What to Do When You Have a Fever
Today, I will be
answering the question from one of my readers – What to do when you have a
fever.
Before I proceed with answering the question, I will also
like you to read answer to the question What is considered a fever?
Before I start with answering the question, I will first of all
try to define or rather tell you the meaning of fever. In answering this
question, I will try to explain fever in a language that a lay man outside the
medical field will understand.
Before
I proceed with answering the question – what to do when you have a fever in adult or children, I will to also let you know that fever is not an illness of its
own but rather a symptom of an underlying problem or illness going on in the
body.
- You must confirm that you have a fever. That your body is warmth to touch does not suggest that you have a fever. For you to say you have fever, you have to get a thermometer reading (armpit measurement) of more than 37.5 C.
- If your temperature is more than 37.5 C, then you should do tepid sponging with warm water.
- You Can also take anti pyretic medication like paracetamol
Tepid sponging, in addition to antipyretic
medication, is clearly more effective than antipyretic medication alone in
reducing temperature in febrile children living in a tropical climate.
Also
recall that fever is not an illness of its own but rather a symptom of an
underlying problem or illness going on in the body.
See
a doctor once you continue having fever after
24 to 72 hours of tepid sponging and taking antipyretic drugs.
Thanks as I how that the above answered your question - What to
Do When You Have a Fever
References
Tepid sponging to reduce temperature in febrile children in
a tropical climate.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8013170