Fever
Fever is a condition when the body's temperature rises as a response to some disease, infection, or illness. Fever is a defense mechanism that indicates your immune system is fighting against viruses or bacteria.
The normal body temperature is between 97 and 99 F. Slightly increased temperature does not require special treatment, but if it reaches 102 or above, you should consider seeking medical help.
Besides elevated temperature, fever may be followed by shivering, sweating, headache, mild pain in the muscles, general feeling of weakness, and dehydration. The most severe cases of fever may also include hallucinations, nausea, convulsions, sensitivity to light, and pain in the abdomen.
Causes
There are many causes of fever. Any type of infection, disorder, or disease can cause fever. Fever may be a side effect of certain medications. Body temperature can also elevate after exposure to stress or it can be a consequence of intoxication. Children may have a fever during teething or after receiving immunization vaccines.
Home Treatment
It is very important to rest while you have a fever. You should sleep at least 8 hours a day and you should not go to work or perform strenuous activities. Plenty of rest will help your body heal. You can also take a cool bath or shower with cool water. This will help you lower the temperature.
You can also apply cold compressions on the body. You should not eat solid food while you have a fever. If you are a smoker, try to stay away from cigarettes while you are sick. You should also avoid alcohol because it can cause dehydration and weaken your immune system.
Natural Remedies
The simplest natural remedy for fever is water. Drink plenty amounts of cool water to compensate for the loss of fluids and to help your body lower the temperature. Besides water, you should drink fresh fruit juice, especially grapefruit juice, or eat chicken soup.
It is also recommended to drink herbal tea and eat bananas, oranges, apricots, apples, green leafy vegetables, and yogurt. The best teas for reducing fever are saffron tea, tulsi leaves tea, and fenugreek seeds tea. You can sweeten your tea with some honey and you can add some cinnamon or ginger powder.
Garlic is an excellent remedy for many disorders, which will help your body fight infection. Another natural remedy for reducing fever is to soak your socks in vinegar, put them on, and then warm up and lie down.
COVID-19 Fever Home Remedies
- Cooper's integrative review method guided this study to identify home remedies used to prevent and treat COVID-19. Google Scholar, BMC, EBSCOhost, Medline, Academic Search Ultimate, Web of Science Core Collections, Science Direct and Global Health were used to search for relevant information on the use of COVID-19 home remedies from 2019 to 2022.
- The Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) checklist was used to select studies that had to be included. The eligibility criteria included studies on home remedies, written in English from 2019 to 2022. Findings of qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods research were extracted, and narrative thematic data synthesis was applied.
- Eleven articles which met the inclusion criteria were found in nine countries: Ghana (1), South Africa (1), Tanzania (1), Togo (1) and Zimbabwe (1), Bangladesh (1), Hong Kong (1), India (2), Iran (1), and Pakistan (1). Findings showed that home remedies are used for the prevention of COVID-19 infection, treatment of COVID-19, and boosting immunity.
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