of 39, without cold symptoms, may be a sign of thyroid disease.
2. Fever without symptoms can be the first sign of systemic lupus erythematosus.
3. Rheumatoid joint lesions are accompanied by fever and joint pain.
4. In acute food poisoning, the main symptoms are fever, vomiting, diarrhea, general intoxication and weakness.

In addition to the above diseases, a temperature of 39 and above can also accompany:

1. Tropical form of malaria.
2. Infectious diseases (typhoid fever).
3. Oncological diseases.
4. Pneumonia.

Probable causes of febrile hyperthermia

The causes of increased body temperature are always pathological. Self-diagnosis is not recommended.

Although the manifestations of various diseases are quite specific, the risk of making a mistake is high. You should briefly consider the typical causes and symptoms of possible pathologies:

Tonsillitis

It is an inflammation of the tonsils and soft palate. The causative agent is Staphylococcus aureus, for which the mucous membranes act as an excellent nutrient medium.

The tonsils are designed to protect the upper respiratory tract from infectious agents; therefore, when attacked by pathogenic flora, they are the first to suffer.

A particular form of tonsillitis is considered to be tonsillitis, which occurs with a significant increase in temperature in adults up to 37.5-38.5 degrees (febrile).

The disease develops as an acute pathology. It is characterized by intense pain in the throat of a burning, sore nature.

In addition to the pain syndrome, the following are noted: the formation of purulent plugs (yellowish lumps with a sharp, putrid odor), breathing problems due to swelling of the upper respiratory tract, white plaque on the soft palate, etc.

Sometimes the disease can be accompanied only by pain without hyperthermia.

Pharyngitis

According to statistics, approximately 75% of people have suffered from this disease at least once in their lives and do not even suspect it.

Another upper respiratory tract disease. In medical practice, pharyngitis is understood as inflammation of the mucous membrane of the palate with subsequent damage to the underlying anatomical structures.

Pharyngitis mainly affects people engaged in professional activities that involve exposure to high temperatures, and smokers.

The disease progresses with subfebrile and febrile (38.1-38.9) thermometer values. It is typically characterized by a feeling of dryness and burning in the throat, difficulty breathing, problems with the voice (it may disappear completely or be hoarse).

With a complicated form of pharyngitis, pain in the ears, nasopharynx, and active production of mucus are noted.

• Laryngitis . Inflammation of the larynx. Among ENT pathologies, this is considered the most painful for the patient, since it causes a prolonged, “clogging” cough that does not subside day or night.
• Tracheitis . Inflammation of the trachea. The typical temperature is 38.4-38.9 degrees. Life-threatening pathology.
• Bronchitis . Inflammation of the bronchi.

Inflammation of the lungs (pneumonia)

A deadly disease, often accompanied by a temperature of 38.2-38.5 in an adult, and in some cases up to 40 degrees.

The pathology leads to disruption of gas exchange, therefore it is dangerous not so much because of hyperthermia as with the accompanying symptoms.

A number of symptoms are pathognomonic for her:

1. pain behind the sternum when trying to inhale or exhale,
2. breathing problems (inability to take a full breath due to swelling),
3. secretion of a large amount of viscous yellowish sputum.

Flu

Influenza infection is always characterized by high thermometer readings. Typical temperature is 38.6-38.8 degrees, aching bones (especially legs), pain in the eyes. Nausea and vomiting may occur.