Does having a fever mean you have COVID-19? What medicine should you take to reduce a fever?

Autumn and winter are the peak seasons for flu, colds and other diseases. Many people, especially the elderly and children, are prone to headaches and fevers. The risk of the new coronavirus epidemic still exists, and having a fever will inevitably make people feel a little uneasy, worrying whether they have "positive" fever.

So what is the relationship between fever and COVID-19? What should we do?

Let me start with the conclusion: having a fever does not necessarily mean you have contracted COVID-19, but a fever also needs to be properly treated . Let me explain in detail below.

01

Fever ≠ COVID-19

According to the "New Coronavirus Pneumonia Diagnosis and Treatment Program (Trial Ninth Edition)", the current infection with the new coronavirus often "has fever, dry cough, and fatigue as the main symptoms."

However, it also mentioned that " it is worth noting that severe and critical patients may have a low or moderate fever or even no obvious fever during the course of the disease. "

There are many reasons for fever , such as suppurative infection, respiratory tract infection, heat stroke, endocrine metabolic diseases, malignant tumors, etc. In addition, the recent period is also a high incidence period of influenza and other upper respiratory tract infections, these two conditions can also cause fever.

Therefore, the symptom of "fever" alone cannot be used to diagnose COVID-19. The diagnosis and treatment plan also states that "a diagnosis should be made based on a comprehensive analysis of epidemiological history, clinical manifestations, laboratory tests, etc. A positive nucleic acid test for the new coronavirus is the primary criterion for diagnosis."

Here we would like to remind everyone again that fever is just a symptom, not a diagnosis of disease. You cannot judge what disease you have based on fever alone. Temporary reduction of fever does not necessarily mean that the condition has improved. Therefore, it is important to find out the cause of the fever .

So, what should you do if you have a fever?

02

If you have a fever, you don't have to rush to reduce it

Fever is often accompanied by drowsiness, decreased physical strength and other problems, which makes people feel very uncomfortable. When the body temperature drops to normal levels, people often feel refreshed and feel relieved. Therefore, many friends think that since they have a fever, they can just take antipyretics to reduce the fever, right?

In fact, this approach is not necessarily necessary, and may even result in bad results with good intentions .

Why do we say that? Let us first take a look at what a fever is.

As mentioned earlier, there are many reasons for fever, but here we will only talk about one common one, which is viral infection, such as COVID-19 and influenza.

When the virus enters the human body through the mucous membranes and other places, it will multiply wildly and make us sick. Our immune system will mobilize to fight the virus. One of the important ways of mobilization is that the white blood cells on the front line release information, so that the body temperature regulation center issues instructions to increase the body temperature through skeletal muscle contraction (at this time, you will shiver). The high body temperature can inhibit the reproduction of the virus on the one hand, and help immune cells move quickly to the infected area on the other hand. As a result, the virus is eliminated and the human body recovers.

Therefore, a moderate fever is actually our body's "home advantage". If we blindly use antipyretics when we have a slight fever, it will weaken ourselves, facilitate the virus, and prolong the course of the disease .

But some friends always think that the fever will pass after a while, and they don’t take antipyretics when they should. This is not good either, because if the body temperature rises too much, it will also affect our body’s physiological functions and even be harmful to health.

When should you use antipyretics?

As for whether or not to use antipyretics, it is of course safest to let the doctor judge based on the patient's condition if conditions permit. However, considering the actual situation, we can also rely on experience. If you feel particularly uncomfortable and have a persistent high fever, you should not be afraid to take medicine.

Generally speaking, if the body temperature exceeds 38.5C, you need to consider taking antipyretics . It should be noted that children with a history of high fever convulsions can take antipyretics in time according to their past medical history or specific circumstances.

03

To reduce fever, it is important to use the right method

Before starting to reduce fever, we must first make sure that the body temperature is measured correctly, because many temperature measuring devices cannot get correct results if used improperly.

For daily home use, electronic thermometers and forehead thermometers are recommended , as they are safe and convenient. When a person is calm and keeps his armpits dry, he can measure the temperature with an electronic thermometer or a forehead thermometer (remember to lift up your bangs if you have them), and you can get a relatively accurate temperature. If the body temperature is over 38.5℃, you can consider reducing the fever.

The most effective way to reduce fever is to use medicine. The safer and more commonly used antipyretics are ibuprofen and acetaminophen (children of appropriate age can also take children's medicine according to their weight). It is worth buying some in case of emergency.

As mentioned earlier, after a viral infection, a signal will be sent to the body's temperature regulation center to raise the body temperature. These two drugs can inhibit the generation of this signal and stop the temperature regulation center from rising. In this way, the body temperature will drop, and after the body temperature drops to normal levels, it will not drop further.

Taking medicine is not difficult, but it is worth mentioning the timing of taking these two medicines. When we first have a fever, we often feel very bad, our hands will feel cold, we will shiver, and our body temperature will continue to rise. This is not a good time to take antipyretics. It is best to wait until the body temperature stabilizes and the hands and feet begin to flush and burn. This is the continuous stage of fever, and taking antipyretics at this time will be more effective.

In addition to taking antipyretic drugs, many people may have heard of some "folk remedies" for reducing fever, but most of these methods are useless at best and fatal at worst . Let's talk about them next.

04

Don't use these methods to reduce fever

Cover your sweat :

Many people think that if they have a cold or fever, they can just cover themselves with a blanket and sleep to sweat. In fact, sweating means that the body is getting better. The body temperature center increases heat dissipation by sweating to lower the body temperature. Blindly covering the sweat may cause abnormal increase in body temperature and bring danger. Children have poor ability to regulate body temperature, so they should pay special attention .

Don’t let these tragedies happen again!

Cold Bath :

The idea of ​​cooling down by soaking in cold water seems reasonable, but it ignores the condition of the human body.

Cold water baths and ice packs can quickly lower the skin temperature, which can cause chills and make people very uncomfortable. The chills can also cause the body temperature to rise further. The same is true for rubbing alcohol on the body to cool down. In addition, for young children, their skin is thin and can easily absorb alcohol, which may cause alcohol poisoning . Don't use alcohol!

Warm water bath :

In principle, warm water baths are not very helpful in reducing fever . However, from a practical point of view, some people, especially children, may feel more comfortable when they have a fever by taking a bath in warm water at about 37 degrees Celsius. The same is true for applying a warm towel to the forehead.

Therefore, these methods can be tried to relieve discomfort when necessary, but you should take antipyretics when necessary, and do not rely solely on physical cooling.

Of course, if the local epidemiological survey shows that we have been in contact with confirmed patients or have been to risk areas, we should still consider taking good protection and isolating at home. If the symptoms are not obvious, try to avoid going to the hospital, because for some mild patients, queuing for half a day outdoors in winter with many feverish patients may be more dangerous than the problem itself.

In addition, if the high fever persists, antipyretics are ineffective, or there are other suspicious symptoms, you should seek medical attention promptly to find the cause, and not just focus on the temperature.

Finally, let’s summarize:

Don't reduce fever just for the sake of reducing fever. Finding the cause is more important. Incorrect fever reduction is risky. Keep two kinds of medicine at home.

Note: In medicine, "fever" should actually be called "fever", which refers to the phenomenon that the body's heat production increases and the heat dissipation is not smooth, which eventually leads to increased body temperature. However, considering everyone's reading habits, this article still uses the popular term "fever".

Author: Ding Zong

Reviewer: Tang Qin, Director of the Science Popularization Department of the Chinese Medical Association