Home Remedies for Fever

Home Remedies for Fever 

Fever is the surge in body temperature. This increase in temperature is temporary and is an indication of an infection or illness in the body. The average body temperature is 37 °C (98.6 °F). Any spike from this number indicates a fever. 
Some symptoms during fever are headache, sweating, shivering, burning eyes, muscle ache, dehydration, loss of appetite, body pain and weakness. A high fever in the range of 103 °F to 106 °F can also cause symptoms such as irritability, hallucinations and convulsions. 
A low fever, when temperature drops to 37.5 °C (100 °F approximately) is normally not a cause of concern for adults. However, when the body temperature reaches around 38 °C (99 or 100 °F approximately) in children or infants, it is very important to consult a doctor immediately especially if the fever is accompanied by lethargy, loss of appetite or sore throat.

Some types of Fevers:

• Continuous fever - The increased body temperature remains constant without any fluctuations
• Remittent fever - The high temperature can increase by 2 °C in a single day
• Septic fever - The body temperature can fluctuate and increase up to 5 °C
• Intermittent fever - The high temperature is present for a few hours during the day and returns to normal for the remaining of the day
• Pel Ebstein Faever - The fever recurs every third day and high temperature remains for three days.
• Low grade - The fever is present everyday but the spike in temperature is quite low.

Causes of Fever

Hypothalamus is a part of brain, which controls body temperature. When there is an infection or illness in the body, hypothalamus raises the body temperature. There are many reasons that may cause a fever. like viral or bacterial infections; heat exhaustion or extreme cases of sunburn. Cold and flu or an infection in the ear or the throat can also cause the body temperature to rise.

Other causes of fever are vaccine or drug side effects, lung infection, kidney or bladder infections, inflammations such as rheumatoid arthritis, gastroenteritis, cancers or tumors, use of illegal drugs such as cocaine or blood clots. Fever can also be present due to malaria, typhoid or hypothermia. 
Fever may be present during an infection of the urinary tract, meningitis, measles, chicken pox, typhus, hyperthyroidism and pneumonia. Essentially there may be any number of reasons that can cause high body temperature. On certain occasions, the cause of fever is difficult to determine.

Home Remedies for Fever

There are many ways to treat a fever using natural remedies. However, if the fever persists for more than a few days or if the fever symptoms are making you uncomfortable, it is best to consult a doctor. For children it is recommended to visit the doctor as soon as the fever goes above 99 °C. Home remedies can be used along with the prescribed treatment to reduce the fever or treat the cause of the fever.

• Home remedies for fever in children: a damp cloth can be placed on the child’s forehead; a sponge bath can be given or even a 5-minute soak in the tub with lukewarm water.
• One of the best home remedies for fever can be consuming ginger tea. Ginger reduces inflammations and infections and also causes the body to sweat, which helps in reducing the fever. Ginger is also used to treat fever causes such as irritations in the throat and stuffy sinuses.
• Certain spices such as black pepper and cloves can also be used as home remedies to reduce a fever. These can be consumed as concoctions several times a day to relieve fever, cold and flu.
• Capsaicin found in cayenne pepper induces sweating and improves blood circulation. This is why use of cayenne pepper is one of the most useful home remedies for fever. It can be used in soups or sprinkled on foods to bring down a fever. Tomato soup made with ginger and consumed with a sprinkling of cayenne pepper can be extremely beneficial to reduce body temperature.
• Use of herbs such as tulsi or holy basil has been popular in India as one of the best home remedies for high fever. Infusions of tulsi leaves when taken a few times a day can be helpful in bringing down high temperature. Tulsi is also helpful during bacterial infections like sore throat that can cause fever. Yarrow and elderflower are other useful herbs that can be used as natural remedies for fever.
• Warm water and vinegar soaks can be used to bring down fevers. Alternatively this mixture can be used to wet a washcloth and applied on the forehead to reduce high temperatures.
• Home remedies for flu can be made from infusions any of these herbs such as peppermint, chamomile, thyme, eucalyptus or rosemary. Honey or ginger can be added to teas made from these herbs to further increase their potency to reduce flu and fevers.
• Consuming foods high in vitamin C is very useful to heal cold and flu symptoms and infections. Citrus fruits such as oranges and grapefruit can be eaten during a fever and also on a regular basis to keep infections away. Drinking lemon juice in lukewarm water is a useful natural remedy for fever as well as for cold and flu and many infections.
• Inhalation of steam is one of the most common home remedies for fever. Few drops of eucalyptus oil or peppermint oil can be added to the steam for increased benefits.
• To ease symptoms of cold and flu, warm milk with turmeric can be taken in the night.
• Natural remedies for fever and also for cold and flu must also include greater consumption of foods such as onions, garlic, peppers, ginger and vitamin C rich foods. Consuming raw onion is one of the best home remedies for fever and heat exhaustion. You can fortify the onions with lemon juice and black pepper for added benefits.
• Black and green teas also help to bring down fevers. This is because of the presence of phytochemical known as catechin that has antibiotic properties.
• To prevent dehydration, which is a very common symptom of fever, it is best to increase daily water intake.