What should I do if I have a high fever in early pregnancy? The harm is so great

If a woman has a high fever in the early stages of pregnancy, it will have a huge impact on the fetus and in severe cases may even cause deformities. In this case, it is necessary to find out the cause of the fever, treat the symptoms, and reduce the fever moderately; if the pregnant woman's body temperature does not exceed 38.5℃ and there are no obvious symptoms of discomfort, you can consider using physical methods to help reduce the fever such as ice pillows, heat dissipation patches, wiping with warm water, etc.

1. What to do if you have a high fever in early pregnancy

Pregnant women should pay special attention if their body temperature exceeds 38.5℃

Generally, if a person's body temperature is higher than 37 degrees Celsius, it can be considered a fever; however, most people may not notice the temperature rise and feel uncomfortable until the body temperature is higher than 38 degrees Celsius. The body temperature of pregnant women is higher than that of ordinary people. Because their metabolic rate is faster, their body temperature will be slightly higher than usual by 0.5℃. Therefore, if a pregnant woman's body temperature rises above 37.5℃, you should consider the possibility of a fever; if the body temperature exceeds 38.5℃, you must pay special attention.

Three principles for treating fever in pregnant women

Principle 1: Find out the cause of fever, treat it symptomatically, and reduce the fever moderately.

Principle 2: If the pregnant woman's body temperature does not exceed 38.5℃ and she has no obvious symptoms of discomfort, you can consider using physical methods to help reduce the fever, such as ice pillows, heat dissipation patches, wiping with warm water, etc.

Principle 3: If the body temperature exceeds 38.5℃ and is accompanied by uncomfortable symptoms, medication should be used to help reduce the fever under the guidance of a doctor.

The causes of fever can be roughly divided into three categories:

One is infectious diseases, including infections caused by pathogens such as viruses and bacteria. Almost all infectious diseases can cause fever.

The second is fever caused by tumors, especially fever symptoms will occur in late-stage tumors.

Third, autoimmune diseases such as lupus erythematosus can also cause fever.

Common causes of fever in pregnant women include: upper respiratory tract infection (such as viral cold, tracheobronchitis), urinary tract infection, gastroenteritis, etc.

2. What medicine should pregnant women take for fever?

If a pregnant woman has a mild fever caused by a virus, such as sneezing, runny nose, and cough, she can be treated with traditional Chinese medicine, such as Shuanghuanglian oral liquid, cold and fever reducing granules, Isatis root granules, etc. Severe colds, such as fever, sneezing, coughing, and yellow and thick nasal discharge, often indicate a complicated infection and require the use of antibiotics. Penicillins are the first choice. When penicillin cannot be used due to allergy, lincomycin, clindamycin, or erythromycin can be used instead. Fever caused by viruses is just one of them. Pregnant women should ask a doctor to find out the detailed cause and prescribe the right medicine.

Pregnant women should read the medicine before taking it:

Class A drugs: safe for pregnant women and no harm to the embryo or fetus, such as appropriate amounts of vitamins.

Class B drugs: relatively safe for pregnant women and basically harmless to the fetus, such as penicillin, erythromycin, digoxin, insulin, etc.

Class C drugs: They have only been proven to cause fetal teratogenicity or kill embryos in animal experiments, but have not been confirmed in human studies. Pregnant women need to weigh the pros and cons of taking the drugs, and they can only be used when it is confirmed that the benefits outweigh the risks, such as gentamicin, promethazine, isoniazid, etc.

Class D drugs: There is definite evidence of harm to the fetus. Unless the pregnant woman has an absolute effect after taking the medicine, their use is not considered. For example, streptomycin sulfate (can cause fetal hearing loss, etc.) and tetracycline hydrochloride (can cause cleft palate in the fetus or anencephaly), etc., are only used as a last resort.

Class X drugs: can cause fetal abnormalities and are prohibited from use during pregnancy, such as methotrexate, diethylstilbestrol, etc.

During pregnancy, try to choose Class A or B drugs that have been clinically proven to have no teratogenic effects for many years.