If you have a fever, should you apply a hot or cold towel? Effects of hot and cold compresses

Hot and cold compresses are simple techniques to help treat colds and bruises. Cold compress works to reduce blood circulation, tighten pores, prevent heat loss.

If you have a fever, should you apply a hot or cold towel is a question we often see appearing in groups. So what are the benefits of hot and cold compresses? If you have a fever, you should apply it properly. For the process of hot and cold compresses to have the best effect, the practitioner should refer to the method of implementation carefully. Please refer to the following article of SignsSymptomsList for more information.

Information for people with fever or cold symptoms

Fever is when the body's peripheral temperature is above 37oC along with an increase in white blood cells in the blood, then fever is the body's response when there is the invasion of microorganisms into the body or the body produces harmful effects on its own. disease-causing agent. Fever is a clinical symptom that helps diagnose an upcoming illness. However, when the fever is high and prolonged, it will cause fatigue, electrolyte disturbances and even convulsions in young children.

Fever over 38.5°C causes headaches and fatigue

When having a fever above 38.5oC, surpassing the body threshold, it can cause unpleasant feelings such as fatigue, nausea, muscle weakness, headache, ... need to use antipyretic drugs. Or the non-drug method is to take off your clothes, lie in a cool room, add enough 2 liters of water a day. Especially to reduce fever quickly and effectively, use the compress method, so should it be hot or cold?

When you have a fever, should you apply a hot or cold towel?

Many people often use the method of reducing fever by applying cold towels, which sounds reasonable, but this method is really ineffective. Instead, you can apply a warm towel when you have a fever, this is one of the methods based on the principle of external influences to help reduce body temperature. To know when a fever should be applied with a hot or cold towel, we need to understand the nature and difference between hot and cold compresses, specifically:

• Hot compress: Warms the body, increases blood circulation, effectively reduces fever.
• Cold compress: Helps reduce blood circulation, tighten pores, prevent body heat loss.

If you have a fever, should you apply a hot or cold towel?

Instructions on how to apply a hot compress when you have a fever

Warm water can help reduce fever faster, reducing body temperature by 1-2 degrees Celsius. Here is how to apply warm properly, readers can refer and follow.

You need to prepare

• Thermometer .
• 3 medium sized towels with good water absorption.
• Mix a basin of warm water, you can test the water's warmth by dipping your elbow in the bowl of water, when you feel like you are in the shower.
• Take off your clothes.
• Rest in a well-ventilated room, away from drafts.

How to perform

Dip a towel into a basin of water, wring it out and wipe it in the groin, armpits, back, soles, and hands. You can place the towel on the armpits, groin and forehead to increase the effect. When the towel cools down, dip it back into the water and repeat this action until the body cools down.

Instructions for applying heat with a towel easily

Some notes in the process of doing hot compress

The principle of hot compress is evaporating, the water in the place of application will be evaporated by the body's temperature, the evaporated water will help the body reduce heat thereby effectively reducing fever. Therefore, combined with a cool compress to wipe the body will help reduce fever faster.

In addition, we should note:

• Absolutely do not apply cold when you have a fever.
• If the water is cold, add more hot water or replace it with a basin of warm water, check the temperature and then wipe your body.
• After 15 - 30 minutes, measure the body temperature again, stop applying when the temperature is lower than 37.5oC.
• When applying, it is necessary to wipe gently, avoid rubbing, causing pain and redness.
• If the fever still does not come down, fever-reducing medicine can be used. Take medicine as directed by your doctor.
• Drink plenty of water to replace lost fluids.
• The temperature of the compress is about 1-2oC lower than the body temperature at the time of fever. For example, if the body temperature is 40oC, warm water is 38oC.

Instructions for caring for patients with fever

At this point, we must have answered the question of whether we should apply a hot or cold towel if we have a fever. Besides the hot compress method, we need to note a few things to lower the fever faster and ensure that our health does not change badly:

• Wear cool clothes: When you have a fever, you should loosen your clothes, wear only loose and comfortable clothes to help your body cool down faster.
• Drink enough water: When the body temperature rises, the hypothalamus stimulates the ability to cool down by sweating through the skin. This makes us dehydrated, to compensate, we need to add more water. In addition to water, add juices, broths, and yogurts. 
• Scientific rest: Take time to rest in ventilated spaces, away from the wind so that your health can recover quickly. Monitor your body temperature with a thermometer every 4 hours.
• Take fever-reducing medicine: You can take fever-reducing medicine when the temperature is higher than 38.5oC. The drug of choice may be Paracetamol in pill form. The recommended dosage is 1 tablet per time taken after meals. 

Add enough water to balance the amount of water secreted by sweat

How to prevent colds and fevers in adults

To stay healthy and safe and no longer wonder whether we should apply a hot or cold towel if we have a fever, we should prevent it from the beginning by applying the following living habits:

• Wash your hands with soap or sanitizer often after using the toilet, before eating, touching or touching objects
• Add enough nutrients, especially foods rich in vitamin C to increase resistance.
• Exercise, play sports to exercise.
• Have a hot pack ready to use at any time.
• Complete vaccinations as recommended by the Ministry of Health.
• Do not share items such as towels, water bottles, cups with others.

Exercise to improve resistance

Above are the answers to fever should apply hot or cold towels. Through this, we can see that hot compress is one of the solutions to help reduce fever quickly and ensure safety when done properly. After applying, but the temperature is still high, you should go to the nearest medical facility to be examined and prescribed by a doctor.