Fever – Symptoms and causes

Overview

A fever is a temporary increase in your body temperature, often due to an illness. Having a fever is a sign that something out of the ordinary is going on in your body.

For an adult, a fever may be uncomfortable, but usually isn’t a cause for concern unless it reaches 103 F (39.4 C) or higher. For infants and toddlers, a slightly elevated temperature may indicate a serious infection.

Fevers generally go away within a few days. A number of over-the-counter medications lower a fever, but sometimes it’s better left untreated. Fever seems to play a key role in helping your body fight off a number of infections.

Symptoms

You have a fever when your temperature rises above its normal range. What’s normal for you may be a little higher or lower than the average normal temperature of 98.6 F (37 C).

Depending on what’s causing your fever, additional fever signs and symptoms may include:

• Sweating
• Chills and shivering
• Headache
• Muscle aches
• Loss of appetite
• Irritability
• Dehydration
• General weakness

Children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years might experience febrile seizures. About a third of the children who have one febrile seizure will have another one, most commonly within the next 12 months.

Taking a temperature

To take a temperature, you can choose from several types of thermometers, including oral, rectal, ear (tympanic) and forehead (temporal artery) thermometers.

Oral and rectal thermometers generally provide the most accurate measurement of core body temperature. Ear or forehead thermometers, although convenient, provide less accurate temperature measurements.

In infants, doctors generally recommend taking a temperature with a rectal thermometer.

When reporting a temperature to your or your child’s doctor, give the reading and explain how the temperature was taken.

When to see a doctor

Fevers by themselves may not be a cause for alarm — or a reason to call a doctor. Yet there are some circumstances when you should seek medical advice for your baby, your child or yourself.

Infants

An unexplained fever is greater cause for concern in infants and in children than in adults. Call your baby’s doctor if your child is:

• Younger than age 3 months and has a rectal temperature of 100.4 F (38 C) or higher.
• Between ages 3 and 6 months and has a rectal temperature up to 102 F (38.9 C) and seems unusually irritable, lethargic or uncomfortable or has a temperature higher than 102 F (38.9 C).
• Between ages 6 and 24 months and has a rectal temperature higher than 102 F (38.9 C) that lasts longer than one day but shows no other symptoms. If your child also has other signs and symptoms, such as a cold, cough or diarrhea, you might call your child’s doctor sooner based on severity.

Children

There’s probably no cause for alarm if your child has a fever but is responsive — making eye contact with you and responding to your facial expressions and to your voice — and is drinking fluids and playing.

Call your child’s doctor if your child:

• Is listless or irritable, vomits repeatedly, has a severe headache or stomachache, or has any other symptoms causing significant discomfort.
• Has a fever after being left in a hot car. Seek medical care immediately.
• Has a fever that lasts longer than three days.
• Appears listless and has poor eye contact with you.

Ask your child’s doctor for guidance in special circumstances, such as a child with immune system problems or with a pre-existing illness.

Adults

Call your doctor if your temperature is 103 F (39.4 C) or higher. Seek immediate medical attention if any of these signs or symptoms accompanies a fever:

• Severe headache
• Unusual skin rash, especially if the rash rapidly worsens
• Unusual sensitivity to bright light
• Stiff neck and pain when you bend your head forward
• Mental confusion
• Persistent vomiting
• Difficulty breathing or chest pain
• Abdominal pain or pain when urinating
• Convulsions or seizures

Causes

Fever occurs when an area in your brain called the hypothalamus (hi-poe-THAL-uh-muhs) — also known as your body’s “thermostat” — shifts the set point of your normal body temperature upward. When this happens, you may feel chilled and add layers of clothing or wrap up in a blanket, or you may shiver to generate more body heat, eventually resulting in an elevated body temperature.

Normal body temperature varies throughout the day — it’s lower in the morning and higher in the late afternoon and evening. Although most people consider 98.6 F (37 C) normal, your body temperature can vary by a degree or more — from about 97 F (36.1 C) to 99 F (37.2 C) — and still be considered normal.

Fever or elevated body temperature might be caused by:

• A virus
• A bacterial infection
• Heat exhaustion
• Certain inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis — inflammation of the lining of your joints (synovium)
• A malignant tumor
• Some medications, such as antibiotics and drugs used to treat high blood pressure or seizures
• Some immunizations, such as the diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis (DTaP) or pneumococcal vaccine

Sometimes the cause of a fever can’t be identified. If you have a fever for more than three weeks and your doctor isn’t able to find the cause after extensive evaluation, the diagnosis may be fever of unknown origin.

Complications

Children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years may experience fever-induced convulsions (febrile seizures), which usually involve loss of consciousness and shaking of limbs on both sides of the body. Although alarming for parents, the vast majority of febrile seizures cause no lasting effects.

If a seizure occurs:

• Lay your child on his or her side or stomach on the floor or ground
• Remove any sharp objects that are near your child
• Loosen tight clothing
• Hold your child to prevent injury
• Don’t place anything in your child’s mouth or try to stop the seizure

Most seizures stop on their own. Take your child to the doctor as soon as possible after the seizure to determine the cause of the fever.

Call for emergency medical assistance if a seizure lasts longer than five minutes.

Prevention

You may be able to prevent fevers by reducing exposure to infectious diseases. Here are some tips that can help:

• Wash your hands often and teach your children to do the same, especially before eating, after using the toilet, after spending time in a crowd or around someone who’s sick, after petting animals, and during travel on public transportation.
• Show your children how to wash their hands thoroughly, covering both the front and back of each hand with soap and rinsing completely under running water.
• Carry hand sanitizer with you for times when you don’t have access to soap and water.
• Try to avoid touching your nose, mouth or eyes, as these are the main ways that viruses and bacteria can enter your body and cause infection.
• Cover your mouth when you cough and your nose when you sneeze, and teach your children to do likewise. Whenever possible, turn away from others when coughing or sneezing to avoid passing germs along to them.
• Avoid sharing cups, water bottles and utensils with your child or children.

When Is a Fever Too High?

High-grade fevers, called hyperpyrexia, involve temperatures above 103 degrees and can be dangerous. However, when gauging a fever’s danger in yourself or your child, it’s more complicated than just looking at a number—especially in children.

For most people, most of the time, a fever isn’t dangerous in terms of causing brain damage. This may go against what you’ve been taught to fear.

It helps to know what causes a fever, what the potential complications can be, and when to call your doctor or head to the emergency room. It’s also important to know what’s different about fevers in kids versus adults.

Why You Get Fevers

Usually, fevers are actually a good thing. They’re part of the natural way the body fights off infections.

A part of the brain called the hypothalamus acts as a thermostat for your body. Most of the time, it keeps body temperatures around 98.6 degrees (37 degrees Celsius). When you get sick, though, it raises the temperature to make it hard for germs to live and multiply.

That’s all well and good, unless the fever gets so high that it could start harming you.

Causes

A lot of things can cause high fevers. Some include low-grade fevers that become high-grade, such as:

• Viruses
• Bacteria
• Fungi
• Toxins
• Drugs

If a fever continues unchecked, or your body doesn’t respond to treatment, the fever may rise into the danger zone.

Verywell / Jiaqi Zhou

Some medical conditions that don’t involve low fevers are associated with high-grade fever. Some of these are:

• Intracranial hemorrhage
• Thyroid storm
• Serotonin syndrome
• Sepsis
• Kawasaki syndrome
• Neuroleptic malignant syndrome
• Heatstroke
• Drug overdose

Symptoms and Complications

As your fever rises, it may bring on new symptoms.

Low-grade fever (pyrexia) symptoms include:

• Chills
• Sweats
• Feeling hot
• Headache
• Eyes that are achy or tired
• Thirst
• Low appetite

Early high-grade fever (hyperpyrexia) symptoms may still include those from the list above, plus:

• Extreme sweating
• Dizziness and light-headedness
• Muscle cramps
• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Nausea

Persistent or worsening high-grade fever can also cause:

• Contracted (small) pupils
• Mild confusion
• Cool, moist, pale skin
• Upset stomach or vomiting
• Decreased urine or inability to urinate

Longer-lasting high-grade fever or temperatures above 106.1 F can lead to:

• Extreme confusion
• Hallucinations
• Loss of consciousness
• Shallow, rapid breathing
• Hot, dry, red skin
• Weak, fast heartbeat
• Dilated (large) pupils
• Seizures

Fevers over 106.1 F (41.2 C) need medical attention to prevent serious, long-term consequences—including brain damage and death.

Brain Damage and Death

While high fevers, especially those that are prolonged, can lead to brain damage and death, this is extremely rare.

According to a 2016 study, heatstroke is the most deadly heat-related illness, killing 58% or more of the people it affects. Among survivors, most make full recoveries, but some may have long-term organ damage.

Organs that can be damaged by prolonged hyperpyrexia include:

• Brain
• Heart and cardiovascular system
• Kidneys
• Liver
• Intestines

Proper treatment is the key to preventing severe complications of high-grade fevers.

Treatment

If someone has a fever but feels fine for the most part, treatment isn’t necessary. In fact, because the fever’s job is to kill infectious agents, treating a low-grade fever can interfere with the body’s efforts.

When it comes to children, a rule of thumb is that if they’re playing and have energy, there’s no immediate danger.

When fever-related symptoms are making you feel lousy or the temperature has crept up near that 103-104 F mark, an over-the-counter fever-reducing medication like Tylenol (acetaminophen) or Motrin/Advil (ibuprofen) can help you feel better.

The effects of these medications are only temporary, though. They work for 4 to 8 hours and then wear off, meaning your fever may come back and you’ll need to take more. This doesn’t mean something is wrong or that it didn’t work.

Children and teenagers should not be given aspirin for a fever due to the risk of Reye syndrome, a rare and serious illnesses that causes brain and liver damage.

Rest and plenty of liquids can help your body weather the fever (and underlying illness), as well.

Other home remedies may help, but you need to know which ones are safe and effective, and which ones are potentially harmful.

Treatment by Temperature

For most adults and older children, symptoms are a better indicator of when it’s a problem than the number on the thermometer. Still, it’s good to keep an eye on how high the fever gets.

With children under 3 years of age, and especially with babies, it pays to be more cautious and know what the exact temperature is.

Fever in very young children can be a sign that something serious is wrong, so it shouldn’t be ignored. Your pediatrician should have an on-call number so you can get advice at any time, or, in some cases, you may want to go straight to the emergency room.

Medical Care

If your fever is caused by an infection, it won’t go away until the infection is gone or at least improves. Depending on the specific pathogen, this may require medical treatment.

If your fever doesn’t go away or is accompanied by other symptoms that suggest illness, you should see a doctor.

If you rush to your doctor’s office, urgent care, or the ER for fever treatment, you can expect medications and testing to figure out what’s causing the elevated temperature.

A Word From Verywell

Adults are typically better able to determine when our symptoms are making us feel so bad that we need to seek medical treatment, but if you aren’t sure, evaluate what is going on. Learn how to check your cold and flu symptoms, evaluate a fever, and know the situations when you should see a doctor for a fever.

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Fever or Chills, Age 12 and Older

Overview

Fever is the body’s normal and healthy reaction to infection and other illnesses, both minor and serious. It helps the body fight infection. Fever is a symptom, not a disease. In most cases, having a fever means you have a minor illness. When you have a fever, your other symptoms will help you determine how serious your illness is.

Temperatures in this topic are oral temperatures. Oral temperatures are usually taken in older children and adults.

Normal body temperature

Most people have an average body temperature of about 37°C (98.6°F), measured orally (a thermometer is placed under the tongue). Your temperature may be as low as 36.3°C (97.4°F) in the morning or as high as 37.6°C (99.6°F) in the late afternoon. Your temperature may go up when you exercise, wear too many clothes, take a hot bath, or are exposed to hot weather.

Fever temperatures

A fever is a high body temperature. A temperature of up to 38.9°C (102°F) can be helpful because it helps the body fight infection. Most healthy children and adults can tolerate a fever as high as 39.4°C (103°F) to 40°C (104°F) for short periods of time without problems. Children tend to have higher fevers than adults.

The degree of fever may not show how serious the illness is. With a minor illness, such as a cold, you may have a temperature, while a very serious infection may cause little or no fever. It is important to look for and evaluate other symptoms along with the fever.

If you are not able to measure your temperature with a thermometer, you need to look for other symptoms of illness. A fever without other symptoms that lasts 3 to 4 days, comes and goes, and gradually reduces over time is usually not a cause for concern. When you have a fever, you may feel tired, lack energy, and not eat as much as usual. High fevers are not comfortable, but they rarely cause serious problems.

Oral temperature taken after smoking or drinking a hot fluid may give you a false high temperature reading. After drinking or eating cold foods or fluids, an oral temperature may be falsely low.

Causes of fever

Viral infections, such as colds and influenza (flu), and bacterial infections, such as a urinary tract infection or pneumonia, often cause a fever.

Travel outside your native country can expose you to other diseases. Fevers that begin after travel in other countries need to be evaluated by your doctor.

Fever and respiratory symptoms are hard to evaluate during the flu season. A fever of 38.9°C (102°F) or higher for 3 to 4 days is common with the flu. For more information, see the topic Respiratory Problems, Age 12 and Older.

Recurrent fevers are those that occur 3 or more times within 6 months and are at least 7 days apart. Each new viral infection may cause a fever. It may seem that a fever is ongoing, but if 48 hours pass between fevers, then the fever is recurring. If you have frequent or recurrent fevers, it may be a symptom of a more serious problem. Talk to your doctor about your fevers.

Treating a fever

In most cases, the illness that caused the fever will clear up in a few days. You usually can treat the fever at home if you are in good health and do not have any medical problems or significant symptoms with the fever. Make sure that you are taking enough foods and fluids and urinating in normal amounts.

Low body temperature

If a low body temperature is your only symptom, it is not something to worry about. If a low body temperature occurs with other symptoms, such as chills, shaking, breathing problems, or confusion, then this may be a sign of more serious illness.

Low body temperature may occur from cold exposure, shock, alcohol or drug use, or certain metabolic disorders, such as diabetes or hypothyroidism. A low body temperature may also be present with an infection, particularly in newborns, older adults, or people who are frail. An overwhelming infection, such as sepsis, may also cause an abnormally low body temperature.

Home Treatment

It’s easy to become dehydrated when you have a fever.

In the early stages, you may be able to correct mild to moderate dehydration with home treatment measures. It is important to control fluid losses and replace lost fluids.

Adults and children age 12 and older

If you become mildly to moderately dehydrated:

• Stop your activity and rest.
• Drink a rehydration drink, water, juice, or sports drink to replace fluids and minerals. Drink 2 L (2 qt) of cool liquids over the next 2 to 4 hours. You should drink at least 10 glasses of liquid a day to replace lost fluids. You can make an inexpensive rehydration drink at home. But do not give this homemade drink to children younger than 12. Measure all ingredients precisely. Small variations can make the drink less effective or even harmful. Mix the following:
  • 1 L (1 quart ) purified water
  • 2.5 mL (½ teaspoon) salt
  • 30 mL (6 teaspoons) sugar

Rest and take it easy for 24 hours, and continue to drink a lot of fluids. Although you will probably start feeling better within just a few hours, it may take as long as a day and a half to completely replace the fluid that you lost.

Many people find that taking a lukewarm [ 27°C (80°F) to 32°C (90°F)] shower or bath makes them feel better when they have a fever. Do not try to take a shower if you are dizzy or unsteady on your feet. Increase the water temperature if you start to shiver. Shivering is a sign that your body is trying to raise its temperature.Do not use rubbing alcohol, ice, or cold water to cool your body.

Dress lightly when you have a fever. This will help your body cool down. Wear light pyjamas or a light undershirt. Do not wear very warm clothing or use heavy bed covers. Keep room temperature at 21°C (70°F) or lower.

If you are not able to measure your temperature, you need to look for other symptoms of illness every hour while you have a fever and follow home treatment measures.

Be sure to check your temperature every 2 to 4 hours to make sure home treatment is working.

Symptoms to watch for during home treatment

Call your doctor if any of the following occur during home treatment:

• Level of consciousness changes.
• You have signs of dehydration and you are unable to drink enough to replace lost fluids. Signs of dehydration include being thirstier than usual and having darker urine than usual.
• Other symptoms develop, such as pain in one area of the body, shortness of breath, or urinary symptoms.
• Symptoms become more severe or frequent.

High Fever – Symptoms, Causes, Treatments

Your immune system raises your body’s temperature to eliminate certain infections or to impede the growth of microorganisms that cause disease (most bacteria affecting humans flourish in normal or near normal body temperatures). While it is a natural immune response and can kill infection, high fever can be uncomfortable. Fever symptoms worsen when the body is unable to rid the body of the extra heat. Treatments are aimed at reversing the fever and helping lower the body temperature.

The most common causes of high fever are infections, such as pneumonia, meningitis, and infections of the urinary tract. In rare cases, fevers can occur without any infection as a result of arthritis, lupus, or certain gastrointestinal and vascular disorders.

Infectious causes of high fever

High fever may be caused by infections or inflammation including:

• Appendicitis

• Cellulitis (infection of the skin and tissues beneath the skin)

• Encephalitis (infection or inflammation of the brain)

• Meningitis (infection or inflammation of the sac around the brain and spinal cord)

• Osteomyelitis (bone infection)

• Pneumonia

• Respiratory infection

• Urinary tract infection

Noninfectious causes of high fever

High fever can also be caused by noninfectious conditions including:

Serious or life-threatening causes of high fever

In some cases, high fever may be a symptom of a serious or life-threatening condition that should be immediately evaluated in an emergency setting. These include:

Questions for diagnosing the cause of high fever

In order to diagnose your condition, your doctor or licensed health care practitioner will ask you several questions related to your high fever including:

• How long have you had a fever?

• What other symptoms have you had?

• How high has your fever been?

• Are you taking any medications?

• Have you been exposed to anyone who is sick?

• Where do you feel your symptoms?

• Does anything make you feel better or worse?

What are the potential complications of high fever?

The complications of high fever depend largely on how high the fever rises, the fever’s duration, and its underlying cause. In adults, a fever of 105 degrees Fahrenheit, while high, may produce no complications, while a child with a fever that high could be at risk of serious and even life-threatening complications. In most cases when fever results from infection, complications from the cause of the infection are likely to be worse than complications from the fever itself.

Since your high fever may be due to a serious illness, it is vital to seek prompt medical attention to treat the underlying condition responsible for the fever. Once the underlying cause of your fever is diagnosed, it is very important to closely follow the treatment plan you and your doctor design specifically for you to reduce the risk of potential complications including:

• Amputation

• Brain damage

• Organ failure

• Permanent disability

• Seizures

• Spread of infection

Fever: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia

A simple cold or other viral infection can sometimes cause a high fever (102°F to 104°F or 38.9°C to 40°C). This does not mean you or your child has a serious problem. Some serious infections don’t cause a fever or can cause a very low body temperature, most often in infants.

If the fever is mild and you have no other problems, you do not need treatment. Drink fluids and rest.

The illness is probably not serious if your child:

• Is still interested in playing
• Is eating and drinking well
• Is alert and smiling at you
• Has a normal skin color
• Looks well when their temperature comes down

Take steps to lower a fever if you or your child is uncomfortable, vomiting, dried out (dehydrated), or not sleeping well. Remember, the goal is to lower, not eliminate, the fever.

When trying to lower a fever:

• DO NOT bundle up someone who has the chills.
• Remove excess clothing or blankets. The room should be comfortable, not too hot or cool. Try one layer of lightweight clothing, and one lightweight blanket for sleep. If the room is hot or stuffy, a fan may help.
• A lukewarm bath or sponge bath may help cool someone with a fever. This is effective after medicine is given — otherwise the temperature might bounce right back up.
• DO NOT use cold baths, ice, or alcohol rubs. These cool the skin, but often make the situation worse by causing shivering, which raises the core body temperature.

Here are some guidelines for taking medicine to lower a fever:

• Acetaminophen (Tylenol) and ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) help reduce fever in children and adults. Sometimes health care providers advise you to use both types of medicine.
• Take acetaminophen every 4 to 6 hours. It works by turning down the brain’s thermostat.
• Take ibuprofen every 6 to 8 hours. DO NOT use ibuprofen in children 6 months or younger.
• Aspirin is very effective for treating fever in adults. DO NOT give aspirin to a child unless your child’s provider tells you to.
• Know how much you or your child weighs. Then check the instructions on the package to find the correct dose.
• In children 3 months or younger, call your child’s provider first before giving medicines.

Eating and drinking:

• Everyone, particularly children, should drink plenty of fluids. Water, ice pops, soup, and gelatin are all good choices.
• In younger children do not give too much fruit juice or apple juice, and do not give sports drinks.
• Although eating is fine, do not force foods.

Fever or Chills, Age 12 and Older

Overview

Fever is the body’s normal and healthy reaction to infection and other illnesses, both minor and serious. It helps the body fight infection. Fever is a symptom, not a disease. In most cases, having a fever means you have a minor illness. When you have a fever, your other symptoms will help you determine how serious your illness is.

Temperatures in this topic are oral temperatures. Oral temperatures are usually taken in older children and adults.

Normal body temperature

Most people have an average body temperature of about 98.6°F (37°C), measured orally (a thermometer is placed under the tongue). Your temperature may be as low as 97.4°F (36.3°C) in the morning or as high as 99.6°F (37.6°C) in the late afternoon. Your temperature may go up when you exercise, wear too many clothes, take a hot bath, or are exposed to hot weather.

Fever temperatures

A fever is a high body temperature. A temperature of up to 102°F (38.9°C) can be helpful because it helps the body fight infection. Most healthy children and adults can tolerate a fever as high as 103°F (39.4°C) to 104°F (40°C) for short periods of time without problems. Children tend to have higher fevers than adults.

The degree of fever may not show how serious the illness is. With a minor illness, such as a cold, you may have a temperature, while a very serious infection may cause little or no fever. It is important to look for and evaluate other symptoms along with the fever.

If you are not able to measure your temperature with a thermometer, you need to look for other symptoms of illness. A fever without other symptoms that lasts 3 to 4 days, comes and goes, and gradually reduces over time is usually not a cause for concern. When you have a fever, you may feel tired, lack energy, and not eat as much as usual. High fevers are not comfortable, but they rarely cause serious problems.

Oral temperature taken after smoking or drinking a hot fluid may give you a false high temperature reading. After drinking or eating cold foods or fluids, an oral temperature may be falsely low. For information on how to take an accurate temperature, see the topic Body Temperature.

Causes of fever

Viral infections, such as colds and flu, and bacterial infections, such as a urinary tract infection or pneumonia, often cause a fever.

Travel outside your native country can expose you to other diseases. Fevers that begin after travel in other countries need to be evaluated by your doctor.

Fever and respiratory symptoms are hard to evaluate during the flu season. A fever of 102°F (38.9°C) or higher for 3 to 4 days is common with the flu. For more information, see the topic Respiratory Problems, Age 12 and Older.

Recurrent fevers are those that occur 3 or more times within 6 months and are at least 7 days apart. Each new viral infection may cause a fever. It may seem that a fever is ongoing, but if 48 hours pass between fevers, then the fever is recurring. If you have frequent or recurrent fevers, it may be a symptom of a more serious problem. Talk to your doctor about your fevers.

Treating a fever

In most cases, the illness that caused the fever will clear up in a few days. You usually can treat the fever at home if you are in good health and do not have any medical problems or significant symptoms with the fever. Make sure that you are taking enough foods and fluids and urinating in normal amounts.

Low body temperature

If a low body temperature is your only symptom, it is not something to worry about. If a low body temperature occurs with other symptoms, such as chills, shaking, breathing problems, or confusion, then this may be a sign of more serious illness.

Low body temperature may occur from cold exposure, shock, alcohol or drug use, or certain metabolic disorders, such as diabetes or hypothyroidism. A low body temperature may also be present with an infection, particularly in newborns, older adults, or people who are frail. An overwhelming infection, such as sepsis, may also cause an abnormally low body temperature.

Check your symptoms to decide if and when you should see a doctor.

Home Treatment

It’s easy to become dehydrated when you have a fever.

In the early stages, you may be able to correct mild to moderate dehydration with home treatment measures. It is important to control fluid losses and replace lost fluids.

Adults and children age 12 and older

If you become mildly to moderately dehydrated:

• Stop your activity and rest.
• Drink a rehydration drink, water, juice, or sports drink to replace fluids and minerals. Drink 2 qt (2 L) of cool liquids over the next 2 to 4 hours. You should drink at least 10 glasses of liquid a day to replace lost fluids. You can make an inexpensive rehydration drink at home. But do not give this homemade drink to children younger than 12. Measure all ingredients precisely. Small variations can make the drink less effective or even harmful. Mix the following:
  • 1 quart (1 L) purified water
  • ½ teaspoon (2.5 mL) salt
  • 6 teaspoons (30 mL) sugar

Rest and take it easy for 24 hours, and continue to drink a lot of fluids. Although you will probably start feeling better within just a few hours, it may take as long as a day and a half to completely replace the fluid that you lost.

Many people find that taking a lukewarm [80°F (27°C) to 90°F (32°C)] shower or bath makes them feel better when they have a fever. Do not try to take a shower if you are dizzy or unsteady on your feet. Increase the water temperature if you start to shiver. Shivering is a sign that your body is trying to raise its temperature.Do not use rubbing alcohol, ice, or cold water to cool your body.

Dress lightly when you have a fever. This will help your body cool down. Wear light pajamas or a light undershirt. Do not wear very warm clothing or use heavy bed covers. Keep room temperature at 70°F (21°C) or lower.

If you are not able to measure your temperature, you need to look for other symptoms of illness every hour while you have a fever and follow home treatment measures.

Be sure to check your temperature every 2 to 4 hours to make sure home treatment is working.

Symptoms to watch for during home treatment

Call your doctor if any of the following occur during home treatment:

• Level of consciousness changes.
• You have signs of dehydration and you are unable to drink enough to replace lost fluids. Signs of dehydration include being thirstier than usual and having darker urine than usual.
• Other symptoms develop, such as pain in one area of the body, shortness of breath, or urinary symptoms.
• Symptoms become more severe or frequent.

What’s considered a fever and when to see a doctor

Humans – like all mammals – are warm-blooded, meaning our bodies stay warm, or at a fairly consistent temperature, even when the temperature of our surroundings change.

For most of us, our bodies tend to hover between 97 and 99 degrees Fahrenheit. But in certain circumstances, our body temperate rises, resulting in a fever.

“Your body’s immune system creates a fever to fight off infection,” said Sarah Joseph, MD. As an internal medicine and pediatrics specialist, Dr. Joseph treats children and adults of all ages for a wide range of illnesses.

Low-grade fever

The medical community generally defines a fever as a body temperature above 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit. A body temp between 100.4 and 102.2 degree is usually considered a low-grade fever.

“If the temperature is not high, it doesn’t necessarily need to be treated with medication,” Dr. Joseph said.

A low-grade fever usually doesn’t require treatment, unless the fever is occurring in a very young infant, or if it’s accompanied by other worrisome symptoms, such as confusion or the inability to eat or drink without vomiting.

To bring down a fever without medication, Dr. Joseph suggests wearing minimal clothing or bathing in lukewarm or cool water. You should also be sure to drink plenty of fluids to keep your body hydrated.

And keep in mind that even a mild fever could be a sign of a contagious illness. Washing your hands and covering your cough are always good practices.

“In the age of COVID-19, one of the things people should keep in mind is that if they are having any kind of fever that is persisting, they should probably go get tested,” Dr. Joseph said.

Not sure whether you need a test or where to get tested? Use our digital assistant, Clare, located in the lower right corner of the OSF HealthCare website.

High fever

When body temperature rises above 102.2 degrees, it can be a sign of a more serious infection.

Most fevers will resolve in a few days, but Dr. Joseph says some circumstances could be reason to see a provider, either in a primary care office or urgent care clinic.

Consider seeing a doctor if:

• Fever lasts longer than three to five days
• Fever doesn’t respond to fever-reducing medications, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen (Tylenol or Advil)
• Other symptoms include confusion, neck stiffness or sensitivity to light

“Another reason to seek medical attention is if you don’t feel right about how things are going,” Dr. Joseph said.

Rarely, a fever could be a sign of a medical emergency.

Call 911 or go directly to an emergency room if you have a fever and any of the following symptoms:

• Seizures
• Severe abdominal pain
• Pain or burning with urination

• Shortness of breath or chest pain
• Difficulty holding down fluids
• Severe headache

90,000 If I have symptoms similar to coronavirus, what to do – instructions | Hromadske TV

Today, there is not a single country in the European Union where the coronavirus disease COVID-19 has not reached. In Ukraine, coronavirus was diagnosed in 26 people as of March 20, three of them died, and one patient recovered. What if you feel suspicious symptoms? We have compiled instructions according to the recommendations of the World Health Organization and the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.

• First analyze if you really could have picked it up somewhere. If you have not been to countries where there is an outbreak of the disease, and have not been in contact with people who have returned from there, the chances are minimal.
• If you have had contact with potential patients, and you develop symptoms such as fever, headache, cough, shortness of breath, stay at home and call your family doctor. The Ministry of Health and WHO urges you to call first, and not go to the hospital, because if you are still sick, then you will infect fewer people.
• If you don’t have a family doctor, it’s time to conclude a declaration with him. Otherwise, call the hotline of the National Health Service at 1677. There is also a hotline of the Ministry of Health, which is still working in test mode: 0-800-505-201.
• If you feel really bad and you reasonably suspect that a coronavirus may be the cause, call an ambulance (103) and ask for a test. If the ambulance refuses to come, you can report the situation to hotline 1545 or the Ministry of Health hotline 0-800-505-201.
• If you have recently returned from a country with a high level of coronavirus infection or have come into contact with those who have returned, in no case hide from the doctors exactly where you were and with whom you were in contact.
• Your family doctor or emergency doctors will decide whether you need to be isolated or hospitalized and will provide further advice. Also, they can prescribe you a coronavirus test. However, to rule out other possible infections, doctors will conduct tests for influenza and other viruses, for example, adenoviruses, rhinoviruses, etc.
• A coronavirus test is carried out only if you have recently returned from abroad and have characteristic symptoms, or you have come into contact with a patient who has already confirmed the coronavirus. The algorithms developed by WHO, followed by the Ministry of Health, currently do not provide for mass testing for COVID-19.
• There are two types of tests for coronavirus: rapid tests and PCR studies (polymerase chain reaction is a method for diagnosing numerous infections, which is based on the study of a person’s genetic material (DNA and RNA)).For an express test, you will need blood from a finger and 10 minutes. It determines if the body has antibodies to the virus. They appear only on the 5-7th day of infection.
• Rapid tests are still available in all Kiev hospitals: Alexandrovskaya, city hospitals No. 4 and No. 9, maternity hospital No. 4, children’s hospitals No. 1 and No. 2, infectious diseases children’s hospital on Degtyarevskaya street. And also – in individual hospitals in Zhitomir, Ternopil, Dnipro, Vinnitsa, Kiev, Rovno, Lvov, Zaporozhye, Chernivtsi. You can find out where the nearest clinic with tests is by calling the hotline 0-800-505-201.
• If the rapid test confirms the coronavirus, you will definitely be checked again using a PCR study. To do this, a smear will be taken from you (it can be saliva, sputum) and sent to a special laboratory. The result will be the next day. The Ministry of Health assures that there are enough tests for coronavirus.
• If the diagnosis is confirmed, you will be admitted to the infectious diseases hospital. The Ministry of Health assures that infectious diseases hospitals are prepared for such cases in all regions. Doctors are informed about the algorithm of actions.
• As you know, vaccines and drugs for COVID-19 do not exist today. However, supportive care has helped many people to recover. In addition, it should be remembered that most cases of the disease are mild.

The regions have also opened their hot telephone lines:

• Kiev and the region: 103, 0800505201, 045 63 100 46;
• Odessa and the region: 1550 and 0800 50 15 50;
• Lviv and region: 1580;
• Dnipro and the region: 067 611 08 86, 068 979 96 24 0800500474;
• Kharkiv and region: 057 712 45 00;
• Zhytomyr and region: 068 982 47 81;
• Chernihiv and the region: 0800 50 70 70;
• Poltava and the region: 050 505 29 59;
• Kherson and region: 103, (0552) 22 57 90;
• Zaporozhye and the region: 103, 0800503508;
• Vinnytsia and region: 15-60, 103, 66-12-05;
• Nikolaev and the region: 37-40-28, 37-31-07;
• Kropyvnytskyi and region: 0800500238;
• Amounts and area: 103, (0542) 68-20-90;
• Cherkasy and the region: 64 91 82, 64 92 39 and 067 809 3154, 050 420 1356;
• Khmelnitsky and the region: 0382 70 43 63, 0382 70 38 05;
• Lutsk and region: 103, 0332 778 139;
• Exactly and region: 0800500078;
• Ivano-Frankivsk region: 099544 83 32;
• Ternopil and region: 103;
• Uzhgorod and region: 103;
• Chernov and region: 066 084 93 13;
• Luhansk region: 103, 1545;
• Donetsk region: 103, 1545.

To reduce the risk of infection, the WHO and the Ministry of Health of Ukraine recommend adhering to the following basic rules:

• regularly wash your hands thoroughly with soap for 20-40 seconds and treat your hands with alcohol-containing (from 60%) antiseptics;
• Avoid touching your face and mucous membranes (eyes, nose and mouth) with your hands – this is the standard route for the virus to enter the body through contaminated surfaces (which is why it is so important to wash your hands).
• when coughing and sneezing, cover your mouth and nose with a napkin or the bend of your elbow, then discard the napkin immediately and wash your hands;
• avoid crowded places, and if you do find yourself in them – wear a mask and keep a distance and stay at least 1-1.5 m from the people around you;
• do not eat animal products without heat treatment;
• Try to eat well and exercise, and maintain a healthy sleep.

Acute respiratory viral infections

Acute respiratory viral infections are a whole group of infectious diseases characterized by similar symptoms: cough, runny nose, fever, headache, sore throat and sore throat. Depending on the pathogen, certain symptoms prevail during the course of the disease. The most pronounced clinical picture is caused by influenza viruses, parainfluenza, adenoviruses, which makes it possible to diagnose without virological examination.

Influenza begins acutely against the background of complete health, with a rise in temperature immediately to high numbers (39-40⁰ C), often accompanied by chills. The symptoms of general intoxication come to the fore: headache, weakness, pain in muscles and joints, lacrimation, pain in the eyeballs. Sometimes delirium, hallucinations are observed. In young children, general symptoms are expressed: anxiety or weakness, refusal to breast, sleep disturbance, frequent regurgitation or vomiting, frequent loose stools. Cough, runny nose, sore throat, soreness behind the breastbone may be absent on the first day and join later.A favorite place for the localization of influenza viruses is the mucous membrane of the trachea, therefore, “scratching” and pain behind the breastbone when coughing is a constant symptom of the disease. Almost a third of patients do not have a runny nose, but dryness of the nasal mucosa is noted, which leads to repeated nosebleeds. In the first days of the disease, the cough is dry, painful, and hoarseness of the voice may appear.

In uncomplicated flu, the fever lasts 3-4 days, at least 5-6 days. If after a week the temperature does not decrease, complications may have joined.The most common complication is pneumonia. Other complications include inflammation of the paranasal sinuses and middle ear.

The main goal of health care is not the treatment of diseases, but their prevention. This fully applies to influenza, which has a pronounced winter seasonality, high infectivity and rapid spread.

Urgent isolation of patients and separation of children at risk of infection is of great importance in the prevention of influenza. Epidemiologists propose to declare unscheduled vacations during the epidemic.This measure significantly reduces the incidence of influenza in children’s groups. Parents should also do their bit in anti-epidemic measures and refuse to attend public events, trips on excursions, shopping and guests.

Preventive vaccinations begin in October, so that protective factors (interferon, macrophages, antibodies) are developed in the body in advance, which will prevent the development of the disease. The insidiousness of the influenza virus is manifested in its rapid variability.He is able to change the antigenic structure and acquire new properties during one epidemic. Therefore, the fight against influenza should also be aimed at strengthening nonspecific immunity, at increasing the body’s ability to resist the pathogen.

If the flu is already “sweeping across the planet” and has reached your city, or even to family members, it is necessary to provide the child with emergency prevention, which is at the same time preventive treatment. Interferons and drugs that enhance their production in the body (interferon inducers) are widely used as a means for emergency prevention.Human leukocyte interferon is used in the form of a solution, which is prepared from a powder, and is instilled into the nose when there is a threat of influenza infection during the entire epidemic period, 2-3-5 drops in both nasal passages 2 times a day for children of any age.

Grippferon – nasal drops of antiviral, anti-inflammatory and immunostimulating action. Recommended for children over 1 year old, 2 – 3 drops 2 – 3 times a day.

Viferon – suppositories for rectal administration, used 2 times a day, morning and evening.

Among the inducers of interferon we will name amiksin, poludan, cycloferon, anaferon.

Do not forget about herbal preparations that help fight viruses of respiratory infections: onions, garlic, tincture of echinacea, aralia, zamanihi, ginseng, eleutherococcus extract, etc.

Great importance is attached to activities that enhance the non-specific, general immunity of the body. This includes good nutrition, rich in proteins, vitamins and minerals, hardening procedures, a healthy lifestyle, physical education and sports.

Parainfluenza begins gradually, does not give a high temperature, does not cause severe intoxication. But its malignancy is manifested in the fact that the virus especially often infects the larynx, causing the development of false croup with symptoms of respiratory failure. The disease begins with a slight runny nose or coughing against the background of a normal or slightly elevated temperature (37.2 – 37.5 ° C). But in the middle of the night, the child wakes up from an attack of rough “barking”, “croaking” cough, shortness of breath, causing fear and anxiety, and this further increases the spasm.Call an ambulance, but before the team arrives, try to help the suffering child. Fill the tub with hot water, add baking soda, and let your child breathe warm, moist alkaline air in the confined space of the bathroom. At the same time, give the child hot baths for hands and feet with a water temperature of 40 ° C. Give a warm alkaline drink: milk, to which you can add a little soda, any mineral hydrocarbonate water without gas Warm humid air helps to relieve spasm of the muscles of the larynx, and alkaline steam promotes the liquefaction of phlegm and its discharge.The arrived ambulance team will inhale drugs through a magic device – a nebulizer, and the child will immediately feel better.

If the doctor insists on continuing treatment in the hospital, do not argue and do not convince him that “everything has already passed and the child is breathing well.” The croup has an undulating course, and the favorable period can unexpectedly quickly be replaced by suffocation, requiring emergency assistance.

– do not use mustard plasters and rubbing containing essential oils and having strong odors.They are able to cause a reflex spasm of the muscles of the larynx;

– do not use honey, raspberry jam, citrus juices – in allergy sufferers, they can contribute to increased edema;

– do not give your child cough suppressants (sinecode). Remember that cough has a protective function and should not be suppressed, but stimulated.

Adenovirus infection can be recognized by a pronounced runny nose, a wet cough with copious phlegm, and red, purulent eyes.

Adenoviruses are widespread throughout the world.They did not bypass our long-suffering homeland either. The incidence rises during the cold season, and among all respiratory infections, it accounts for almost one third of all cases of illness. It does not disappear in the sultry summer, manifesting itself in the form of individual cases. The disease blooms especially magnificently in children’s groups, where an outbreak can drag on for several months in a row, passing from one child to another.

The disease begins with a rise in temperature, which can have two waves and last up to 12-14 days.Along with a cough and a runny nose, redness and tearing of the eyes, swelling of the eyelids and purulent discharge from the eyes appear. During sleep, eyelashes stick together, and, upon waking up, the child cannot open his eyes, which gives him additional suffering.

The virus loves to infect adenoid tissue, lymph nodes, including the abdominal cavity. Therefore, children often complain of abdominal pain and upset stools. On the neck and in the submandibular region, you may find enlarged lymph nodes. And, looking into the throat, you will see hypertrophied edematous tonsils, often with purulent deposits.Pneumonia in adenovirus infection may be primary, caused by the virus itself. It is more common in young children. And the later development of pneumonia indicates the addition of a bacterial infection. Other complications include otitis media, tonsillitis, pleurisy.

For the treatment of all respiratory infections that occur with an increase in temperature, it is very important to fulfill the following conditions:

• Increase heat transfer. To do this, first of all, remove disposable diapers from the baby, which, covering almost a third of the body, prevent heat transfer and play the role of a warming compress.This is easy to see with your own eyes: the skin under the diaper is red, moist, with irritation in the groin and gluteal folds. As soon as you removed the disposable diaper and dried the folds, do not be too lazy to measure the temperature, and you will be pleasantly surprised: it will drop by at least 1 degree. Do not wrap the child, do not load him with quilts and feather beds. Take off tight tights, turtlenecks and sweaters with high tight collars. Wipe off with wet wipes moistened with 1 – 2% vinegar solution or vodka.Wear lightweight pajamas, a nightgown, or a T-shirt with panties. All clothes should be made of cotton fabrics that can actively absorb sweat, because the next important step is to make the child sweat.

• Increase perspiration. It is closely adjacent to the previous one, since the evaporation of sweat from the surface of the skin, willy-nilly, contributes to an increase in heat transfer. In order for the child to actively sweat, it is necessary to water him abundantly. Remember that sweat is not just water, but a liquid containing mineral salts.That is, by sweating, the child also loses the vital minerals for the body. Therefore, think about what you will become to make up for the deficiency of salts. It would be ideal from time to time to give the baby any glucose-saline solution (rehydron, oralit, glucosolan), but not every capricious person during an illness will agree to drink tasteless water. Therefore, combine business with pleasure and prepare a decoction of raisins, dried apricots, dried fruit compote – these drinks have a lot of potassium and fructose, add a little salt (sodium and chlorine) and a little bit of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate).You will get a delicious and healing drink, let the kid drink with pleasure. Tired of compote? Please: mineral water, juice, herbal teas, rosehip broth, tea with honey, lemon, raspberries (if you are not allergic to these products). If a child drinks willingly, do not limit him, “water will find a hole,” as the people say. It is bad when the stubborn refuses to drink at high temperatures. Lack of fluid leads to thickening of the blood, from which all organs suffer, and primarily the urinary system.If you notice that a feverish child has not urinated all day or has excreted a small amount of concentrated, darker than usual urine, then the kidneys are really thirsty, and they need to be provided with fluid. In any way, get the child to drink, taking into account his wishes in the choice of drinks.

• Provide frequent ventilation of the room in which the sick child is located and maintaining a cool temperature in it – ideally not higher than 18 ° C. Inhalation of cool fresh air also provides a decrease in temperature, since the body spends heat to warm it.Many mothers are panicky afraid to open a window or balcony in the nursery: “She will get even more sick.” Put a hat or scarf on your head, cover it with a warm blanket and let your child breathe in the fresh frosty air. As a last resort, transfer the patient to another room while airing. I assure you that it is impossible to “get even more sick” from clean air, but breathing stale air filled with pathogenic pathogens is difficult not only for the patient, but also for the surrounding household.

Fighting with a high temperature justifies itself only in those cases when it “rolls over” beyond the mark of 39 degrees, causes a disturbance in the condition and behavior, the child has a tendency to seizures or neurological diseases in history.If the fever is accompanied by vomiting, do not force the child to take medications by mouth – they will immediately come back. In such cases, suppositories are used, medication is administered with an enema, and in case of emergency, injections.

Taking antipyretic drugs must be discussed with a doctor and do not allow self-activity. Uncontrolled use and systematic excess of the dose of even the most “harmless” drug can cause toxic or allergic effects.Calpol, Tylenol, Panadol, Efferalgan, Cefecon – all these drugs are prepared on the basis of paracetamol, in fact, they are one and the same drug. You need to know this in order to prevent overdose. Exceeding the dose has a toxic effect on the liver and kidneys. Paracetamol is contraindicated in children with diseases of these organs.

Nurofen for children, produced in the form of a suspension and suppositories, is in second place in terms of frequency of use. The drug is prepared on the basis of ibuprofen, which is a representative of the group of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and has not only antipyretic, but also anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects.Compared to paracetamol, nurofen is more effective, but, unfortunately, gives more complications. Approved for use only in children over 3 months of age. Nurofen begins to act in 30 minutes and lasts for 6 to 8 hours.

A very effective drug is ibuclin, which consists of ibuprofen and paracetamol. In children’s practice, dispersible (water-soluble) tablets are used. One tablet of baby ibuclin contains ibuprofen 100mg and paracetamol 125mg. Before use, dilute 1 tablet in 5 ml of chilled boiled water.Ibuclin dosage depends on the age and body weight of the child.

Beloved by many generations, aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) is used only in children over 12 years of age due to the possible development of severe complications.

Often mothers note that against the background of a high temperature, the child has cold extremities (“he himself is like boiling water, and the hands and feet are ice cold”). This indicates a spasm of peripheral vessels.

Once again, it is necessary to emphasize the need to give plenty of water to a feverish patient, since during this period, water losses with sweat and rapid breathing increase.As a result, the excretion of fluid through the kidneys decreases, urine becomes concentrated, and the renal tubules can become clogged with salts, protein, casts, which disrupts kidney function and can lead to complications.

Do not forget about the “omnipresent and omnipotent” vitamin C. It plays an important role in increasing the body’s defenses. During illness, its dose should exceed the prophylactic several times and be at least 300 mg per day. Add ascorbic acid to fruit drink, compote, juice, tea, jelly.It improves the taste of the drink and helps the body defeat the enemy.

For the treatment of viral infections, antibiotics and sulfa drugs are not used, since the virus is not afraid of them. Therefore, do not rush to stuff the patient with ampicillin, erythromycin, chloramphenicol, beloved for many generations, and other antibiotics from the first day.

The anti-influenza drugs oseltamivir (trade name Tamiflu) and zanamivir (trade name Relenza) have been successfully used to treat influenza.Prescribed only by a doctor, self-medication is unacceptable.

90,000 Doctors have named the symptoms for which you should immediately call an ambulance

Patients have different conditions that require an ambulance call. What symptoms should you call an ambulance immediately, and when you need to go to the clinic yourself, said the deputy chief freelance specialist for emergency medical care, head of the emergency advisory ambulance department of the A.S. Puchkova of the Moscow Healthcare Department Alexey Bezymyanny.

“High temperature is one of the most common reasons for calling an ambulance. If we are talking about 38 degrees and there are symptoms such as a cough or a runny nose, then the patient should go to the polyclinic to the local therapist, and not to the ambulance. The fact is that ambulance teams are not entitled to prescribe treatment and write prescriptions. A higher temperature and a longer period of exacerbation are a good reason to call 103, ”Aleksey Bezymyanny said.

He noted that at the same time, people tend not to take some symptoms seriously, but they can signal an illness or a dangerous condition for health and require immediate emergency treatment. These symptoms include chest pain of a pressing nature, an acute violation of the sensitivity of the face or part of the body, speech impairment, sudden acute shortness of breath.

“Often, with severe bleeding, loss of consciousness or heart rhythm disturbances, people experience fear, confusion, immediately call an ambulance for themselves or a loved one.And they do it absolutely right. After all, many do not know how to act in such a situation, how they can help, so as not to harm. But, for example, acute abdominal pain accompanied by nausea or vomiting is usually tried to be treated on their own, which can lead to more serious consequences. With such symptoms, every hour is important, you need to urgently go to an ambulance, ”added Aleksey Bezymyanny.

Heavy breathing

12.07.2017

Heavy breathing

How to minimize the risk of developing bronchopulmonary diseases

Diseases of the respiratory system can be associated with both the harmful effects of external factors on the lungs – smoking, various allergens, poor ecology, and heredity, infections.The most common of these are pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and asthma.

About bronchopulmonary problems and their prevention, we talked with the head of the 2nd therapeutic department of the First City Hospital, pulmonologist Natalya Veshchagina.

Pneumonia does not sleep all year round

The leader among bronchopulmonary diseases is pneumonia – an acute inflammation of the lower respiratory tract, usually of an infectious nature (viruses, bacteria, including atypical ones, etc.).etc.). It is manifested by fever, respiratory failure, and the appearance of foci of darkening on chest radiographs.

Risk factors for the development of pneumonia include: age over 65 and under five years of age, the presence of chronic diseases of the lungs, heart, kidneys, diabetes mellitus, alcoholism, smoking, exhaustion, decreased immunity, a recent viral infection and a number of others.

– Patients with pneumonia are hospitalized all year round, and the peak usually occurs in February-March and October-November, says Natalya Veshchagina.- This is an infectious disease, each of us can face it under the most ordinary circumstances: cold air, high humidity, people don’t dress for the weather … It is manifested primarily by severe respiratory failure. During an influenza epidemic, patients with severe bilateral lung damage were admitted to our hospital; their intensive treatment was carried out in intensive care conditions.It would seem a banal truth, but it should not be taken lightly: if you get sick, be sure to consult a doctor. During an acute period of influenza or SARS, observe bed rest and take prescribed antiviral drugs.

As for the prevention of pneumonia, the most important thing here is the annual flu vaccination.

– Some categories of patients who have the above risk factors also need pneumococcal vaccination, which is carried out once every five years, explains Natalya Albertovna.

Allergies can “grow” into asthma

The word “asthma” in Greek means “choking”. Bronchial asthma is a major medical problem. Despite the fact that this pathology has been known for a very long time, special attention has been paid to it in the last 40 years.

– The main symptoms of the disease are episodic cough, wheezing, tightness in the chest, shortness of breath and suffocation, often appearing at night or early in the morning. These symptoms are provoked by inhalation of allergens, cold air, physical activity, stress, SARS, tobacco smoke and dust, taking certain medications, says Natalya Veshchagina.- Bronchial asthma occurs in people of all ages, characterized by a widespread increase in its prevalence. Genetic predisposition, harmful emissions into the atmosphere, smoking of the mother during pregnancy contribute to an increase in the level of immunoglobulin E, and in the future – the development of bronchial hyperreactivity and bronchial asthma.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) also presents with difficulty breathing. It all starts with a prolonged cough (three months or more) and sputum appearing at the same time, then shortness of breath joins the listed symptoms.

– COPD in most cases occurs due to damage to the lungs over the years, usually as a result of smoking. Continuous inhalation of tobacco smoke irritates the airways and destroys the elastic fibers in the lungs. Passive smoking in this sense is also very harmful, – emphasizes Natalya Veshchagina. – Other factors that can cause COPD include inhalation of chemical fumes, dust and polluted air for a long time (ecology of the environment and home), genetic factors, low socio-economic status.

The risk of COPD can be predicted using the World Health Organization’s smoking person index (ICI). It is calculated as follows: the number of cigarettes smoked per day is multiplied by the number of months in the year that a person smoked. If the index is less than 120, it speaks of the prerequisites for the formation of COPD, if more than 160 – a person at risk, if more than 240 – COPD is inevitable.

Doctors note that patients in such a situation often seek medical help late.It takes many years for lung tissue to break down before serious symptoms develop, which is why the diagnosis of COPD is most common in people over 40.

– Due to the high prevalence of smoking among adolescents, COPD is getting younger. Mortality in this disease has increased significantly since the 70s of the twentieth century. According to the WHO, by 2020, mortality in COPD is expected to be in third place, explains Natalya Albertovna. – People reason like this: I smoke, I cough – there is nothing wrong with that, my grandfather smoked until he was a hundred years old, nothing happened to him and nothing will happen to me.It must be understood that comparison with previous generations is wrong. Then there was a different ecology and people were generally healthier, now everything contains a lot of “chemistry”, there is an allergization of the population and so on.

There are no harmless cigarettes

It is better not to smoke at all – this is an axiom. The existence of less hazardous cigarette substitutes is a myth.

“Some people choose light cigarettes as a compromise, but do not take into account that they inhale more deeply, smoke more often, and as a result receive even larger doses of hazardous substances,” says Natalya Veshchagina.- Hookah, electronic cigarettes are also harmful. What is vaping? Vaping is the use of electronic cigarettes. In fact, it is an electric inhaler, which contains nicotine in various dosages and a cocktail of various chemicals (glycerin, propylene glycol, flavorings). And such a mixture is hardly less harmful to the body! The main function of this gadget is to make sure that the person remains addicted to nicotine. In addition, with their help, no one has quit smoking yet, you should not indulge yourself with such illusions.At least, if a person seriously wants to quit smoking, then he needs to tune in to giving up any cigarettes. And the most important role here is played by motivation. If a person has not “matured” before and is not ready to make efforts in this direction, everything else will not give results. It is in your power not to succumb to weaknesses for the sake of momentary pleasure, but to live a full, healthy life. Nicotine patch and other similar products can help ease the process of quitting cigarettes.

Ideally, experienced smokers who decide to quit tobacco should see a doctor.After all, it is no coincidence that they say: it’s easy to quit – I’ve done it a hundred times, it’s hard to resist.

– If a person lasts six months without a cigarette, only after that it can be considered that he has quit smoking. There are a lot of relapses, but it doesn’t matter. The main thing is not to despair and resume attempts to quit smoking, including with the help of specialists, ”explains Natalya Veshchagina. – Before giving up cigarettes, it is imperative to undergo diagnostics: fluorography and spirometry is a method of examining the function of external respiration, which includes measuring the vital capacity of the lungs and respiratory rate indicators.If COPD has already developed, then when quitting smoking, a different tactic of behavior is needed. The patient will be prescribed basic bronchodilator therapy. All this will be of help to a person, and he will more easily survive the process of quitting smoking. Useful tips that you can give to quitting smoking: if you want to take up a cigarette – drink a glass of water in small sips, eat something non-nutritious, for example, a carrot or an apple. In the first two to three weeks, it is better to completely give up alcohol, its use will provoke you to smoke again.

Quitting smoking is always difficult, but worth it. Do not forget that the lungs themselves, like the entire body, age. Smoking contributes to a faster aging of the body, the appearance of early wrinkles, discoloration of the skin, and most importantly – it is a serious factor in the development of cancer, cardiovascular accidents, bronchopulmonary diseases, venous thrombosis … Do not neglect prevention and those who do not smoke.

– Unfortunately, many Russians are not very attentive to their health, but, as one proverb says, that we have – we do not store, when we lose – we cry, – says Natalya Veshchagina.- It happens that a patient acts, you ask when the previous fluorography was, he cannot even remember – 15 years ago.

The rules of prevention that are relevant for everyone are simple: to lead a healthy lifestyle, to maintain immunity, to be examined regularly (fluorography once every 1-2 years is mandatory for everyone), to exercise, to enjoy every day.

Digit

635 patients with bronchopulmonary diseases were treated in 2016 at the First City Hospital, 618 of them were admitted to the ambulance line.

Natalia SENCHUKOVA
newspaper “Arkhangelsk – the city of military glory” No. 53 (641) dated July 12, 2017

Fever | Symptoms, complications, diagnosis and treatment

Fever is a temporary increase in body temperature, often due to illness. Having a fever is a sign that something unusual is happening in your body. The fever usually disappears within a few days. A number of over-the-counter medications can help reduce fever, but sometimes it’s best not to take them.Fever plays a key role in helping your body fight off a number of infections.

You have a fever when the temperature rises above the normal range. Your normal temperature may be slightly above or below your average normal temperature of 37 C. Depending on what is causing the fever, additional signs and symptoms of fever may include:

• Sweating
• Chills
• Headache
• Muscle pain
• Loss of appetite
• Irritability
• Dehydration
• General weakness

To check your temperature or your baby’s temperature, you can choose from several types of thermometers, including oral, rectal, and ear (drum) thermometers.While this is not the most accurate way to measure temperature, you can use an underarm (axillary) oral thermometer:

1. Place the thermometer in the armpit and cross the baby’s arms or arms over the chest.
2. Wait four to five minutes. Axillary temperature is slightly lower than the temperature in the mouth.
3. If you call your doctor, give the actual number on the thermometer and where on the body you took the temperature.

Call your doctor if your temperature is 39.4 C or higher. Get immediate medical attention if any of these symptoms accompany a fever:

• Severe headache
• Unusual skin rash, especially if rash worsens rapidly
• Unusual sensitivity to bright light
• Pain when tilting the head
• Mental confusion
• Constant vomiting
• Difficulty breathing or chest pain
• Abdominal pain or pain when urinating
• Convulsions

90,029 90,000 Zika virus DNA vaccine successfully completed Phase I clinical trials

The structure of the Zika virus

Purdue University

Biologists from
University of Pennsylvania and their
colleagues from the Wistar Institute,
Inovio Pharmaceuticals and GeneOne Life Science have developed
next generation fever vaccine
Zika.DNA vaccine showed high
efficacy in the first phase of clinical
trials by successfully initiating the synthesis
specific antibodies in subjects.
Research published in New England
Journal of Medicine .

Fever
Zika is a disease caused by
is an RNA virus from the family of Flaviviridae . Its carriers are
mosquitoes of the genus Aedes , although cases are known,
when it was sexually transmitted
or from mother to fetus. The Zika virus was first discovered in 1947 in rhesus monkeys living in the Zika forest in Uganda.In the following decades, several cases of human infection with the virus were recorded in the countries of Africa and Southeast Asia, but the disease did not cause serious consequences – in most
sick symptoms of the disease did not arise, and in the case of their manifestation, the disease proceeded relatively mildly and was not fatal. For sixty
years, only one and a half
a dozen cases of fever
Zika.

In 2007, Micronesia broke out
its epidemic, and after the 2013-2014 outbreaks in French Polynesia, the virus quickly spread to Central and South America.In early 2016, there was evidence that the Zika virus can cause microcephaly in newborns if their mothers had an infection during pregnancy. It attacks the precursor cells of the brain neurons, causing them to die. Correlation is the greatest concern
Zika pandemic with the spread of
cases of microcephaly and some other defects in newborns
in the respective territories. Recently it became known that the virus has become deadly due to a single mutation.More details
about Zika fever you can
read in our material.

DNA vaccines
are artificially synthesized short ring
DNA (plasmids) carrying genes encoding,
in this case, proteins of the viral envelope.
These proteins are not contagious or dangerous in themselves.
by itself, however, their synthesis within the body enables the immune system to learn to recognize them.
In response, the corresponding specific antibodies are synthesized, which
prevent disease in a real infection.Wherein,
scientists note that DNA vaccines can
produce quickly enough and in
large quantities, they are safe and
have high stability.

Research
started in August 2016. Vaccine,
called GLS-5700, was injected subcutaneously
40 test participants (average age 38 years) three times – in
first, fourth and twelfth week
research. The participants were divided
into two groups, the vaccines in the groups differed in the amount of DNA (1 or 2 mg).
The injection site was then treated
apparatus Cellectra, which increased
efficiency of implementation and perception
the body of the vaccine due to small
directional electrical stimuli
(this method is called electroporation).

Two
weeks after the third dose in
all project participants worked out
specific antibodies to the Zika virus.
In 60 percent of cases, these antibodies
demonstrated a neutralizing
virus effect on a panel of Vero cells (culture
African renal epithelial cells
green monkey). 70 percent of the time
90% inhibition has been shown
nerve cell culture infections, at 95
percent of cases – 50 percent
inhibition. At the same time, the correlation of these numbers with the initial amount of the administered vaccine was not observed.

For
to find out how successful such
antibodies will be able to fight infection in vivo , test subjects’ blood serum was injected into mice with impaired immunity
(the genes of alpha and beta interferons in them
were deleted). It turned out,
that the serum has successfully protected a large
part of the mice (103 out of 112) from virus infection.

Separately
scientists note that the vaccine did not cause
side effects and normal
perceived by the human body,
however, in more detail these aspects
to be studied in the next phases
clinical trials.

And about something else
a project in which against the virus
Zika are developing an RNA vaccine, you can
read here.

Anna Kaznadze

Entropic Fever – Newspaper Kommersant No. 27 (5059) dated 14.02.2013

Premiere cinema

Today the strange picture “Entropy” by festival author Maria Sahakyan is released today. in fact, it happens not outside, but inside a person, and on the “statement about the crisis of culture” in general and cinematography in particular.LYDIA MASLOVA would ask the authors to speak more specifically for themselves.

Compared to the previous works of director Sahakyan – the full-length debut “The Lighthouse”, which tells about the life of civilians during the Caucasian war, as well as the elegy that has not yet been shown to the general public, but in the sense of sad pensiveness, little different from “The Lighthouse” elegy “This is not me “(” Alaverdi “) -” Entropy “looks like a rather radical change in artistic orientations and intonation. The main plus of this change is that watching the new Sahakyan experiment is less boring: “Entropy” is in many ways a curious sight, where from honest attempts to arrange a provocation, hooliganism and shock in a good sense of the word, sometimes nauseating and simply stupid things come out, and next to a thermonuclear Empty cardboard idiots coexist with the charisma of the performers.

When interpreting the name “Entropy”, the most ingenuous synonym for “disorder” will be most appropriate in the case of a film by Maria Sahakyan devoid of clear drama, and the flattering epithet “artistic” can be attributed to disorder by the participation of performance artist Andrei Bartenev as a production designer, who imposed the ideology of the film has its own unique imprint – a mixture of eccentric beauty (evoking admiration for desperate aesthetic courage, or rather sympathy) and some kind of mental illness that makes the perception of this beauty a little tedious.In this auteur cinema, where every now and then they repeat that “auteur cinema is an ass” or offer to drink to auteur cinema without clinking glasses, the decoration becomes an unfinished mansion with unopened toilets instead of chairs and a lawn around it, where several young representatives go to the pre-apocalyptic open air “intellectual elite”. The main, at least the most spectacular, roles are played by TV presenter Ksenia Sobchak and director Valeria Gai Germanika. Their heroines, Producer and Director, dive a lot, but without malice, often and naturally exchanging interjections “b…. “, and between them a kind of chemistry arises, based on a mocking attitude to the whole situation and to each other: when they clash with tongues, the other participants in the performance feel a little redundant. This is androgynous fashion model Danila Polyakov in the role of the Creator, whom the brutal Producer calls “wretched”: he shoots on Canon “a real genuine movie that no one will ever see” and stumbles slightly on the word “quintessence”, then in a loincloth he asks to nail it to a wooden cross and is going to “ascend.”The cruel Director also offends the meek and unrequited Creator, saying that “they won’t take such a nerd to act in beautiful porn,” although the tragic, in a sense, the end that is in store for him in the film suggests that porn (even if marked with a label bizarre) just the right place for him. Another representative of the creative intelligentsia, the Actress, is portrayed by Agnia Ditkovskite, who appears in the credits under the pseudonym Diana Delle – in principle, you can understand the artist who chose not to have a picture in her official filmography where, in contrast to aggressive and relaxed non-professionals, the lethargy of her temperament is too visible .