All people on this planet sooner or later fall ill with fever. What can be done against it and what remedies can also be found in your own four walls, shows the following guide.
What helps against fever?
The high temperature of a fever can be fought with calf wraps. Fever is not a disease in itself, but a defensive reaction of the body against existing infections. Help from medication should therefore only be considered if the body temperature exceeds a certain limit (around 39° Celsius). Medication and antibiotics are therefore definitely helpful, but they are only advisable in severe cases. In principle, it is advisable to keep to bed rest. Furthermore, it is essential to drink plenty of fluids. Due to the increased temperature, all persons tend to sweat heavily due to fever. The high loss of fluids makes it more difficult for the body to fight the infection at hand. Mineral water, juices or tea are particularly suitable for this purpose. Adults should drink at least two liters of fluid per day, but more is also recommended. Tea also has the advantage of having an anti-inflammatory effect in certain varieties. If inflammation of any kind is present in the body – which of course cannot be said with certainty – many teas help to inhibit it. With regard to diet, by the way, there is nothing wrong with simply eating little in general. The body is not lacking in nutrients during this time, but in fluids. Food is therefore particularly recommended in the form of light meals or fruits, which also fill you up and at the same time ensure that the body is supplied with various vitamins. All of these tips apply to children as well, of course, although in smaller doses. So they don’t have to drink quite as much, eat less and can drink raspberry tea instead of bitter lime tea, for example.
Quick help
If you are acutely ill with fever, you can try to fight the temperature with some home remedies. These include, for example, cold washcloths on the forehead, which are particularly effective against the frequent headaches. Calf compresses, which also consist of wet towels wrapped around the calves, achieve the same effect. Care must be taken here to ensure that blood circulation is not disturbed so that the cooling effect can penetrate the entire body. These calf wraps are removed again as soon as the cooling effect wears off or the towels are simply dry. Above a certain temperature – 38° Celsius is considered the limit – the wraps can be discontinued again, as they then have no further effect on the fever. Alternatively, a warm bath can be taken, which is approximately at body temperature. Cold water is then added to allow the body temperature to slowly drop. After that, as always, bed rest is the first priority to let the fever subside quickly.
Alternative remedies
A healing effect is said, for example, chicken broth, as its ingredients also have an anti-inflammatory effect and therefore help the body fight infections. Light food can also speed up the recovery process, as this means that the stomach and intestinal tract do not have to do extra work. Meals can then include rice, cottage cheese or even certain types of fruit, for example. Meat or pasta, for example, should be avoided. Soups of any kind, on the other hand, are the right choice. The plant world also offers various remedies, which can be tried if necessary. These include elderflowers, which can be used for teas. Chinese hare’s ear is also widely regarded as a plant that can achieve some degree of effectiveness against fever. It is also used as a tea and unfortunately has a very bitter taste. However, it has a cooling effect on the whole organism. Finally, so-called vinegar stockings can be tried: For this purpose, water is mixed with a little apple cider vinegar. Cotton stockings then soak up this mixture, which are then put on. While this of course does not feel particularly nice, a fever-reducing effect should occur after about an hour in adults. However, bed rest is an absolute must during this time.
