Asked by
rajesh goyl
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Personal Health
at
7:52 AM on April 26, 2008
deepa iyer's Answer
Make sure you actually have a fever. Although 98.61F is considered the norm, that number is not etched in stone. "Normal" temperature varies from person to person and fluctuates widely throughout the day. Food, excess clothing, emotional excitement, and vigorous exercise can all elevate temperature, says Donald Vickery, M.D., a corporatehealth consultant and assistant clinical professor at Georgetown University School of Medicine. "In fact, vigorous exercise can raise body temperature to as high as 103°F Furthermore, children tend to have higher temperatures than adults and greater daily variations.
"So here's a general rule: If your temperature is 99° to 100°F, start thinking about the possibility of fever. If it is 100° or above, it is a fever," he says.
Leonard Banco, M.D., an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, adds that often a person's appearance is a better indicator of his condition than hard-and-fast numbers. "A child with a raised temperature who looks ill needs attention sooner than one who looks and acts well."
Don't fight it. If you do have a fever, remember this: Fever itself is not an illness-it's a symptom of one. In fact, it's one of the body's defense mechanisms against infection, says public-health authority Stephen Rosenberg, M.D., an associate professor of clinical public health at Columbia University School of Public Health. And fever may even serve a useful purpose: shortening an illness, increasing the power of antibiotics, and making an infection less contagious. These possibilities should be weighed against the discomfort involved in letting a slight fever run its nurse, he says.
Liquefy your assets. When you're hot, your body perspires to _ cool you down. But ifyou lose too much water- as you might with a high :ever-your body turns off its sweat ducts to forestall further water loss. That makes it more difficult for you to cope with your fever. The moral of :: His story: Drink up, mateys, or your ship will be sunk. In addition to plain water, doctors favor the following.
Fruit and vegetable juices. These are high in vitamins and minerals, says nutrition counselor Eleonore Blaurock Busch, Ph.D., president and director of' Trace Minerals International in Boulder, Colorado. She partic ularly favors nutrient-dense beet juice and carrot juice. If you're thirsty for tomato juice, notes pharmacology professor Thomas Gossel, Ph.D., R.Ph. chairman of the Department of Pharmacology and Biomedical sciences at Ohio Northern University, choose one that is low in sodium.
Linden tea. This tea by itself is also good, she says, and can induce sweating to break a fever. Use 1 tablespoon of the flowers in 1 cup of boiling water. Prepare as above and drink hot often.
Willow bark This bark is rich in salicylates, which are aspirinrelated compounds, and is considered "nature's fever medication," says Dr. Blaurock-Busch. Brew into a tea and drink in small doses.
Black elder Another old-1 ime fever treatment, black elder is prefer-able to willow bark ifyou can't tolerate aspirin, she says. ain, brew into a tea and drink as desired.
Ice. Ifyou're too nauseated to drink, you can suck on ice. For variety. freeze fruit juice iii an ice-cube tray. 7o entice a feverish child, embed a grape or strawberry in each cube.
Get compressed relief. Wet compresses help reduce thebody's temperature output, says Dr. Blaurock-Busch. Ironically, she says, hot. moist compresses can do the job. When the patient starts to feel uncomfortably hot, remove those compresses and apply cool ones to his forehead, wrists, and calves. Keep the rest of his body covered.
But if the fever rises above 1031F she says, do not use hot compresses at all. Instead, apply cool ones to prevent the fever from gett
Answered at
8:12 PM on April 26, 2008
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